When Leonardo came into the Lab a couple of minutes later, Raphael stiffened in the chair next to Donatello.
"I thought we should get this over with," Leo suggested coolly. "If we walk around not speaking to each other, Sensei's gonna know something's not right."
Raphael crossed his arms with a scowl, but didn't say anything.
"For real, Raph, you think he doesn't already suspect there's more to it? He's smarter than that. Let's just put this to rest, right here, right now," Leonardo went on.
"Your timing, your way." Raphael said mockingly.
The blue-masked turtle swore under his breath. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
"'Cause you don't get to control what's inside my head too!"
Leonardo took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I still don't want to burn for this either, and we both will if Sensei finds out the truth."
"What do you want me to do, apologize? Okay, I'm sorry I hit ya that hard, Leo. But you ticked me off, and you did it on purpose!"
"Fine. I'm sorry too," Leo said shortly.
"Great, now everything can go back to being perfect like it already was," Raphael muttered sarcastically, and walked out of the room.
"I guess that's that." Leonardo sighed in resignation, and stole the chair the red-masked turtle had been using.
"You're joking, right, Leo?" Donnie could only stare at him. "Do you honestly believe you two fixed anything just now?"
"He doesn't want to fix anything, Don. What am I supposed to do? I can't force him to talk to me."
"You could try having some patience."
"He's the impatient one, Donnie. Why are you defending Raph? You know he's got a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas. Shell, he comes down on you harder than I do!"
"He's frustrated, Leo. Living life this way affects all of us differently."
"And everyone would love more freedom. That doesn't mean we walk around like the world owes us something."
"Geez, Leo, do you guys ever talk? Have you tried to look at things from his perspective?"
"What are you, best friends now? Is that what happens when somebody hits you in the eye?"
"Can we leave that whole thing out of it for a second? I'm not on his side, or against you, bro. Will you let your defenses down for two minutes, so we can have a real discussion?"
Leo settled back heavily in his chair. "Sorry. It's been one of those days. I don't like fighting with him, Donnie. I know I baited Raph this morning...and then I was all over him after he hit me. It's been a long time since I reacted that way, and it kind of scared me, to be honest. I wasn't thinking."
"You scared us too," Donatello told him. "Have you tried to get to the bottom of your real issues?"
"You don't understand what it's like training with him all the time, Donnie. There are some days I would rather face down a pack of rabid dogs, than share a mat with him. He's so touchy and defensive. And God forbid I try to tell him anything. Any attempt on my part to help is automatically me attempting to control him."
"Do you tell him what to do?" Donatello asked pointedly. "Be honest."
"I feel like I'm on trial here." Leo's snort was uncomfortable. "I suppose, sometimes, it comes off that way. But it's not always my intention."
"Leo, he thinks nothing he does is good enough for you."
"Did he say that?"
"Why won't you just talk to him?" Donnie was getting frustrated.
"Because I'm practically the enemy where Raph is concerned."
"No you're not - that's ridiculous. It's like you're both automatically defensive, waiting to be attacked by each another. How do you live this way?"
"I think you saw the answer today. You don't know how good you've got it working with Mike."
"Mike and I have our quirks too, Leo. But we also deal with them. We don't let them fester until we're trying to tear each other's heads off."
"I'm not trying to ignore our issues, Don. I simply don't know what to do with them. Sensei says patience, patience, patience. I'm trying here, bro. Maybe it doesn't look like it, but I am. Sometimes I think he'd be happier if I left him completely alone, and he could do whatever in the shell he wants."
"That's not the answer, Leo." Donatello felt some resignation of his own. This wasn't going anywhere.
Neither of them said anything for close to a minute, and Leonardo shifted awkwardly.
"Anyway. I'm sorry you guys had to referee. It isn't your job, and you shouldn't have been dragged into this. I'll try to keep my hands to myself in the future."
"You'll try?" Donnie echoed. "That sounds optimistic."
"I'm not feeling very optimistic right now. But thanks for not ratting us out to Sensei either," Leonardo finished. Then the blue-masked turtle slowly smiled. "Yes, I realize what I just said."
Donnie went upstairs a little later, searching for his younger brother. He hadn't seen Mike for a couple of hours. He found him in their shared bedroom, lying on the top bunk with his legs splayed over the end.
"Hey. Whatcha doin'?" Donnie asked him.
"Nothin'." Michelangelo sounded glum.
Donatello climbed partially up the back of the bunk so he could see him better. "Are you upset?"
Mike sat up on his elbows. "Kinda. You think things are going good, and then you get slapped upside the head again. Why are they doing this?"
"There's no simple answer for that, Mikey. We're brothers; we're gonna fight."
"They fight way more than we do."
"Leo and Raph have to deal with it their way, Mike. As much as you and I want to make everything right, I don't think we can. It's probably better to stay out of it, unless we have to be a buffer for them."
"Can't Sensei make 'em stop? I still don't know if we shoulda lied to him. They weren't playing around this morning, Donnie. What if one of them really got hurt?"
"You can't force people to get along, Mike. You can make a little kid say he's sorry, but it doesn't mean that he actually is. Sensei could punish them from now until infinity, and I doubt it would make any difference. They have to work this out."
"I didn't like Raph touching you," Mike murmured.
"It wasn't a big deal."
"The shell it wasn't! He hit you hard, Donnie."
"I've probably had just as bad from April," he joked, only to lighten him up.
Mike wasn't amused. "That was one time, and she was still flying high off whatever those thugs gave her. It's not the same thing at all. Raph knew what he was doing."
"It was in the heat of the moment, Mikey. He stopped the moment he realized I was hurt."
"What happens when the moment heats back up?"
"I don't like hearing you sound this negative. Today wasn't the end of the world, Mike. There's a lot of stuff to work out, but at the end of everything, we're still family, right?"
"Yeah. I guess I'm disappointed is all. We felt really tight for a few weeks there. Almost losing you, meeting Jenna and Doc...Everyone was closer. I didn't wanna lose that."
"Who says we have?" Don encouraged. "One setback doesn't mean the last couple months didn't have an impact on us. Both Raph and Leo just talked to me downstairs, more honestly than they have in years. I think it means something. Now if only they could talk to each other openly, they could solve some of this."
Mike stretched languidly, and Donnie leaped down from the bed frame so that his brother could climb out.
"Well, enough of this. You want me to make ya something to eat? I'm starving, and you barely touched lunch."
"Are you ever not hungry?" Donatello grinned.
"Um...no. I'm not sure I know what that feels like."