Six weeks later
Donatello relaxed into a grin while perusing Jenna's last email one more time. He liked to imagine her own voice as he read the letters. They talked over the phone regularly too, but her emails were something he could hold on to, and look at as many times as he craved.
He'd already finished tapping out a reply and gotten distracted by reading once more, before hunger reminded him he hadn't eaten that morning. Don logged off of his e-mail, and was already about to rise when a loud cry echoed across the Den.
"Donnie!"
He bolted upright to his feet and ran out into the living area, looking around swiftly.
"Don, help me!"
Mike's yell came again, and this time he could actually tell where it had come from.
Donatello dashed in the direction of the dojo, heart already racing.
"Guys?" He expected to arrive upon an injury, but not to find Michelangelo struggling to stay planted in between a furious Leonardo and Raphael. "Guys!"
Donatello snapped out of disbelief after a second, and hurried to help Mike contain them. The orange-masked turtle turned his entire focus on Leo since he was already facing him. It left Don with the difficult task of removing his older, bigger brother from the equation.
It had been at least a couple of years since Leo and Raph had a physical altercation of that magnitude, and Donnie had definitely never attempted to get in the middle of one before. Now there seemed to be no choice, so he lowered his stance like a battering ram and forced the red-masked turtle into the wall. His goal was to simply keep him pinned until he had settled down.
"Get outta the way! This ain't got nothin' to do with you!" Raphael raged against his hold.
"Raph, stop this." Donnie tried to keep his voice serene, while straining as hard as he could to hold him back.
Raphael managed to lash out with a stunning blow which landed between his eyes. The force of it blinded the purple-masked turtle momentarily and caused him to stagger a step back. Donnie rapidly corrected and planted his feet again, refusing to let him go. He felt like smacking his brother himself, but instead held pointed eye contact.
"You said it would never be like this with me. Do you remember? Because I do."
Raphael's glare faltered immediately. Something like regret crossed his face as his gaze dropped to the floor. When the bigger turtle stopped struggling, Donnie finally took a second to rub watering eyes with one hand.
"Let me go, Don," he requested quietly.
"You're gonna stay calm?" he verified.
"...yes."
Donatello released him, but still stared the older turtle down warily, as if his brother might explode again. Raphael merely brushed past him and stalked out of the room. A few moments later, they heard the front door slam with terrifying force. Donnie's pulse was just starting to slow when he finally sent a questioning glance to Leonardo.
"Don't look at me like that." Leo growled. "You weren't here."
"Leo, what the shell happened?" Donnie ventured. "I thought you two moved past this phase."
"He hits me that hard, and I'm not allowed to defend myself?" Leo demanded, indicating the darkening bruise on his jawline.
"Bro, I had to yank you offa him," Mike negated. "That wasn't like no defense I've ever seen."
"You weren't here," Leo repeated. "Mind your own business next time, and maybe you won't end up in the crossfire."
"Next time?" Don was incredulous. "You're already planning another brawl?"
"Drop it," the oldest turtle warned flatly.
Michelangelo refused to budge from his path. "You're not even gonna tell us what happened?"
"Raph is Raph. What more do you need to know?"
"That's not an answer, Leo," Don challenged.
"It's the answer you're getting." Leonardo cast a glance between him and Mike. "What are you going to tell Sensei?"
Their Master had occasionally been enjoying some meditation in the park around sunrise. He claimed to desire the fresh air, but Donnie couldn't help feeling like the alone time the rat spent with Luke during the outings was the most vital part. The number of times the pair often lingered a while longer for breakfast on the surface afterwards was all the confirmation the purple-masked turtle needed.
Donnie exchanged a look with his younger brother, trying to communicate without the use of spoken words.
"I don't know Leo." Donatello gingerly rubbed one of his eyes harder, and could feel it starting to swell. "I just don't know. We're gonna have to explain this junk somehow."
"Do what you want." The blue-masked turtle sounded strangely apathetic.
Leonardo spun on heel and left the room.
Don swallowed and reached for his younger brother. "You okay, Mike? He didn't put a hand on you?"
The orange-masked turtle shook his head. "Not really, no. They were only trying to get to each other. You need ice, Donnie. C'mon."
Donatello was silently grateful that neither of the older turtles were around while he trailed Mike into the kitchen.
"Sit down," Mike instructed.
"It's not that bad," he replied automatically. "Raph could have hit me a lot harder."
"He shouldn't have hit you at all!" his brother proclaimed fiercely. "Especially since I'm the one who butted in."
"I'm glad you did. As kids, there were times I wanted to, but..."
"But we're stronger now," Michelangelo filled in. "Too much damage can happen just because someone gets mad. Leo had him by the throat, Donnie. I honestly didn't know what he might do. I wasn't gonna wait to find out."
"You did the right thing."
"I feel like I did. But what are we telling Sensei?"
The answer seemed obvious, but Don was grasping for another. He could already tell Raphael felt guilty for what happened, and a joint punishment with Leonardo probably wouldn't improve his brothers' tense standing.
"Let me think about it for a while longer, Mike."
Raphael ran underground, fuming for several minutes. Working off the anger which was still at a boiling point was no small feat. After two hours it wasn't rage driving him to wander, but dread. His Sensei would be absolutely furious with them, and he'd thrown the first blow. He eventually turned back toward home and began walking in a loop, just as a holding pattern to avoid entering the Den. Soon, he grew tired of not getting anywhere.
Gonna have to face it sooner or later, stupid. May as well just get it over with, he reprimanded himself.
Raphael trudged back to the lair, and the front door felt much heavier than usual. He ventured slowly inside, holding his breath as he looked around the living area. His Sensei was sitting in one of the chairs, and looked up expectantly when he entered the room.
Oh, shell.
"Hi, Sensei." Every muscle in his body tensed for what was coming.
"I wondered when you would return," he said calmly. "Are you all right?"
Raphael cocked his head curiously. His Master didn't sound the least bit angry or agitated.
"Uh...yeah, Master, I'm fine. I just needed to walk. Have you seen the guys, or..."
"Yes. They informed me you were upset about the accident within the spar. I would prefer to be present the next time the four of you attempt a group effort of that nature. It is closer to the real battles you face with multiple opponents, but at this stage, still presents a risk."
Accidents? That's about the biggest stretch of the truth I've ever heard.
"Yes, Sensei. Sorry, Sensei," he replied immediately. "Um...is Donnie around?"
"He was in his Lab the last I knew."
Raphael bowed lightly to his Sensei, and quickly excused himself to find him.
The red-masked turtle pushed open the door without knocking. Donatello was working on one of the computers, typing at a rapid pace he couldn't wrap his head around.
Raph cleared his throat nervously. "Genius, can I talk to you?"
Don glanced over his shoulder, then wheeled the desk chair around to face him. "I guess so."
"I'm really sorry I hit you. You didn't deserve it. I was outta line."
"It's okay," his brother answered. "I'm glad you came back."
"Did you think I wouldn't?"
The younger turtle shrugged helplessly. "I didn't know what to expect. I figured you would be back, but as for when?"
"Look, Don, I meant what I said before. I hated when we were younger, and you would...Ya didn't trust me. I don't want it to be like that again. Can you really forgive me?"
"I never expected you to be perfect, Raph. All I want is for you to back up what you say with what you do."
"I'm trying. But...you lied to Sensei?"
Donnie's flinch was nearly imperceptible. "Not technically. Mike and I just didn't tell him the whole truth, and let him make a couple assumptions. He...trusts us too, so since we acted normal, he didn't have a reason to delve any deeper."
"What did you tell him?"
"I explained we got into it as a group. Might have accidentally gotten carried away, and you were upset. I never said it was a spar. He filled that part in on his own."
"Why did you lie for me and Leo?"
"We all have bad days, Raph. We figured we'd give you two the benefit of another chance. Have you talked to Leo yet?"
"No way." Raph snorted, finding the question extremely funny.
"I don't get what's going on with you guys. We're on the same team here - and you're partners."
"Exactly, Donnie. You don't have to train with his smug self every day. If he ascends any higher, he'll be climbing up on the throne with the Queen of England."
Donatello struggled to repress a smile. "He's still your brother, Raph."
"And that's why he's still living."
"Maybe this isn't my business," Don continued. "But the whole scene was really disturbing. I hated it when you two fought as kids. The potential for worse injuries is even higher now. I don't want to have to separate you guys again. Will you try and get along with him?"
"I'm doing my best here, Don. There's only so much a guy can be expected to take. Leo pushes and pushes...and yeah, I pushed back way too hard today. It was wrong, and I'm sorry I did it."
"Things seemed to be going so smooth. I haven't caught a physical episode between you in years. Why now?"
"They were really low key, for a while. There was a lot of drama and distractions going on. Since everything's settled down, we're kind of back at square one." Raphael hesitated for a moment. "My way is never good enough for him, Donnie. I swear if I don't get out from underneath his thumb soon, I'm gonna lose my mind."