Title: Having Their Backs
Fandom: TMNT 2003
Word Count: 947
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: T
Characters: Raphael
Warning: NA
Summary: "Stay down, Raph."
"Wha…?" Raph tried to raise his head up.
"Stay down," Leo's voice was firm as he repeated his command.
A fight. He was in the middle of a fight. And he had no idea why he was down, nor did he know what they were fighting.
Notes: Another one I wrote and forgot about ^^;
Having Their Backs
"Stay down, Raph."
"Wha…?"
Blearily, Raph tried to raise his head up, more on instinct than anything else. He was lying partially on his plastron, and when he raised his head, his shoulders started to rise as well. However, a firm hand kept him in place, pressing him back down.
"Stay down," Leo's voice was firm as he repeated his command, but Raph barely had time to process it before the hand was gone and the sound of metal on metal rung out somewhere above him.
A fight. He was in the middle of a fight.
The knowledge flooded through Raph, and he instinctively looked around, feeling his blood start to pound through him as what was happening started to click in his mind.
He could hear the clang of metal on metal, the thwack of wood meeting weapons, the thump of bodies hitting the ground, the clack of shells hitting hard surfaces. His brothers. His brothers were fighting, and he was down.
Raph had no idea why he was down, nor did he know what they were fighting. His head was pounding, so he figured that had to be part of the problem, but honestly that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was that his brothers were in the middle of a fight, and he wasn't helping.
But even without knowing what was going on, Raph wasn't stupid. He knew that he couldn't just throw himself into a fight without at least taking stock of what was happening around him.
He looked around. His brothers were fighting the Foot. They were on a rooftop. Raph was laying half on his side, half on his front with the rough rooftop underneath him, probably laying as he landed. It didn't look like anyone would have had enough time to rearrange him to a more comfortable position.
On instinct, his eyes sought out Donnie first. He usually watched the brainiac's back in battle. He spotted Don about halfway across the rooftop, three Foot near him. Don was fighting hard and fast, his staff spinning with quick and deadly precision. He seemed to be unusually focused and handling the enemies around him well.
On the far side of the rooftop Mikey was bouncing around, nunchucks swirling as he bounded around, between, and among opponents. There were anywhere from three to five of them on him. Raph couldn't tell because of how quickly everything seemed to be moving, but Mikey was seemingly handling his own. Raph couldn't hear him cracking jokes like he usually did, but it could just be that he was too far away.
A nearby clang brought his attention closer to him. Maybe a couple of yards away from him Leo was fighting a group of four Foot ninja. They were pushing him, but he wasn't backing down, his swords flashing in a way that was making Raph a little sick to his stomach. Leo wasn't giving any ground, which was actually making him a target. It wasn't a typical strategy that Leo used.
It suddenly occurred to Raph that the reason Leo was holding his ground, and the reason Don and Mikey were so serious was because of him. They were trying to take down the Foot and protect him. Hadn't Leo told him to stay down, after all?
Of course, staying down wasn't his style. Especially when he saw a Foot ninja trying to sneak up behind Leo.
Raph pushed up, trying to get to his feet. He ignored the pain he felt in his side, ignored the way his head swam. If the furthest he could get was to his knees, then he'd get to his knees. Wobbly, with one hand still on the rooftop to ground him, Raph reached for the shuriken he kept in his belt and threw them at the Foot ninja that was coming up on Leo's blind side. His aim was off, but a couple of them hit the ninja, causing him to cry out and give Leo warning. Leo whirled, taking care of that Foot with his katana, carrying his spin through to take care of the other ninja he had been fighting.
"I told you to stay down!" he chastised Raph even as he fought.
"'m not good at doin' wha' 'm told, Leo," Raph responded, or tried to, but his words came out a bit more slurred than usual. Still, the fight wasn't over, and Raph pushed himself to his feet, staggering, but standing, and throwing his best into joining his brothers in fighting.
Raph honestly wasn't sure how much help he was. Most of the flight was a blur to him, and he didn't quite realize that until, suddenly, he felt himself being hoisted onto a shell, the murmurs of his brothers around him.
"Let's get home, and then you can check him out, Donnie. It's not safe here," Leo said, and Raph could feel the vibrations from his voice.
"Understood, Leo," Donnie said, and Raph could feel his hands, identified through the roughness they gained from his work, pull back.
"I'll make sure the way is clear," Mikey said, and Raph could hear his feet slapping against the rooftop, quickly followed by the metallic sounds that told Raph that Mikey had made it to the fire escape.
"We'll have you home soon," Leo said softly, "Just rest for now, Raph. We've got you."
Raph still had no idea why they had been in a fight, what they had been doing before the fight or how the fight had ended. But to be honest, he wasn't too worried about it. His brothers had his back, and he had theirs, and that was all that mattered.