"Leo? This is Earth calling, Leonardo; do you copy?"
The blue-masked turtle blinked, looking away from the damp spot on the wall at which he'd been unconsciously staring. He glanced at his youngest brother apologetically. "You were saying something?"
"Yeah. Are you gonna eat that, or were you saving the awesome sandwich for me?"
Leo protectively gripped the plate he'd been ignoring. "Back off, Bro. It's not my fault that you ate yours in two bites."
April was kind enough to bring them take-out when she'd dropped by that afternoon, which included the best Italian hoagies on the East Side.
"And yet, you're letting yours sit there. I think you're only doing this to torture me." The orange-masked turtle pretended to pout.
"That's the number one priority on my to-do list," Leo murmured.
Mike folded his arms with a serious expression. "You okay? You didn't eat much for lunch, and you don't seem all that interested now either."
The oldest turtle inhaled sharply. It's never a good sign when your little brother has to start keeping tabs on you. "Yeah, Mikey, I'm all right. I'm feeling a bit distracted is all." He relaxed his posture and picked up half the sandwich to take his first bite in twenty minutes.
"You can take a break from thinking every now and then if you want," Mike offered. "It's not hard. I've been training Donny in the concept, so it wouldn't be difficult to fit you in too."
Leonardo smiled fondly at his brother. "I know I think too much."
Mike nodded. "It's dangerous for your health. Why do you think I play so many video games?"
"To avoid….thinking?"
Michelangelo chuckled. "You say that like it's a bad thing. I can totally tutor you, Bro. I've got the time."
The blue-masked turtle rolled his eyes, but couldn't resist grinning. "Perfect. You tutor me in relaxing, and I'll tutor you in the finer art of showing up on time for practice."
Mike stretched his arms behind his head lazily. "Dude, those rules are so rigid. We've been doing stuff at our own pace for a while now."
Leonardo raised his eye-ridges for dramatic effect. "Not when you're working out with me."
"I'll try to keep that in mind, O fearless one."
"Do I detect a note of sarcasm?"
"From me, Leo?" Mike executed one of his world-famous Cheshire smiles.
"Want me to set it for an hour earlier?" he threatened.
"No," the smaller turtle squeaked meekly.
"Then you'll be prompt on Wednesday morning, won't you?"
"Yes, fearless one."
"And knock that off."
"Your word is mine to obey!"
"Okay, Mike…"
The door to the lab opened, and Leonardo automatically glanced over. It had been a little over a week since Raphael became ill, and Luke hadn't left the den since. With the improvement in his brother's condition, Leo was hoping the man could return to his apartment that night.
"How's he doing?" Leo asked.
"Raph's okay," Luke replied. "It's been almost 48 hours since his last fever broke, so I'm lifting the ban."
Leonardo sat up at once. "Then we can see him?"
"Yes. You're free to sit with him, and talk if he's up to it. Raph isn't completely out of the woods yet, but I think the worst is behind us. It will probably be a few more days before he's on his feet."
Leo nodded eagerly. "What are you going to do? Do you feel like sleeping in your own bed tonight?"
"Leo, I'm comfortable in the lounge. If you want to kick me out, just say so."
The blue-masked turtle was abashed by what the man thought he was inferring. "What? No, Doc, that isn't it at all. I was only thinking that your apartment is a nicer place to crash than our den."
"It's empty," Luke said wistfully. "I might sleep there, but I live here, if you know what I mean."
Mike smiled. "We know, Doc, and no one's trying to make you leave. But we don't wanna take advantage of you either."
The man snorted. "Do we really need to have this conversation?" He glanced down at Leo's sandwich longingly. "Are there any more of those?"
Leo laughed. "There's one in the fridge that literally has your name on it, Doc. If you'd like to take a load off and eat, I'd be more than happy to sit with Raph for a while."
"I'm not sure how awake he'll be, but have at it, Leo. You are planning to eat at some point though, right?"
"Shell, how many mothers does a turtle need?" he scoffed. "I'll wrap it up for later."
"Don't be surprised if you can't find it!" Mike chortled.
"If my sandwich disappears, you can count on practice lasting an extra hour."
"I'll guard it with my life!"
Leonardo punched the orange-masked turtle's shoulder as he rose. "Just keep away from it, and you'll be perfectly safe."
Leo took the time to steep a cup of tea before going into the lab. The room was darker than usual, clearly designed with his brother's comfort in mind. Raphael's face still looked bare without his mask, but he seemed to be resting easily.
The blue-masked turtle selected a desk chair and scooted it closer to watch over his brother. We got really lucky this time. If Marc hadn't decided to follow him…well, I'd rather not think about it any more. He cradled his tea-cup in both hands and closed his eyes with a sigh. I'm grateful things worked out, but I don't want to see it cut that close again.
He slowly drained his tea over the course of an hour. Raphael's breathing had only been interrupted by an occasional murmur or a cough that wasn't bad enough to wake him up completely. Leo felt himself truly relaxing, for the first time in days. Raph is going to be okay, and things will move forward with Sensei soon. The docs know what they're doing.
A particularly deep cough rumbled through his brother's chest, and Raphael's body stiffened.
Leo tentatively brushed Raphael's shoulder. "You okay,Bro?"
Amber eyes took a moment to orient on him. "Fearless? What r' you doing?"
"Doc lifted the ban, so I thought I'd pay you a visit."
"I'm great company, huh?"
He smiled. "You'll get there. How are you feeling?"
"Like…someone hit me with a truck, and then backed up to run over me again."
Leo grimaced. "Sounds like fun."
"You ought to try it, Leo." Raphael slowly shifted, changing positions to face him.
"Been worried about you."
Raphael huffed softly. "That's nothing new."
"No, but you have to admit that I had a pretty good reason to this time."
"I know I screwed up, Leo," he said quietly.
"That's not what I'm trying to say, Raph. I'm just happy you're here."
His brother was silent for a couple of seconds, and his gaze felt less focused. "I don't always do it on purpose."
"Do what?"
"Piss you off. Not all the time."
Leonardo hesitated as he considered the question he really wanted to ask. "Raph…why didn't you tell me you were sick?"
"I dunno."
"That's not an answer."
"What do you want me to say? I screwed up. I almost got killed. What else is there?"
"There are a lot of things I'd like to know, Raph."
"I knew saying I was wrong wouldn't be enough for you."
"Now hold on—"
"Not everyone is as perfect as you, Leo."
"Stop!" the blue-masked turtle proclaimed louder than he meant to. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "We both do this, and it isn't fair."
"Do what? Fight?"
"Assume things. You've got no idea what's going through my mind tonight, or for the last few days. You don't know what it was like to find out you were that sick, and I drove you out the door."
Raphael said nothing for close to a minute. "You been blaming yourself then?"
"Why couldn't you tell me? Am I really that bad, Raph?"
Raphael stared at him uncertainly before replying. "No, it's not…I didn't know it was this bad, Fearless, okay? And I didn't want you to worry for nothing. That's why I didn't tell you."
Leonardo looked at the floor, working up to what he needed to say. "Raph, something has to give. I can't continue living like this with you, and I can see you don't enjoy it much either. We need to come to some sort of agreement that we'll both try to ease up on each other.
"I know that I tend to jump to conclusions and I get on your shell for things when I don't need to. But I'm willing to back off and start listening more, if you can be a little more honest with me. I won't try to keep tabs on your 24/7…and I don't think you're incapable of taking care of yourself."
"Even now?"
Leo shook his head. "This had better not happen again, Bro. I'm not kidding. You can't ever go into a fight under those conditions without asking for help. Will you agree to that?"
Raphael nodded. "It was stupid."
Leo leaned forward in his chair, grasping his brother's arm suddenly. "It was too close. Raph, we need you. This family needs you, and I need you. We're a team, and that means every part is important. I'm not perfect, and I don't have everything it takes to do this by myself. Believe it or not, I'm well aware of my failings."
"A little too aware sometimes," Raph muttered. "I haven't been helping either. I'm sorry, Leo. We can both try harder, can't we?"
He nodded vigorously. "Yes, whatever it takes. This family is worth the work it requires to maintain. When it's all said and done…it's the only reliable thing we have."
Raphael breathed in and out slowly. "We'll have to work on it then."
"I want you to know that I won't ever give up on you, Raph."
"You always were stubborn, Leo."
"Well, it takes one to know one."
His brother cracked a half smile. "I think we gotta schedule some fights to keep things interesting."
"I doubt we'll need to schedule them, Raph."
Raphael chuckled softly. "Nah. Probably not."