Chapter Text
The Sando Brothers slink around the alleyways, watching for anyone who might be paying too much attention. Giant mutant crab men are quite difficult to miss. Once they're sure the coast is clear, Carl kneels down by the sewer grate and pulls out a glowing bottle from his leotard.
"This'll teach those dumb ol' turtles to be such jerks!" Carl cackles as he pulls the cork from the bottle and starts pouring the potion down into the sewers.
"You really think this'll work?" Ben asks. "It's just a dumb truth potion. How is that gonna teach 'em anything??"
"The Yokai dude who sold this to us said it was great for pranks!" Carl rebutts. "All we gotta do is pour it into the sewer, it'll mix with the water and evaportae, they'll breathe it in, and shabam! It'll work soooooo good."
"If you're sure..."
"Hey, have I ever steered you wrong?"
"You did say something about how scaring a turtle would make 'em jump right into your belly. We got barbecued."
"I don't remember that?"
"Dude, that was traumatizing! You repressing the memory or something?"
"Ohhhh yeah, the vault!"
"Wait, so you even know that you're doing it?"
"What is this, therapy??" Carl growls. "Look, the potions all gone, now all we do is wait and watch for the chaos to unfold..."
"How are we gonna watch them if we can't sneak into their lair without being seen?" Ben asks.
"........."
"...?"
"...I did not think this through."
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ 🧪 ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
Leo was always an insomniac, even before the nightmares started ruining what little sleep he could get.
But ever since the invasion, the dreams never seemed to stop.
The Prison Dimension.
Raphael constantly being ripped away from him by monsters, with nothing Leo could do to save him.
His twin covered in body horror like an eldritch beast as he was devoured whole into an alien ship.
Mikey shattering to pieces in golden glitter.
His family eaten by a train.
Leo broken in half, condemned forever to stare at that withered old photograph of his family as he soared aimlessly through space, reminded of his mistakes and the people he lost everything for.
Tonight, the dreams forced him into the night when everything went wrong. A broken-down building on a trash island, a portal that looked like twisted flesh lighting up as a hundred ninjas in a cult tried to fight him and his family as they went after the totem key to stop the portal and stop the Krang.
Leo runs up and grabs the key before anything can happen, stopping the nightmare before it can begin. But of course, it doesn't end there.
The room fills with a strange blue mist as soon as he pulls the key from its place.
"I did it guys, I did it!" he cheers, relieved that he managed to actually win for once.
"You sure did," Raphael grumbles.
Leo turns around and stares nervously at the others, glaring in anger at him as he clutches the key close to his chest.
"W-what?"
"You really think that this makes up for everything?" Raph accuses. "You think this makes up for years of you being a self-centered idiot? For being a pain in my butt, and for endangering your family constantly?"
"I-I... dude, what is going on?"
"Tell the truth, Leo, whose fault is it that this armageddon happened?"
"Mine, but --"
"And who was it that caused our family to crumble just because you were bitter and angry, who jeopardised everyone's lives because they thought they were right about everything?" Mikey asks.
"That... it was me, but I --"
"Who made everything about them always?" Donnie growls.
"Me, it was me, okay! But I'm trying to --"
"And who will always be the screw-up and destroy his family, no matter what they try to do?"
Leo sighs, chest tight as he drops the key to the ground.
"...I will."
Leo gasps as he wakes up from the dream. He chokes on his own breath, coughing and wheezing as he does.
That's odd... why does the air smell so weird?
Raph must've discovered some new stink, or Mikey made scented slime again or something like that.
Leo heaves over and over again, trying to regain his breath.
Stupid dream... wasn't even scary or ominous, but for some reason it terrified him.
He needs tea or milk something to help calm his nerves.
Leo wanders over to the kitchen. Weird, the smell is following him. And it might be just his night-sight screwing with him, but he's half-certain he can see fog or mist around the lair. Is Donnie working on something that exploded?? Sounds like him. Very likely.
Leo meanders into the kitchen and finds Raph in there, too. He's dressed, wearing his mask and wraps as if he's about to go out on patrol. He looks back at Leo and waves groggily, yawning loudly.
What time is it? The fact that Raph is acting so normally (and not as if he were caught sneaking out in the middle of the night) makes Leo think it must be early morning. Raph always gets up around 5am.
He looks really tired, though. Could he also not sleep?
"Hey, dude," Leo sighs, going around his older brother to reach the kettle. "What's up? I mean, besides us."
"Hey, Leo," Raph yawns loudly. "What are... *yawn*... you doing... *yawn*... up so early?"
"I had a bad dream and couldn't get back to sleep," Leo blurts out.
What the... why would he admit that?
Raph's head swerves to look at Leo with concern and surprise.
"Really?" Raph asks.
"Yeah, it was just a stupid dream. It really bothered me, though."
Why is he saying this? It's like he can't stop himself from oversharing!
"Well, do you want to talk about it?"
"No..."
Perfect, leave it at that, don't say anything else --
"...I don't really like talking about my bad dreams. It makes me feel weak and pathetic. I want you to think that I'm strong enough to take care of myself."
...WHY?!?!
Raph's Raph-chasm deepens.
"Dude, I would never try to make you think that you're weak and pathetic --"
"Yes you would," Leo interjects, his stomach turning at the thought of something so untruthful. "You did it all the time before the invasion! You were constantly saying that I wasn't a good enough leader --"
"But I never meant for you to think that you --" Raph pauses, taking in a deep breath. He coughs slightly, as if he inhaled something that didn't agree with him. "Leo, I'm sorry I made you feel like that. It was not my intention to make you feel weak or pathetic. I only wanted you to take things seriously. But I never should have treated you that way. I was jealous that Pops replaced me, and I kept thinking it was because he loved you more than me or that I was dumb or that something was wrong with me."
Leo's eyes widen.
He covers his mouth to hide the shock of such a revelation. Raph's hands slap over his mouth too, his eyes the size of dinner plates as he squeaks nervously.
They stare at each other in silence.
"Did..." Raph mumbles meekly from behind his palms. "...did I just say that out loud?"
Leo nods very slowly.
"Yeah, dude...."
"I... I dunno why I said that," Raph whimpers. "I... Leo, I'm sorry, you weren't supposed to know that --"
"I-it's okay," Leo stutters, taking Raph's hands to steady him. "I'm not mad or upset, just... startled. I never knew you felt that way. I wish I had. I'm sorry."
Leo pulls Raph into a hug and holds him tight.
"We, uh... we need to talk about this now, don't we?" Raph asks, his voice a hoarse whimper.
"...We should talk about it, yeah," Leo sighs. "But... I'm really tired, and if you want to wait a bit we can go back to bed first. Is that... is that cool with you?"
Leo feels Raph nod against his shoulder.
"Cool. Do you want to do a mini turtle pile in my room?"
Don't say yes. You'll look even more like a baby.
Leo feels his stomach turn as he tries to refuse. His throat constricts, his tongue feels as though it's swelling and aching, like a muscle that's strained. The longer he takes, the more he feels like he might throw up.
"...Yyyyyyeah, I'd really like that."
...GOD FRICKEN' DANGIT.
This is so embarrassing. Why couldn't he say 'no'?? It shouldn't have been that hard! And now he's a burden, and
But he feels Raph smile before taking his hand and leading him back to his room, and that makes the sick sensation in his stomach disappear completely, and the embarrassment from going to have a sleepover with his big brother fades away as well.
Leo grabs a blanket from his room before he goes back to climb onto Raph's mattress.
"I missed these," Raph says with a smile. His face is genuine, crystal clear.
"Me too," Leo sighs, though the admission makes him want to cry. "God, I wish I wasn't so pathetic."
"You think being with your family is pathetic?" Raph questions, offended.
"No!" Leo exclaims nervously. "No, no, I didn't mean that. I meant me. I'M pathetic."
Why. Oh why. Pizza Supreme in the sky. Is he still talking.
"Why are you pathetic for wanting to spend time with me?" Raph asks, cradling Leo close.
"I... I guess I think that... having to rely on others makes me weak. And needing to sleep with my big brother like I'm four years old again is embarrassing for me. I don't want you to think any less of me than you already do."
Raph squeezes Leo tight, pressing him against his chest.
"Leo... I don't think that. I don't think you're weak or pathetic for needing help or wanting to spend the night with your big brother. I'm so happy that you want to spend time with me! It shows me that you still care about me..."
"...'Still'? What do you mean, 'still'? Did you..." Leo swallows anxiously. "...You thought I didn't care about you guys anymore?"
At first, Raph doesn't respond apart from a whimper. Then he hides his face in the pillow and mumbles a response. Leo couldn't really understand what he said, but he can guess what his answer was.
"Raph, of course I still care about you guys. I'd do anything for you, I would sacrifice my life for you--"
Leo is interrupted by Raph, who holds him close and presses him tightly against his chest. He can feel the frame of his brother shaking; though he isn't sure if he's trembling with fear, anger, or sadness.
Leo lets it slide and hugs his brother back.
"I'm sorry, Raph. I'm sorry. I care about you all so much. I just... don't want to be a burden to you anymore."
Raph gives one last squeeze, and Leo can feel hot tears dripping onto him.
"You're not a burden, Leo."
Leo's stomach turns again.
Untrue.
He means to rebut, but instead finds himself crying along with Raphael. And within minutes, they're both asleep.