Mikey hopped over a brick wall, bounced off a chimney, and finally came to a stop perched on top of a steel air vent. He spent a moment crouched there, easily balancing the heavy pack on his shell as he sniffed the exhaust and smog filled air of New York City, looking around the daytime city around them curiously. Coming out in the middle of the day was a rare treat for them, and he was completely soaking in the full experience of it. There was, of course, a much higher risk of being seen when coming out in the middle of the day. But with the risks came certain protections. A large fight in the broad daylight drew a LOT of attention from the authorities. And the desire to avoid that spotlight was one of the few things the NeoFoot and the Hamato clan agreed upon wholeheartedly.

Right now, the last thing the turtles wanted was a fight. Not right now. Not with what they once again had to lose. And so they had to risk the day hours.

Normally their orange brother always seemed to enjoy going out during the day the most out of any of them, thriving in the sunshine and life around them. But, as much as he seemed to be enjoying it right now, there was a nervous current running deep down. Mikey's fingers were busy thrumming quietly at the edge of the metal vent he was perched on absently, and his baby blue eyes were uncommonly serious as he scanned the rooftops around them. It was obvious that as much as he enjoyed the rare treat of the sunshine, he also, at the same time, was anxious to be back in their lair.

Which made sense. Donnie knew just how his little brother felt.

He wanted to be back with Leo as well.

Making sure he was really okay. Reassuring himself that he was really, truly back and not just a wonderful dream. Just, in general, basking in the wonderful, nostalgic feeling of getting a glimpse back to a time when life was so much simpler and happier.

But life, of course, couldn't be that simple for them. Leo was blind, now, and that meant that his brothers needed to step up and take responsibility. They had to protect Leo when he was most vulnerable.

Donnie peered over the edge of the building they stood on, noting the sparsely populated sidewalks below, and gave a slight nod to himself. He moved closer to where his younger brother was scanning the area around them.

"I think this area is clear." he mentioned, setting down his pack and leaning back, stretching his shell muscles. "We have enough surveillance devices set up to satisfy me, and I haven't seen any signs of anything to be worried about here."

"Yeah, no signs of the NeoNerds anywhere." Mikey agreed, turning to glance down at the pack that Donnie had just set down on the rooftop, then craning his head back to look at the one strapped to his own shell. "And we managed to grab a ton of good stuff from the junkyard. So, all in all, I'd rate this one a successful day, bro!" He glanced at Donnie, eyes growing hopeful under his orange mask. "These things we got are going to help Leo, right?"

Donnie chewed on his lip. "Maybe? I'm going to try, of course, and I can use these parts to create devices that will help me diagnose the issues that need to be fixed, but…" Donnie exhaled shakily, and rubbed the back of his mask. "This… this may take some time."

Mikey winced and he looked troubled at the thought, but only for an instant. Almost as if realizing that he had slipped, he immediately perked back up, his happy mask back on once more for his brother as he grinned reassuringly at Donnie instead. "Well, don't worry, Dee. We're behind you one hundred fifty percent, no matter what happens! Leo's going to be fine." He paused for a moment, then chuckled fondly, rubbing his head ruefully. "Though I'm afraid Leo's going to drive us crazy for a while. Our big brother does NOT like to be babysat."

"Oh dear heaven. Do NOT ever use the term 'babysat' in Leo's presence, I beg of you." Donnie rolled his eyes, leaning against the support of a water tower and rubbing his face. "We'd never hear the end of it!"

"We're going to have to think of a few more items to add to my list." Mikey stuck out his tongue cheekily. "We have to distract him somehow, and, trust me, I'm a pro at that."

"You? A pro at being distracting?" Donnie gasped sarcastically. "No! That would be so out of character for you!" He shook his head, amused, and leaned down to pick up his pack. "Though, you're going to have to be careful, otherwise Raph is going… to…" Donnie trailed off as his T-Phone started buzzing on his belt, and quickly plucked it up, glancing at the screen. "Oh, it's April."

"Wait, really? Isn't she at work still?" Mikey wondered.

Donnie quickly pressed the button to answer, holding the phone up to the side of his head. "Hey April. What's up?"

"Donnie, there's trouble." April's voice over the phone was low and urgent.

Donnie straightened up, all amusement draining instantly from his features, his eyes turning flintly. Mikey paused, face also turning serious as his hand shifted down to hover just over his nunchucks in readiness as he read his brother's expression.

"Is it the NeoFoot?' Donnie asked, quickly scooping up his pack and shouldering it, getting ready to move in a flash. "Are you in danger?! Where are you?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine." April hurriedly reassured him. "But…" She paused and took a deep breath. "But there were NeoFoot waiting for me when I was taking my break at work today."

Donnie cursed slightly under his breath, feeling panic well up in his chest. The NeoFoot was obviously getting desperate. "Did they attack you? What happened?! Where are you, we'll be right over!" He felt his heart start to hammer in his chest. Oh gods, they couldn't abandon April, but there was no way that they could fight the NeoFoot right now and win! Not with just him and Mikey! What should they do?! Should he call Raph? But what would happen to Leo if they lost?!

"Donnie, calm down." April tried to soothe him "Like I said, I'm fine. They didn't attack me, and they're gone now They just…" She took a deep breath, and continued. " I had just stepped outside the Channel Six building, and was heading down the block towards the coffee shop, when a group of five NeoFoot stepped out of the alleyway. They weren't wearing any armor and held no visible weapons, and were very obviously trying to show they weren't being hostile."

"What did they want?" Donnie paced across the roof, his voice low and frosty.

April sighed. "They asked me to set up a meeting with you turtles."

"What?" Donnie could hardly believe it.

"They said they just wanted to talk. Peacefully, they said"

Donnie stopped in place. "And they think that we won't realize that it's a trap?!"

"I... I don't know what they're up to!" April groaned, and it sounded like she was as confused as Donnie was. "They… they seemed sincere. But… Well, you know as well as I do that their new master would NEVER allow a peaceful end to this war. His pride would never allow for it."

"And they're too cultishly loyal to betray him." Donnie agreed. He gnawed his lip, worried. "Do they… Do they know about…?" He trailed off, not wanting to say his brother's name out loud, but he knew April would get what he was asking. Was this a trap to get more information about Leo? Did they know he was back home with them?

"I don't know." April answered honestly. "Of course I denied knowing what they were talking about and tried to leave as quickly and quietly as possible, but I'm pretty sure they were expecting that response. They didn't follow me or push things any further. They just left the message and let me go on my way."

Donnie groaned, fingering the bridge of his snout. "I still don't like it. What are they up to?"

"Yeah… I don't like it either." April agreed worriedly. "Listen, I'm going to call Casey. He gets off of work in an hour, and I want to get over there and give him a heads up in case they show up there as well."

"That's definitely a good idea. We don't want Casey caught unawares." Donnie nodded, pacing slightly across the rooftop as he talked. He absently ran his tongue over the gap in his front teeth worriedly. "April… Stay… Stay safe. Okay? I mean it. Keep us updated, and call us anytime.

"I will." April's voice was soft and serious. "And you guys stay safe as well."

And then the call ended, and Donnie and Mikey were left alone once again on the rooftop, the daytime air around them suddenly feeling slightly more oppressive.

Donnie groaned, rubbing his face under his mask. "What a mess." He exhaled and looked down at his phone. "This doesn't make sense, and I don't like any of it."

"At least April seemed okay." Mikey glanced at his brother. "Maybe... We should just skip town? Take Leo, leave the city, and go hang out at the farm for a while? It would give time for things to blow over."

"That… That might be a good idea." Donnie gnawed his lip as he moved over and took a seat on the solid metal vent next to Mikey. His mahogany eyes were darting around as if he could find the answers somewhere in the gravely surface of the rooftop as his hands worried away absently at the case of his tphone. "But, on the other hand, it's risky. Moving Leo that far leaves us open, and with so many unknown variables in play, there's nothing to say that the NeoFoot wouldn't sneak up on us again. They've done it before! What if we're attacked while traveling, or even while at the farm? The lair is the most securely fortified defensive position we currently have. Not to mention that most of my research and medical equipment is here. But, staying in the middle of a hornet's nest is probably not the most strategic choice either. We are dealing with an extremely powerful enemy, and any wrong move will… will…" His voice hitched a little as a thousand scenarios of all the terrible things that could happen raced through his mind all at once. Just what were the NeoFoot really up to? Should they go to the farm, or stay in the security of the lair? Leo's life literally depended on them making the right decisions!

"Dee." Mikey's hand plopped gently on Donnie's head, and he was pulled out of his dark spiral of thoughts, blinking up at his little brother. Mikey's lopsided smile down at him was full of warmth. "It's going to be okay, bro."

"Mikey…" Donnie blinked, then gave him a small, grateful smile.

Then he sighed, and that small smile quickly fell away as his shoulders slumped. "But… there's so many mistakes I can make here. What if we make the wrong choice on how to deal with the NeoFoot? What if I can't fix Leo's eyes?"

Mikey twisted about to lean down and bump foreheads. "Oh, nah Dee!I know things are super scary right now, but don't forget that you're amazing, and Raph's amazing and Leo's amazing. Everybody, including you, just do what they can, and we'll take care of each other like we always have. No matter what happens, remember that we're four again. That's all we need. We just gotta trust each other."

Donnie paused, then gave a chuckle, giving Mikey a quick, thankful nuzzle, then pulled away and exhaled, rubbing his head. "You sound too much like Leo sometimes." He reached over and tapped Mikey fondly on the snout. "And don't forget that you're pretty amazing yourself, Mikey."

"Psh. Well, obviously!" Mikey scoffed.

Donnie stood up, dusting off his legs. "Well, come on. I'm going to call Raph and give him an update, and then we have to get the last of surveillance devices set up around Central Park. We should probably wait to go home until we know that both April and Casey are safe."

"Sounds like a plan, captain!" Mikey saluted. "We're going to have to be careful if we're going to keep patrolling like this, though." he commented as he slipped off the vent, standing next to Donnie on the roof. "If we keep leaving him behind like this, it's not going to be long until Leo starts feeling like he's being ditched."

Leo leaned against the kitchen counter, waiting for the water in the electric kettle close by to heat up and tapping a finger against the scales of his arm. He, at this moment, was feeling more than a little annoyed.

He had just been ditched. AGAIN.

Earlier that morning, Leo had been eating a most glorious and wonderful breakfast at the kitchen table in his family's new home, happily planning all the wonderful activities ahead of him with all his brothers at his side once more. Then Donnie had suddenly popped in to claim that he needed parts from the junkyard while hurrying into the elevator with Mikey in tow even as he was talking, leaving Leo with a mouthful of blueberry pancakes and no chance to protest.

It was daytime out there! They almost never went out in the daytime! And it had been so fast and unexpected that Leo couldn't even begin to ask to come along. It was as if his brothers had planned it, with the intentions of ditching him before he could complain.

And then Raph had just waltzed over as if that were completely normal, patted him on the shoulder, and told him that it was just as well, as it was probably still raining out. And that he and Leo could just hang out while waiting for them to come back. Not actually sparring in the dojo or anything that Leo wanted to do of course, but just quiet, safe activities.

He breathed out slowly through his nose as he reached over and absently fingered the empty tea cup he had set on the counter to wait.

Yup. Leo was starting to have the sneaking suspicion that not only was he ditched, he was also being babysat. In fact, he was growing fairly certain that the so-called 'Mikey's List' that his brothers kept checking over and updating on the wall when they thought he wasn't paying attention was just a ruse (or, at the very least, only came into existence unexpectedly), and Donnie and his brothers had really set up a chore chart outlining duties to be done and scheduling care taking shifts.

And it just so happened to be that today seemed to be Raph's turn to stay behind with Leo to play the role of ninja nanny.

Leo at first thought this meant that the situation was still salvagable. He might be blind, but he could still read his little brother like a book, and it was very obvious very quickly that Raph was no happier at being left behind than Leo was. His aura was tense and agitated and Leo knew his brother enough to know that Raph didn't like the idea of their two little brothers being out there without him as back up.

And, knowing Raph's tendency to Screw the Rules and do whatever he wanted anyways, he casually tried some not so subtle hints that maybe they could both simply go out and catch up to their brothers and finally have a good old time out in the city, just like in the old days, all four of them.

But, to his surprise and chagrin, Raph shot that idea down completely. He seemed to think that staying behind with Leo was necessary, and thus he just tried to casually pretend that everything was just peachy, changing the subject every time Leo brought it up and clearly trying to subtly hide from Leo the fact that he was agitated and worried.

And, as disappointing as that was, Leo could have dealt with being babysat. After all, he missed all of his brothers dearly, and even if he was a little annoyed at being babied, he still would greatly enjoy hanging out with Raph.

But, unfortunately for Leo's sanity, Raph didn't do subtle.

It was well known fact among the brothers that their hot headed brother never really got along with his own emotions very well. For as far back as they could all remember, Raph always seemed to… to feel... everything just a little more intensely. His emotions, whether good or negative, always seemed on the verge of overwhelming him, and thus, as he grew up, emotions became the enemy he had to fight and suppress, usually in unhealthy ways. What usually ended up happening was that Raph just bottled up everything deep down to conveniently violently explode later. 'Emotional Constipation', Mikey would call it. Usually right to Raph's face and just before getting punched.

And right now, Raph was veritably teeming with emotional energy. He was obviously frustrated at being stuck inside, as well slightly overwhelmed with his intense 'Need to Protect Brothers!' instincts going into overdrive for some reason. And, unfortunately, Raph was unable to access his usual 'safety emotional pressure release valve' method of punching whatever was bothering him. Which meant, of course, that right now, ALL that volatile energy was being bottlenecked and redirected completely into his task of babysitting Leo.

Leo loved his brother dearly, but right now he was on the verge of throttling him.

All morning Raph had been smothering Leo with over-vigilant attention. He had been hovering around Leo, trying to anticipate his every whim and need, rushing forward clearing things out of his path, and jumping in and pushing Leo aside to do tasks that he thought would be too difficult for his blind brother. Which was almost everything.

Leo remembered how, back on the island, when Pangur Ban wanted attention, he would often resort to winding around his feet and between his ankles, constantly getting underfoot, almost tripping him, and just, in general, becoming a clingy, demanding, loud pest.

Raph was like a bigger, talking, shelled version of that right now.

Leo couldn't help the small, fond grin that tugged at the corner of his mouth despite how annoyed he was at the moment. Ha! And Raph was always accusing Leo of acting like a mother hen, the big ol' hypocrite.

If he was acting like this now, Leo hated to think of how he'll be when the NeoFoot actually showed back up in the area. Leo was definitely going to have to come up with a plan to deal with that. But, for now, Raph had stepped out to the garage for a few minutes to make a quick call, giving Leo a much needed moment to breath.

And, even though Raph had definitely told Leo to just chill on the couch and listen to the radio his brother had set up for him while he stepped out, Leo was feeling a little ornery and contrary, and decided to instead use the moment to make himself a cup of tea. Because he knew that with the current mood that Raph was in, he'd panic over Leo doing anything other than freaking breathing, much less, heaven forbid, heat up water!

Leo sighed and turned towards the cupboard nearby, remembering that it had been the area his brothers had gone to when making tea for him earlier. Swinging the door open, he spent a second sniffing at the shelves, trying to get an idea of what he was 'looking' at. He could smell a variety of cooking spices and dried foods.

And, very faintly among the smells, his favorite jasmine tea. Bingo.

He lifted a hand and rested his fingertips lightly against the lip of the shelf, tapping it gently and feeling the tremors of the vibrations move through all the various items scattered around in there, giving him vague and faint outlines in the darkness. He frowned, realizing that this wasn't exactly going to be easy. Reaching in and shifting aside a few bottles, he absently made a note to work with his brothers to rearrange the pantry later. Right now, it seemed like everything was tossed in there pretty haphazardly in a pile. Which made total sense as the kitchen was usually Mikey's domain, and Leo could only guess at what thought process went into his orange brother's organization process. He COULD wait and ask Raph when he came back, of course, but at the moment, with the way his brothers were acting, he felt like he needed to prove every ounce of independence that he could.

WIth a sigh, he climbed up to kneel on the counter, sniffing carefully and gingerly feeling out the shelves in the pantry in search of the tea tin. Finally, using a combination of scents and vibrations, Leo was able to pinpoint a familiarly shaped tin behind another box, and pulled out his canister of tea with a sense of satisfaction just as he heard the water starting to roil in the kettle. Perfect.

He busied himself preparing the tea, and was just finishing up when he heard the door open and Raph's soft footsteps walking back into the lair.

"Everything okay?" he called over as he moved the teacup over on the counter and lifted up the kettle, preparing to pour himself some tea.

"Hm? Oh. Yeah." Raph cleared his throat, footsteps padding across the floor as he walked over. "Donnie found the items he was looking for, and they said they'll be back in only a FUCK! LEO! Watch out!"

Raph's voice was filled with such panic and alarm that Leo instinctively jumped back, trying desperately to sense whatever danger around him his brother obviously saw. What was threatening him?! He couldn't see or sense anything!

But he realized his mistake a second too late. He had been in the middle of pouring his tea when startled by Raph's cry, and he yelped as steaming hot water missed the cup and instead splashed over his hand. Cursing under his breath, he hurriedly set the kettle onto the counter and rushed over to the sink, quickly flipping the cold water on and shoving his burned hand underneath.

"Fuck!" Raph was at his side immediately, grabbing his hand, holding his hand underneath the stream of cold water, trying to soothe the burn. "Leo! Fuck! Are you okay?!"

"Fine! Fine! I'm fine!" Leo hissed, wincing in pain, and concentrated on the cold water that was slowly numbing the burning pain. "It's not serious, thankfully." He turned to his brother in frustration. "Why did you yell at me like that? You startled me!"

"Why did I…? Leo! I walk into the room to see you ready to pour boiling water all over your hand!" Raph's voice snapped at him, his strong hand still holding Leo's hand firmly under the running water. "What were you thinking, ya damned idiot?!"

"Wha…?! I was just…! What were YOU thinking?!" Leo sputtered back angrily. "Raph! You don't shout at somebody like that when they're handling something hot! You startled me, that's the only reason I spilled! Blind or not, anybody would jump when yelled at like that!"

Raph's aura spiked with guilt, but he just huffed and continued to concentrate on Leo's hand. "Well, I wouldn't have shouted at you if you weren't doing something stupid! Dammit, Leo, I was only stepping out for like five fuckin' minutes! I could have made you some damned tea when I came back!"

"I am perfectly capable of making my own tea!" Leo yanked his hand from Raph's panicked grasp. "Raph! I'm not helpless by any means! You guys need to stop treating me like I am! It's insulting!" As he turned from his brother, he gingerly felt the burned area with his other hand. Like he thought, thankfully it was minor, and should heal quickly.

"Goddammit! You're… You're blind, Leo!" Raph snarled at him, his aura bristling with concern and worry. "We just don't want to see you get hurt! You have to face the facts! You just can't do things like you used to anymore!"

Leo stiffened, and before Raph knew what happened, he was flipped around and slammed onto the stone floor, hard.

Leo loomed over his prone red brother, his tone icy cold. "Dojo! Now!"

"What?!" Raph sounded startled from his position on the floor.

"Since it's abundantly clear that you're not listening to me, I guess I'm going to have to go the route of thoroughly kicking your shell to prove to you just what I can and can't do!" Leo growled between clenched teeth. "So like I said, get your shell in the dojo, now, and I'll show you!"

He heard Raph push himself up, spluttering indignantly. "What?! No! Leo, I ain't going to fight you!"

"Don't think I don't realize what's going on here!" Leo pointed accusingly at his brother's aura. "You're babysitting me!"

Raph sputtered and made several incohesive sounds, as if he were simultaneously offended by the very notion and at the same time desperately trying to think up an excuse, buying himself a few seconds by standing up. Finally, he huffed loudly as his strong hand grabbed Leo's arm once more, trying to direct his hand back under the still running cold water. "Leo, you idiot! We're your brothers! Of course we're going to want to fuckin' help you!"

Leo yanked his wrist back out of Raph's grip and took a defiant step back, glowering sightlessly at his brother's general direction with muscles tense, quite ready to dish out a well deserved beat down if necessary. "Yes, and I appreciate the help when I need it, but like I said, you're not listening to me! You're all just deciding for me what I can and can't do! Just because I need some help with certain things now doesn't mean I need help with EVERYTHING! I'm not helpless!"

"Dammit Leo!" Raph exploded angrily, fighting back as Leo kept rebuffing his attempts to grab his hand again. "Stop being so stubborn! We're just trying to protect you! We already lost you once, and I'll be damned if I fuck up like that again!"

Leo was about to snarl something back angrily, but then Raph's words sunk in, and at once all his anger dissipated away as he realized what was really going on. Suddenly everything made sense. Suddenly it was quite clear why Raph was acting the way he was.

"You... blame yourself." Leo's voice was tinged with wonder as he released his fighting pose and straightened up.

Raph froze.

Leo wondered why he hadn't realized this before. It was so obvious! Even if it wasn't in any way, shape, or form remotely his fault, of course Raph would blame himself for Leo's blindness. Leo knew this, because he was self aware enough to know that if their positions were reversed, if it had been one of his brothers lost and thought dead for years only to come back now blind, he'd himself would probably be doing the exact same thing.

Raph, for his part, had gone completely silent in front of Leo at those words.

There it was, the secret heart of the matter, out in the open and plain for all to see. His normally brilliant, fiery red aura was for once deathly still, almost frozen and cringing in on itself, waiting expectantly with held breath. It was as if Leo had just stumbled upon a horrible truth, and Raph could do nothing but stand there before him, awaiting the judgement from his big brother for his unforgivable sin that he so obviously committed.

Leo wished desperately that he could see his brother's face. He hesitantly reached out to touch his brother's cheek, noting with concern the way Raph flinched under his touch "Raph... " He said softly.."You have to know that what happened was not your fault."

And that was the lynchpin that burst the bottled up emotional bubble.

"Bullshit!' Raph exploded angrily, his voice raw with pure emotion as he swept Leo's hand away from him. He pointed a trembling finger straight at Leo's face (as far as Leo could tell) as he spat out, "How can you say that?! I was right there with you! I could've done something!"

"Raph, there was nothing…" Leo started to say, but Raph just continued right over him, his voice almost cracking with the intensity with which he spoke.

"Don't even say it, Leo! You went through two years of hell, and are now fucking BLIND, because I fucked up! I was supposed to protect you! And if I had just done my one damned job and had your back, like you were trusting me to, then your eyes wouldn't have gotten fucked up! If I had moved faster, if I had just been better, then you wouldn't have… wouldn't have…" His voice trailed off as it hitched slightly.

Leo exhaled slowly, and reached up to gently wrap his hand against Raph's cheek, pressing their foreheads tightly together just like they had always done since they were toddlers.

Raph swallowed hard, before whispering harshly. "You fell. You fell, Leo, right in front of me and… and I... I couldn't catch you."

Leo shook his head, not breaking contact with Raph as he did so. "I'm here, Raph." he told his brother, trembling with so many different emotions under his touch, firmly. "I promise you, I'm really here. You didn't lose me."

Raph's hand shakily grabbed at Leo's, pressing his face harder into the embrace, apparently just breathing in his brother's scent for a moment while he tried to keep himself from completely falling apart. Leo noticed the salty smell of tears starting to flow.

"Leo…" he finally admitted thickly. "It was fucking hell."

Leo didn't know what to say. He didn't even want to imagine losing one of his brothers. If he had made it home, only to discover... He shuddered. Slowly, he and Raph slumped down, until they were sitting together on the kitchen floor, leaning their shells against the wooden cabinets behind them.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it back sooner." Leo brushed his fingers against the frayed cloth of Raph's mask, imagining the exact shade red that had to be there right under his fingertips. "With the lair... and everything that happened with the NeoFoot while I was gone. I should've been there for you."

Raph shook his head as it leaned against Leo's. "Wasn't your fault."

"Just like it isn't yours." Leo reminded him with a wry twist of his mouth, reaching up to gently boop his brother on the tip of his snout. "And yet... Despite both of us knowing that at some level, we all know that we'll keep on blaming ourselves, like the idiots we both are."

At that, Raph gave a dry, horse chuckle and shook his head helplessly. "Yeah. I guess we are. " He trailed off, and his voice grew fainter and more serious once more. "I just keep thinking… What if… " He paused, and Leo felt his face crinkling into a wince as he licked his dry lips and whispered hoarsely, "I can't lose you again, Leo. I… I just can't. I can't do that all again."

Leo exhaled and closed his eyes, rubbing his brother's cheek for a minute, noting the tear streaks now starting to make their way down, no matter how hard Raph tried to fight them. Finally, he spoke. "Raph. I can't promise I won't ever die. I wish I could, but I can't. And I won't lie to you and say that nothing bad will happen, to any of us, in the future. You know as well as I do how dangerous our lives are."

Raph shuddered as he reached up to angrily wipe his cheek, and nodded mutely, trying to pull away.

Leo held him close, though, reaching up with both hands now to cradle Raph's face and focusing all his attention on his next words. "But listen to me, Raph. I can promise you this. I will swear to you upon my very honor and soul."

Raph stilled, and Leo could almost feel the intensity of his gaze on him as he waited, frozen in place, to hear what his older brother was going to say. Leo didn't make such vows lightly, and his brothers knew this.

"Raph," he said seriously, still cradling his brother's face. "This I swear to you. If I die, I will come back to haunt you."

He felt Raph blink in surprise, and then burst out laughing, obviously caught completely off guard. He pushed Leo away and punched him in the arm lightly. "You asshole! I'm serious!"

Leo laughed, half heartedly dodging the punch. "So am I!" He rubbed his arm ruefully, shrugging as he glanced in Raph's direction. "Spirits and ghosts do exist, and visit the mortal realm. We've met them before. And I know that I'm stubborn enough that I won't ever leave you guys, even if something happens to me." He gave his brother's aura a small, lopsided smile. "So I promise, Raph. You won't ever lose me forever."

Raph grew really quiet for a moment, then sniffed, and murmured. "Yeah." Then he gave a wry chuckle, which grew into a hoarse laugh, followed by a slight thunk as his head leaned back against the cupboards behind him. "Okay, not going to lie, that's really, really dumb, Leo. But, for some stupid reason, it makes me feel a whole lot better."

Leo gave a smile in his direction, leaning back against the cupboard as well. He was surprised when he felt Raph's hand reached over, and his strong, scarred fingers wrapped around Leo's own, squeezing them warmly.

"And.. Leo?" Raph cleared his throat, obviously feeling a little embarrassed and trying to act nonchalant. "Same. Same for me, bro. I promise that too. Even if... If I end up kicking it someday… I ain't going to leave you by yourself either."

Those words meant more to Leo than he could ever express. So, instead, he just squeezed Raph's hand back, and said, "Thanks, Raph."

They just sat there for a while on the kitchen floor, leaning against the counter side by side, holding hands like they were little kids again and listening to the water in the sink still running above them.

Finally, Leo spoke up again. "I'm still going to lecture you about the whole babysitting thing, y'know."

Next to him, Raph exhaled and shifted. "Dammit, Leo."

Leo couldn't help but smile.