It had been a few weeks since they had brought Mikey home. His physical wounds had all but healed, the crack in his shell taking a little longer than Don would like, but it was his mental scars that were still healing. Don had explained to him that it would most likely take a long time for Mikey to rebuild his self-esteem and self-confidence and for his beliefs that his brothers would be better off without him to disappear completely, if those thoughts ever did.
The lack of physical enemy the beat into a pulp for hurting his youngest mate grated on Raph at times. It wasn't as if he could beat himself or his siblings for what they had unintentionally done, but since he wasn't as good with the emotion things as either of his two brothers, he felt useless at times with Mikey's recovery. All he could do was keep the younger company and keep him occupied. Maybe if he was too busy to think, those negative thoughts would stop.
So that's what Raph did. At first all they could do was hang out and play video games or read comics, but once he started to recover physically and could move around more, Raph started dragging him to do some light work outs with him. Either helping him lift weights or just having Mikey there keeping him company as he worked on his own routine. He knew the pipsqueak well enough to know that his youngest mate loved to watch him work out, had mentioned at one point how he loved to watch the muscles move as he lifted.
The red clad turtle used that knowledge to his advantage, keeping Mikey occupied. Today, he sat on a bench across from Raph as the red clad turtle did bicep curls, reading a comic. However, the youngers' eyes were spending more time on his older mate than on the comic in his hands. Raph smirked a little, purposefully flexing his muscles as he lifted the weight he was holding, loving the little blush that stained Mikey's cheeks.
Part of the reason Raph liked to keep himself strong was because of Mikey. It wasn't to protect him although protecting his mates was a large reason he pushed himself to be as strong as he could, it was because Mikey loved being picked up by his larger mate. Even as little turtle tots, Mikey had always begged Raph to pick him up, loving the feeling of being held by his older, stronger brother. When they had been kids, he had confessed one night after a nightmare that being in Raph's arms like that made him feel safe. The fact that the red clad turtle could bring that kind of security and comfort to his brother, especially when Don and Leo could use their words to comfort Mikey, thrilled him to no end. It was something only he could do for Mikey. He would never admit it out loud, the youngest turtle already having a giant ego that needed no inflating, but it was still something he took pride in.
The last few days though, Raph could see sadness in his smallest mates eyes every time the orange glad turtle looked at him. He had let it go, hoping it was something Mikey would work out himself, but it wasn't something he wanted to let go for too long. He may not be as smart as Donnie, but he was smart enough not to make the same mistake twice. Putting his weights down, he swung his legs over the bench, facing the orange terrapin.
"Alright Squirt, what's wrong?" his voice rumbled. He hated seeing his mate sad like this.
"Nothing." Yah, sure it was nothing. Like Raph believed that for a second; his mate wouldn't meet his eyes.
"It's not nothin' if you're giving me the kicked puppy look." He waited as Mikey seemed to battle something in himself, his fingers picking at the corner of his comic book, giving away the anxiety he was feeling.
"I'm not strong like you, I'm weak."
"You're weak?" Raph parroted back, dumbfounded watching as tears gathered beneath his baby brothers eyes. Where had Mikey gotten the idea that he was weak? He was a fully trained ninja, could wield his nunchuks with bone breaking accuracy and Raph can absolutely attest to the fact from having sparred with his younger brother for their entire life that his brother was no slouch. Sure, Raph was stronger than all of his brothers, but that didn't mean that any of them weren't strong, he just happened to be stronger. Shaking his head, Raph went to kneel beside his brother, taking his chin in his hand, forcing Mikey to look at him.
"Yah ain't weak pipsqueak. There are many different type of strengths. So you ain't as physically strong as me, so what. You're strong in your own way. You have skills none of us do, you cook, you're good at art, none of us can wield a nunchuk like you can. You're agile as hell. You can run circles around all of us, I ain't see no one as agile as you." When it looked like he wasn't getting through to Mikey, Raph decided to go for broke. If being mushy was what his younger brother needed right now, he would swallow his damn pride.
"You keep us together, we almost fell apart when you ran away. We need you. Don't you ever forget that. You may be the smallest but you are not weak. Besides, I like you just the way you are. Can pick you up easily." The last words were said right beside Mikeys ear, a small nip to his cheek empathizing his point about how much Raph liked him the way he was. Deciding a physical demonstration was perhaps in order, he did just that, scooping his mate into his arms, the comic book Mikey had been holding falling to the ground forgotten as the red clad turtle carried his now smiling mate to their shared bedroom.
Strength comes in all shapes and sizes. You are not weak.