Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Get. Out." The words had him scrambling to his feet despite the way his vision was swimming. They'd been kind enough to drop him by a door at least, so he didn't have to go far to obey the order. A glance back revealed just what he'd expected: cold eyes without a hint of sympathy or remorse. So, he made his way through the tunnels, his only company the trail of blood he left behind.

He had nowhere to go. This was probably how he died. Looking at the deep gouges in his thigh wasn't exactly stopping precious blood from slowly pooling on the floor. Thinking back to what had started all of this, maybe there was… something he could try. If his own counterpart was so willing to help people he had statues in the city then maybe...

It was a hellish trek, every last bit of his mind focused on just. Getting. There. At least his sense of direction hadn't failed him yet. Panting, claws digging into a building's wall, but he could see it. His last chance. If they decided to kill him, leave him to his fate, he wouldn't be able to make it anywhere else even if he had another place to try. He'd never been particularly lucky, but maybe just this once. Maybe just this one time.

Dragging his feet over the last bit of distance, he ground his teeth against the fire that lanced through him at every step. He was almost there. He could feel bones grinding every time he shifted his weight. He could rest soon. The adrenaline was gone.

His hand missed the pager several times as he slowly lost the fight against gravity. Legs shaking from the effort of holding himself up, panic rising until, -click-. He made it. He… made it. Mission completed, he let himself slump to the ground. His part was done. He'd never really believed in an afterlife, but maybe it would be nice. Somewhere… warm.

…

…

…

Donnie jumped, the buzzing sound unwelcome so late at night. Not even Mikey seemed pleased by the noise, squinting at the small screen by the door like it had personally insulted him. It was eventually Leo who sighed and went to check who was at the building's entrance. The extended silence that followed finally drew Donnie and Mikey to their brother's side, the image that greeted them handily explaining his shock. "Uh, do I need glasses or is that Dark Raph just… sitting outside?"

"No, you're seeing it right, unless we all need our eyes checked."

"Donnie, go warn Cody and Serling, we need to see why he's here." With a nod Donnie turned to find the teen and his caretaker, leaving Leo and Mikey to watch the screen.

"He's not doing too much Leo… dya think he's asleep?" Leo shook his head.

"I don't know, Mikey. I'm worried they're just trying to lure us outside… I wouldn't put something like this past them."

"But we just fought them earlier, seems kinda quick." Leo just shrugged. Donnie returned a few moments later, so they headed down to the main entrance. When Mikey opened the door all three turtles were prepared for an attack. Instead, silence greeted them. Nothing happened. Looking to the side revealed Raph's counterpart slumped against the wall with- Donnie gasped, quickly kneeling beside the unconscious turtle to check for a pulse. The growing pool of blood on the concrete was much more obvious up close than it had been over the camera.

"He's alive, but he's not doing well. We need to get him inside. If this is meant to be some kind of trap… they've gone way too far." Getting the turtle inside and up the the penthouse ended up a quiet affair. Even Mikey stayed focused when he knew just how serious the situation was. Thankfully robots did most of the medical work. Unfortunately, that left the turtles themselves to stare at the list of injuries the bots' scans uncovered.

"This wasn't a trap, Leo. They aren't… I don't think they'd be this cruel for something they planned together." Donnie stared at the list in horror. Multiple fractures, a dislocated hip, deep gouges in his thigh and tail— it seemed more like the story of a captive trying to escape than their dark counterparts trying to trick them.

"What I don't understand is what would make them do something like this. It doesn't make sense." They had several questions and no answers, at least until the other turtle woke up. 

"I'm uh, going to get him some blankets. I'll be back." With that said Mikey slipped out of the room. Donnie watched him leave before turning back to the oldest,

"One of us is going to have to give some blood, by the way." Leo sighed.

They were playing games the next afternoon when Donnie finally got the ping that Dark Raph was waking up. Mikey was gone before he even had a chance to say anything, and the older siblings shared an amused look before getting up to follow him.

Mikey was waiting just inside the medbay, only going into the room proper when Donnie and Leo caught up. Most of the larger turtle was hidden under the frankly impressive number of blankets the youngest had brought in the night before, but the tip of his tail that was visible was flicking. Donnie took a spot in front of the computer, while Leo and Mikey hovered nearby to wait.

It took a few minutes, but eventually bleary, pale yellow eyes opened. There were several slow blinks before eyes widened and the turtle shot up, hissing when he strained his injuries. Instantly Mikey was at his side guiding him to lay back down, whereas Leo and Donnie's hands had gone to their weapons. "Woah, careful! You're okay dude. Take it easy!" When Mikey wasn't attacked, the other turtle actually listening to the instructions, the older two slowly relaxed.

When he kept panting, eyes squinted from pain, Donnie got up to give their brother's counterpart some extra pain medication. Now that the situation seemed to be sinking in, Dark Raph calmed down significantly. "You… helped."

"Of course we did! We couldn't just leave you out there like that." At that the other turtle huffed, completely melting into the nest of blankets. Mikey grinned, "Comfy right? This place has so many of them and they're so soft." Dark Raph hummed and gave a small nod in reply.

"He's probably going to pass out again with those meds kicking in, Mikey. Give him some space, okay?" Mikey made a show of pouting about it, but did back away so that Donnie could coax the turtle into drinking something before he fell back asleep. After readjusting the blankets Donnie turned to look back at the computer. "He's doing a bit better at least… he might stay awake next time? I can't make any promises, though."

"Hey, we know he isn't going to attack us now too! He didn't fight with me at all."

"That might just be the drugs, Mikey."

Chapter Text

Splinter hummed softly, gently running his hand over their guest's scales. He'd walked in to find the turtle thrashing in his sleep and every protective instinct told him to calm the child down. He was glad his sons had, for the most part, stayed wary of the larger turtle. For him, though… he couldn't stop seeing an injured teenager that had been created only to fight.

The turtle's own brothers had been willing to harm him to the point of almost killing him. Had the child ever been treated gently? Had any of them? He was so young, inexperienced and vulnerable in ways Splinter's own children wouldn't be able to understand. It disgusted him that any adult would do things this way. Copied memories were not a true substitute for living. Knowing how to fight in theory did not give these children the muscle memory, the practice, that had been so important for his sons' safety.

A soft whine and a bang brought Splinter out of his thoughts to murmer soothing words to the injured teen. When the turtle's tail stopped whipping against the bedframe, Splinter looked to the notes Donatello had written out earlier that day. The times listed on the paper confirmed Splinter's suspicions that the pain medication was wearing off and leading to the increased distress.

He wasn't surprised to see his son step into the room shortly after his look at the notes. "Oh, hi dad. I didn't expect you to be in here?"

"I unfortunately cannot keep myself from watching over injured teenagers. I have too much experience with them pushing themselves too quickly." Donatello grinned,

"You mean Raph pushing himself too quickly."

"He may be the worst of you four, but you have all done it." His son stuck his tongue out before turning to administer the pain medication.

"I try not to, but I have so much stuff I want to work on! I can't just sit in bed all day. By the way, this stuff isn't going to keep him asleep, so he might wake up soon. Just… so you don't get bit or something."

"I will keep that in mind, thank you."

As it turned out, the child would sleep for another hour. Splinter took the chance to read while he waited. When the turtle did eventually start to stir he stood to fill a glass of water— far enough to avoid any initial panic, but close enough to help if necessary. Thankfully it seemed they needn't have worried, the teen simply yawning and carefully pushing himself into a sitting position. Catching sight of Splinter he tilted his head and blinked, "You're… their dad. Right."

Splinter smiled gently and nodded, "Yes. Now here, have something to drink, I'm sure you're dehydrated after everything that's happened." The turtle took the cup without complaint and Splinter returned to his seat. "May I ask why you chose to come here specifically?"

The teen opened his mouth to reply, only for his head to snap around to watch the door. Splinter raised an eyebrow. Did the child have enhanced hearing? Mikey skid to a stop just outside the door, grinning as he entered the room. "Hey, you're awake! Feeling better?" The other turtle gave a hesitant nod, tail curling around his ankle. Leonardo's entrance was far less happy-go-lucky.

"Mikey we don't know if he's safe-!"

"I can confirm that everything is fine, Leonardo, you have nothing to stress over. Come, sit." Seeing Mikey safe, Leonardo's shoulders sagged in relief as he moved to sit in a chair near his father. Mikey meanwhile began chattering to a mildly alarmed Dark Raph, who seemed unsure of if he should be responding to what was being said. Donatello joined them moments later, checking the computer before he spoke.

"How are you feeling? Any pain? The meds shouldn't be wearing off yet, but we already have a boosted metabolism so I'm not sure about you…" The other teen shrugged,

"I feel fine." After a moment of hesitation, tongue darting out to lick his lips, he continued, "My hip is a bit sore still."

"Yeah that's pretty much to be expected, but I can have one of the bots scan it just in case." 

"The-" Seeing the bot pop up next to him had the turtle jerking back in surprise, eyes warily tracking the machine as it started its scan. Donatello didn't seem to notice, eyes still on the computer as he looked over the images. Mikey, however, whipped out a sketchbook and nudged the other teen until he was looking at art instead of what was happening.

"Everything looks fine, but if you want to walk around at all you should probably wear a brace for now. That way you won't have to worry about anything popping back out of place." Still distracted by Mikey's sketchbook, the other turtle only hummed in reply.

Donatello's deadpan look had Splinter smiling in amusement and shaking his head. "I can make sure he actually heard you later, my son." His son huffed, but rolled the computer chair over to sit with him and Leonardo.

"Oh yeah! Guys, we need to give him a nickname! We can't just keep calling him Dark Raph or whatever if he's sticking around." Mikey seemed excited by the idea, but the other turtle frowned, eyes narrowed.

"You… want me to stay."

"Yeah of course we do! Right, guys?"

"Mikey if he has somewhere to go we can't keep him here. Wait, do you have somewhere to go?" At Leonardo's question the teen eyes skittered away to glare at a the wall.

"No, I don't." Donatello raised an eyeridge,

"Well I'd prefer you stay until you're healed at least. I mean, we can't just let you wander around the apartment, but… yeah."

"Yeah, what Donnie said! C'mon you should stay. Pleaseeee." Dark Raph immediately looked away from Mikey's puppydog eyes, still frowning.

"I- what's the catch. You want me to fight my brothers or some shit?" When all of his sons froze, confusion written across their faces, Splinter stepped in.

"There is no catch. We would not ask you to fight your brothers. If you really feel like you must give us something for letting you stay, any information you have on Darius Dunn's plans would be helpful. However, we are not going to force you to do anything." The teen was still visibly suspicious of their intentions, but he did seem to consider his options. Splinter waited in silence for the turtle's answer. It did not matter how much they wanted to help; if the child felt like a captive they would only be able to do so much.

By the time the teen spoke Mikey was bouncing in place, quickly running low on patience. "I'll… stay. For now." Mikey cheered at the answer,

"Yes! I'm making a celebration dinner bye!" His son was halfway out the door before he'd even finished his sentence.

"He forgot about the nickname thing, didn't he?" 

Chapter Text

Dark Raph watched, tail swaying, as the other turtles dragged some extra chairs, blankets, and pillows into the room for Mikey's "celebratory dinner." He wasn't sure if he should expect the fighting over food his brothers normally did, but he had no plans to be caught in the middle. He wasn't able to slip away as easily while injured.

Mikey's appearance at the door and excited yell nearly had him launching backwards and off the bed. "Food's done! Someone help me grab plates!" Leo gave him a strange look, but said nothing as he got up to follow his brother out of the room. With Splinter and Donnie quietly talking off to the side, Dark Raph was left to catch his breath and wait for his racing heart to calm. The uncertainty was making him far too jittery. He just wanted to get this over with and go back to sleep.

It wasn't long until the brothers returned and started passing out plates. No indications of aggression whatsoever. Were they just better at hiding it? Then Mikey set a plate in his hands, turning to leave again while he stared at the food. Right, they must have enough food to go around. Of course fighting wouldn't be necessary as long as no-one stepped out of line. He would just… need to avoid doing that. If he was careful and paid attention it would be fine. 

The others waited until Mikey returned once again to start eating, and Dark Raph let their conversation fade into the background as he watched their plates. Mikey seemed to be talking the most, but would shove several bites into his mouth anytime he wasn't. Donnie seemed most focused on the other's story until Leo nudged him hard enough to bring the other teen's attention to his food. Leo wasn't eating particularly quickly either… and was Splinter eating slower than his sons? Were they testing him? The order was so muddled— it had to be a test. He couldn't mess this up.

Minutes ticked by as Dark Raph picked at his food. Sometimes it would seem like one turtle or the other was going to finish faster, but the gaps kept vanishing. He couldn't figure out the rules. What was the order? If he waited until they were all done they could take his plate away, but if he finished too quickly… he bit his tongue. He needed to focus. He had to. He was running out of time.

When Donnie was reminded of his food and caught up to the other two again Dark Raph swallowed back a whine. He couldn't run or climb with his injured leg. He was backed into a corner and he was tired and hungry and he just wanted to eat but-

"-dude. Hello?? Earth to Dark Raph." The voice startled him, a loud, defensive growl ripping out of his throat before he could stop it. Mikey jerked back, staring at him with wide eyes as he curled over his food. "Woah easy dude! Just wanted to ask if you liked it, but you were all zoned out." Dark Raph's vision blurred, heart racing. What answer did he want he couldn't do this he didn't know the answers what did they want from him?! "Uhhh guys? He's totally panicking."

He needed out, he couldn't see, it wasn't safe it wasn't safe they were going to get him- the growling picked up in volume, teeth flashing, when someone moved in front of him. Get away he didn't mean it please stop help me. "Hey, I know you're freaked out but can you try to breathe for me?" He whined, tilting his head. Just take it he'd submit just don't- please. He's sorry.

"Oh, oh buddy. It's okay please just try to breathe." Crouching— making themself smaller— not a threat? Help? Dark Raph gasped, choking on air that wasn't reaching his lungs. It was too much he'd messed up he was going to die- "I know, I know, try to breathe through your nose. You're okay, just breathe." It took several attempts before he managed to follow the instructions, but the other kept speaking calmly while he fumbled. 

"There you go. Just keep doing that. You're okay. It's safe." The panic ebbed slowly as his breathing evened out and the other made no move to attack him. It was blurry, but a turtle with a blue mask was crouched on the floor. He was watching Dark Raph with- pity? Worry? Something he couldn't identify. The other turtle smiled softly, "Hey. That was a bad one, huh?" Dark Raph blinked, suddenly struggling to keep his eyes open. "You uh, 'pulled a Leo' as my brothers have started calling it." Another blink.

"A- what?" He winced at the voice crack. Leo shrugged,

"I can explain more later. What can you hear right now?" Dark Raph stared at the other turtle, completely baffled. "It seems silly, yeah, but can you try?" He squinted but followed along as the other turtle gave him instructions.

"I'm going to touch you for a second, alright?" Leo slowly reached towards his hands and tugged them away from- he broke the plate. He broke the- "Hey, it's okay. It's just a plate and we have a ton of them. Let me wrap your hands and we'll call it even." All he could do was nod and watch as Leo dropped the ceramic pieces onto a towel and bandaged his hands.

Leo fought to keep his expression neutral as he wrapped still-trembling hands. It had only been a day, and yet here he was trying to stop himself from feeling protective of the larger turtle. Leo had noticed the other teen seemed jumpy, but that panic attack was… a lot. None of his brothers had ever just- they didn't beg like that. He wasn't sure Dark Raph noticed that he was crying.

He'd been worried about the whole thing being a trick, and maybe it still was, but no-one could fake that kind of fear. What had been the trigger? Mikey's question could have been it— except that didn't make sense. Dark Raph had probably started panicking before that point based on how hard it had been for Mikey to get his attention. Just… why? He'd have to see if his family had any ideas.

"Okay now that's done I'm going to get you a new plate and reheat the food… I'll be back in a few minutes." Dark Raph hummed, blankly staring down at his hands. At this point Leo wasn't entirely confident that the other teen was actually grounded, or if he was just that tired. He needed to ask his dad to come back in. 

Mikey poked his head in as Leo made it to the kitchen. "Uh, is he okay?" Leo sighed, looking down at the broken plate. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry please-' What caused it?

"I'm not sure… I'll ask dad to check on him after I give him the food." Mikey nodded, grabbing and passing over a new plate.

"Something's up with that guy, Leo… but not in a, like, 'he's tricking us' way. I mean, he always hung back whenever we fought and he seems pretty chill now? It's weird for someone who's supposed to hate us or whatever. Also, super weird how small he is compared to the other guys." The final sentence made the older turtle pause, thoughts grinding to a halt.

"Mikey, that was… intense tonal whiplash."

"Heh, sorry. I was thinking about it earlier and the thought just popped back up." Mikey grinned sheepishly and Leo shook his head as he retrieved the plate from the microwave.

"It is weird, but we can talk about it more later when we're all free. I'm going to take this food back."

Dark Raph was facing away from the entrance when Leo reached the infirmary, and made no move to acknowledge his presence even when the plate was set nearby. Leo frowned as he looked the other over. Even, deep breaths, but… too tense to really be asleep. Faking. Keeping his voice soft as he turned to leave, "Try to eat something before it gets cold if you can." Their father would know what to do. If this was a trick it was an impressive one.

Chapter Text

Donnie entered the kitchen with a frown. "He didn't eat anything we left out for him last night… I don't know what to do." Mikey wilted from where he sat by the stove.

"Man, really? He seemed so protective over his food yesterday! Does he just not like what we've been giving him?"

"I fear it may not be so simple, but let me try to bring him some breakfast. I will see what I can do." Mikey perked up and nodded, refocusing on cooking with a new goal in mind. Meanwhile, Splinter watched as Donnie pulled out a chair and took a seat. He'd apparently brought one of the protein bars they'd left out back with him, flipping it over to read the ingredients.

"Maybe he's allergic to something? Raph doesn't have any allergies, though… he'd never go this long without eating either…" Splinter waited silently for his son to finish before speaking again,

"It's important to remember that our guest is not Raphael, as similar as he may be. He is going to be different from your brother in many ways."

"Still… hm." Donnie slumped in his seat, resting his arms on the table while he stared at the ingredients label like it would give him the answers. The snack of course laid dormant. 

Splinter moved to rest a comforting hand on his son's shoulder, "I know you miss your brother; we will see him again soon. Raphael will be excited to see you when we return home." Donnie didn't look up. He simply continued to stare and pick at the snack's packaging with a downcast expression. It seemed lifting his son's mood would not be possible for the moment.

It hurt to see his son missing his brother so dearly. Raphael was normally a solid support for his twin in situations like these, but there was little to be done when he was out of reach.

Splinter was called away by Mikey finishing breakfast preparations, passing two plates over to his father. "One for you, and one for Dark Raph! Wait I totally forgot to give him a nickname!" Splinter chuckled and shook his head.

"That can wait for after everyone has had breakfast. I am sure he can manage for a little while longer. Now, go eat with your brothers— I will be back when our guest has hopefully finished his meal." Mikey gave a mock salute before turning to get his own plate, calling Leo and Donnie back to the kitchen.

For his part, Splinter made his way to the infirmary. "I've brought breakfast. Are you up for eating this morning?" The turtle on the bed barely shifted. Getting close enough to set the plates aside revealed that the teen was exhibiting the same behavior his eldest had seen the day before.

It was unsettling how well Dark Raph managed to fake sleep. Splinter wasn't worried about an attack, no, but rather what prompted such a behavior to seem practiced. For now he knew he would not be finding answers. He took the teen's plate and walked around to sit on the edge of the bed the turtle was facing.

"I am not sure what it is that seems to have made you feel unsafe, but we are not going to withhold food from you. I do not wish to see a child under my care getting less than they need to eat. As of right now, you are one of those children." Splinter set the plate down near the turtle's head as he continued, "You will not be hurt because of food under this roof, I promise you, and I will continue to provide it until you are able to see that." The child didn't even twitch.

Having said his piece, Splinter returned to his normal spot to eat. He kept the majority of his attention off the teen, reading between bites. It was still quite a while before there were any signs of movement. 

Catching the sound of the turtle shifting and taking some of the food had Splinter mentally sighing in relief. The boy was finally eating something. Maybe piercing eyes tracked Splinter's every move, but progress was progress. He would do things this way during every meal if he had to.

Eventually the soft clack of the plate being set aside reached Splinter's ears. He waited a moment before getting up to take it. "Thank you. Get some rest, I will bring you more later." No response, but he wasn't surprised. Walking back to the kitchen Splinter was pleased to note that Dark Raph had actually cleared the plate. Knowing the teen had managed at least one solid meal was a weight off his shoulders.

As it turned out, Mikey and Leo were also excited to see two empty plates. "Hey he actually ate something!"

"What did you do that worked?" Leo took the dishes from Splinter's hands as he spoke, adding them to the pile already taking up residence in the sink.

"I simply ate nearby and kept my focus off of him. Unfortunately, I don't think this is an issue that will be quick to resolve. For now I can handle taking him meals, and we'll go from there." His sons both nodded, apparently content as long as there was a plan. He would have to inform Donatello later.

It was a few hours before they all returned to the infirmary, Mikey no longer able to contain his excitement regarding their guest's nickname. Dark Raph was sitting up this time as they entered the room— drawing in the notepad Mikey had brought in for him. The youngest didn't hesitate to scramble onto the bed, caution thrown to the wind. Thankfully, their guest seemed mildly alarmed at worst by the sudden close proximity.

Donnie and Leo were less keen on invading the larger turtle's space, taking their usual spots nearby while Mikey started talking. "So I totally forgot about giving you a nickname yesterday. But! That just means I had time to think of a cool one!" Dark Raph raised an eyebrow, tilting his head,

"And your idea would be?"

"Slash! Y'know, because you have the cool claws and spikes. Whaddya think? Ya like it?"

"Sure. That one's fine."

"You can tell him it's bad if you don't like it." Mikey's head whipped around so he could glare at his brother. Meanwhile, Slash's gaze flicked rapidly between the two, the end of his tail curling around a blanket.

"Wh- Donnie?! Hey!"

"It's fine. I like it." The response was clipped, but Slash seemed uninterested in continuing the conversation— mouth clamped shut as he watched them all warily. Splinter decided to intervene when it looked like his youngest was about to argue.

"If he's comfortable with the nickname we can stick with it for now. It can always change later if Slash decides he wants it to." Mikey hummed in reply, but he was only put-out for a moment before he thought of something.

"Oh! I'll grab my sketchbook! You're probably bored being in here by yourself all the time, so we can hang out and draw for a bit." Slash nodded, and Splinter watched as some of the tension faded from the teen's body with the resolution of the conflict. He would have to speak with his sons about resolving arguments outside of their guest's vicinity.

Chapter Text

Leo took a breath as he held his hand up to knock on the door. He wasn't sure how the other turtle would feel about the brace, or if he'd react much at all. Hopefully it was the latter, but after his reaction to food… Leo finally knocked.

Opening the door didn't reveal much, and he didn't know why he'd felt like it would. Slash simply cracked one eye open as he entered, tracking him as Leo approached the bed and held the brace up for Slash to see. "Cody was able to make this based off of our measurements, so it should work for you. We can always adjust it if it doesn't." 

Slash raised an eyebrow— those markings were going to take some getting used to— before carefully pushing himself up and to the edge of the bed. "Do I need to stand up for this?" Leo shook his head,

"No, I'd really prefer you didn't." Slash nodded, staying perfectly still while Leo made sure the brace sat properly around his hips and wrapped the straps around his thigh. "Okay, does it feel alright? Not too tight or too loose or anything?" If the straps were putting too much pressure on his stitches they'd need another solution entirely…

Slash hummed, rubbing the material between two fingers as he spoke, "It feels fine." Leo frowned at the vague, monotone answer. He wasn't sure what the fascination with the fabric meant, or if pushing for clarification would be productive. He'd never needed to push Raph with a question like this. His brother always gave straightforward responses in these situations, but then again… this turtle wasn't really Raph.

"Do you… want to try standing- oh we're up okay-" Slash had stood before Leo could finish the sentence, huffing when his foot hit the ground. Leo himself had to take a moment to breathe. He had Raph's memories, he should know better than to rush an injury like this! Leo shook his head when he noticed the expectant look on the other turtle's face.

"You're sure it isn't pinching or anything?"

"It's fine." That was practically the other teen's catchphrase at this point. 

"If you're sure… just don't walk on it too much yet. Dislocating a joint like that weakens the muscles holding it in place, so it's easy for the bone to pop right back out if you're not careful." Which Slash should know, but Leo wasn't taking any chances.

Slash nodded, but still tried taking a few steps. Leo pretended not to see the wince each time weight shifted to the injured leg. It would be a bit hypocritical of him to tell the other to stop and sit down immediately.

Apparently content with the test of his injuries, Slash returned to sitting on the bed. Well, that meant it was time to address the other bit. "So… you have a little more freedom now." When Leo hesitated the other turtle rolled his eyes,

"Just spit it out."

"Well, you can wander around in here, but there's an alarm if you try to leave the infirmary."

…

"That's it?"

"That's it." Leo sighed, "Look, dad trusts you, so you're getting a bit of leeway. Don't throw that trust back in our faces and it stays that way, got it?"

"The hell does he trust me for? I've been fighting you."

"You'd have to ask him. Knowing dad I wouldn't count on a straight answer, but he'll give you something." For his part, Leo saw some merit in what Mikey had said about the other teen being more 'chill' than the rest of the dark turtles. He just. Wasn't going to bring that up yet.

"Hm."

"Anyway… Mikey mentioned you have some nice art. Do you draw a lot?" Perfect. Not awkward at all Leo. Slash seemed wary of the question, squinting at Leo as he spoke,

"I guess. It's… fun enough."

"Cool." Well that went nowhere. Leo fidgeted with his hands. How did you carry a conversation with someone who seemed determined to give you nothing to work with? Mikey could ramble forever, but…

Slash surprised him when he spoke up again, "So Mikey draws, and cooks I guess? Donnie does tech… what do you do? For fun."

"Oh, hm… well all four of us play videogames, but I've tried a lot more since we came to the future. There are a lot of good ones! So many of them let you go to space and explore; Donnie was surprised by the accuracy of some of them. Even if I've been to space myself it's so interesting to explore the universes these games have."

"The planets and aliens are so much more imaginative than what I've played before. Some of them let you build the whole ship, and then there are online ones and you can have a whole crew with real people-" Leo paused, rubbing the back of his neck, "Sorry, I really started going there. I like space… obviously."

Slash surprised him a second time when Leo caught a glimpse of a thoughtful look, although it was quickly smoothed over into a neutral mask. "Talk all you want. I don't care." Leo hummed, smiling slightly,

"Sure, just don't tell Mikey that unless you're prepared to be there for a couple hours." Slash huffed in response— was Dark Mikey the same way? "Well if you don't mind me talking for a while… how much do you know about making weapons?"

"That depends on what you mean by 'making them'."

…

…

…

Slash had listened… far more patiently than Leo had expected. It was the most the other had reminded him of Raph so far. Dad kept reminding them that the two turtles weren't the same person… and he knew that. He did. He saw the differences. 

It was nice, though, not feeling like he had to act like the oldest constantly. And that was just it, Slash felt older, something only Raph managed most times. Leo couldn't put his finger on exactly what made both of them able to do that.

Leo flopped backwards onto his bed. If Slash was really what he seemed, then maybe it wasn't too much to hope for the other dark turtles to- well. Maybe not. As far as they knew, the other three had almost killed Slash. They never did ask what happened, did they?

They knew Slash had been grabbed multiple times and not much else. What had started the fight in the first place? Was it actually all three siblings who'd attacked Slash or just one? Had fights been that violent before? Why was Dunn letting them happen? He had. So many questions. Would Slash even be telling the truth?

Leo groaned and started drumming his fingers against his plastron. At least the brace was on. Slash was healing, so… if he really wanted to do any harm it wouldn't be long before they found out. Probably. He supposed Slash just being an incredibly good actor wasn't entirely off the table. It would sure be… interesting, if that was the case.

Chapter Text

"What are you doing?" Donnie had entered the infirmary to the sound of breaking glass. Slash was frozen, stood in front of what had probably been an empty vial. A glance around the room told him that nothing else had been moved. Meanwhile Slash looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Hold on, I'll get a broom. Stay there."

Donnie was quick to grab a broom and dustpan from a storage closet. Instead of listening, Slash had crouched down and started picking up pieces of glass. "I'm- I can clean it. I can fix it, it's fine." Donnie frowned. Not Raph, right.

Careful to avoid the glass, Donnie knelt down and stopped the other's hand. "Hey, it's just a vial, it's not a big deal. Let me use the broom so you don't hurt yourself, uh," he watched as drop of blood hit the floor, "any worse at least." He could feel the larger turtle's hand trembling, but Slash did eventually stand up. Did he still look several shades paler than normal? Yes. Was it an improvement? Also yes.

It didn't take long to sweep up the pieces of glass. There wasn't much of it in the first place. Still… Slash seemed terrified of how Donnie would respond. It was so- his twin knew mistakes like this were easy to fix. "I'm not mad you, you know, it was probably just an extra anyway. What were you trying to do?"

Slash hesitated, tail curled tightly enough around his leg that it would probably bruise. "I- I was curious… about the equipment." Donnie blinked. Most of the equipment in the room would be more useful as a weapon if it was just thrown. Unless Raph's clone had suddenly taken an interest in chemistry, which he doubted. 

"I can explain it then, let me just throw the glass away." Hazard disposed of, Donnie tried to decide where he should start. "Was there something specific you wanted to look at?" Slash shook his head. That wasn't much to work with… he'd just start with the one that was easiest to explain.

As Donnie described how each of the machines worked, Slash appeared to slowly relax. Eventually he started asking questions; Donnie definitely caught the other turtle's tail wagging at a few points. He might have talked more about those topics. Just a little.

They'd made quite a bit of progress through the different pieces of equipment when Leo interrupted them for lunch. He laughed when he got two matching glares for his troubles, "I know you're in the middle of something, but you both need to eat lunch at some point. Can you pause the science for ten minutes maybe?" Donnie groaned, but he did let Leo drag him away.

He made quick work of his lunch, which Mikey found incredibly amusing, and hurried back to the infirmary as soon as their dad returned with the plates. He just waved it off when his dad yelled after him, "Don't overwhelm him Donatello!"

Slash actually perking up when he saw Donnie reenter the room was more exciting than he'd expected. "I can keep going from where I left off?"

"Fine with me." Slash hovered nearby while Donnie launched back into detailing how everything worked. A few minutes in, Donnie realized that this was the best opportunity he'd had to get some answers. He'd have to be careful, but maybe he could manage a few without Slash getting defensive?

"Hey, since we're looking at the medical equipment anyway, can I check a couple things?" Slash tilted his head,

"Like what exactly?"

"Just your weight and a blood sample. You don't have to but-"

"Sure, which one do you want first?" Donnie paused, stunned. That went over… well? That was new.

"Um, since you're already standing we can do weight first." Slash trailed after him, stepping onto the scale before Donnie even said anything. He ended up having to look at the number twice since he'd forgotten to grab a sticky note. "Okay got that… you should sit down while I draw blood. Mikey almost passed out once because he wanted me to hurry up and wouldn't sit like I'd told him to." Donnie just barely caught the other turtle's soft huff of laughter.

"That was an interesting choice." Donnie grinned as he grabbed the supplies,

"Yeah, he has never lived it down. He wanted to play a new game we'd found."

"Not happy when he woke up later?" Slash held out his arm without any prompting.

"Thanks. He was grumpy for the rest of the day because Raph and Leo had gotten to it first. He hates when he doesn't get to play them first." Donnie stuck a label on the sample and set it aside, "Anyway, that's all done."

"Is that it, or…"

"Well, it's not medical, but I did want to ask what happened the night you came here. What even triggered the fight?"

"Long story short they were being twats. Didn't like me hanging back when we fought you all. I guess they decided I wasn't helpful enough to be kept around."

"They were that mad about you not just charging in."

"You've fought them, you know they aren't exactly smart. Just because Blue has Leo's memories doesn't mean he's good at using the information."

"I hate that I have no argument against that… wait- you all have names? Nicknames?" Slash scoffed and rolled his eyes,

"No, I'm the only one who does that. The other three have never seemed to give a shit."

"What are the other two?" Slash's face flushed,

"… Violet and Sunny."

"Oh boy, Mikey will be ecstatic about those. He's been losing his mind over how to pester them more easily." Donnie jumped at the responding low growl and flash of teeth.

"Don't. Use those names."

"Oh, is there… some reason why?"

"They don't know I call them that." Well now he was even more confused. It wasn't information they really needed, though, so backing away from the touchy topic it was. Something more positive… right.

"Do you want me to remove those things on your neck and wrists? They can't be comfortable." He'd already confirmed that the metal pieces weren't sending any kind of signal. So, they weren't too concerned about their own safety and messing with Dunn's tech wasn't Donnie's idea of a good time. He still figured he should at least offer.

Instead of enthusiasm the offer was met with reluctance. Slash scratched at the scales surrounding the collar while he spoke, "That wouldn't be the best idea. If anyone other than Dunn tries to remove it it's set to explode. Dying isn't something I feel like risking at the moment."

"Wh- so he'd rather throw the four of you away than let you get those things off? Is he insane?"

"Would it really surprise you if he was? Really? He can always create more clones anyway. We're not exactly precious to him. Hell, the tracker in mine is broken and Dunn hasn't bothered replacing it. That should say plenty."

"Wait, does he have a remote for it? If he set it off in here…"

"It blows up if it's removed. If he had a remote I guarantee the bastard would have told us." Donnie groaned,

"I guess I'm just going to have to trust that."

"Hm."

"Okay, I guess that's all I have for now then… I'll let you do your thing. Maybe rest your leg for a bit if you want to move around more." Slash nodded, so Donnie grabbed the sticky note and blood sample and headed back towards the main room. He needed to run a test and talk with his family.

Chapter Text

It was barely ten minutes after breakfast when Donnie burst out of the lab holding several pieces of paper. "I need you guys to pause what you're doing and listen. I have several things to go over and they're important." Cody didn't hesitate to pause the game they were playing while Leo and Mikey set their controllers aside. Splinter set down his book.

"What is it, my son?" Donnie sat down next to Leo and spread out the papers on the coffee table,

"Okay, so I talked to Slash yesterday, right? I got his weight and a blood sample and I asked him a couple questions. First, health information." He grabbed the lab results before continuing,

"I don't think him being underweight is a surprise, but I figured out about what he should weigh at his height and compared it to what he actually weighs. It's. I’ll just say it’s not great and leave it there. Not done yet Mikey, hold on."

"The lab results are also concerning. Forget fighting, I have no idea how he's doing much of anything that isn’t sleeping.” Mikey frowned,

"So basically he needs to eat more and I should probably make some specific things."

"Pretty much. It also means he really needs to be able to eat without dad there… which I'm not sure how to handle. If I can get him to take some supplements it would help, but it's fifty-fifty on that going over well." Leo rested a hand on Donnie’s shoulder,

"We'll just have to do our best, Donnie. We have a start now that he's eating three full meals a day. We can build on that." Donnie sighed, looking over the results one more time. Most fell within a dangerous range. If they hadn't found Slash at the door… he would have lasted a few months at most. Even without the fight.

"Slash's health aside, I did learn a few other things. One, the fight was caused by him hanging back against us. Two, Slash gave the other three nicknames but apparently he’s never used them. Three, the collar on his neck will explode if we try to take it off and it was a tracker once but it's broken."

"The collar explodes?! What- why?!" Donnie wilted and shrugged,

"I wish I knew, but I don’t have a solid answer, Mikey. According to Slash they're replaceable— that and Dunn might be a bit crazy."

"So from the sounds of it Slash has no real reason to go back to Dunn. If we trust what he said, at least."

"We should let him out of the infirmary." Everyone turned to look at Mikey. "I mean, give trust to get trust right? I dunno if we're going to get far with him cooped up in there. If he's just a good actor then he'd have more chances to slip up with more freedom. If he's telling the truth we have more chances to help!" Leo hummed,

"Cody? What do you think? You've been quiet." Cody shrugged, tapping his finger against the arm of the chair,

"I don't mind. I think if Mikey and Splinter trust him we should give him a chance. Also, I've barely seen him and I'm curious." At that Donnie stood up and stretched before gathering the papers,

"If that's decided then I'm going to go ahead and let him out." He turned to the lab while his family went back to their previous activities. File the papers away, turn off the infirmary alarm, and… tell Slash.

Said turtle had his head tilted towards the door as Donnie entered. "More questions?"

"Oh, no, I was- the infirmary alarm is off now. If you want to wander around a bit, hang out in the living room— whatever— you can to that now." Slash squinted at the door behind Donnie's back as if there was any visual indicator for the alarm.

"You turned off the alarm… and I can just. Leave."

"If you want to, yes. You should still be careful about your injuries, obviously, but you don't need to sit in here by yourself."

"You aren't going to be watching me all the time."

"Pretty much." Slash just stared at him for a moment. Then he sighed and pushed the blankets aside, watching Donnie's reaction as he stepped out into the hallway. Donnie heard a quiet huff leave the larger turtle when nothing happened.

"Don't you have important files in this place? Weapons? Tech? Are you stupid?"

"I sure hope we aren't stupid. We weren't going to keep you in the infirmary forever." Slash looked between him and the hallway, seeming more and more confused.

"I- you- none of you make sense." Donnie shrugged as he walked around Slash,

"Well I'm going to see what game my brothers are playing. What you do is up to you." That said he headed back to the living room. Mikey was too focused on the game to notice him, so he stole the controller from his younger brother's hands and dashed to sit on the back of the couch next to Leo.

"Wh- hey! Donnie! Come on, dude…"

"It's my turn, sorry." Mikey groaned, crossing his arms and slouching into his seat. Their dad smiled and shook his head. Cody laughed,

"I'll add in another player after this level, Mikey."

"Cody's my favorite brother now. Suck it, Donnie."

"Oh no. Whatever will I do." Mikey stuck his tongue out at the deadpan response. They made their way through several levels, Mikey taking every chance he had to get revenge on Donnie, before they heard claws clicking against the floor.

Slash balked at first when he saw all of them there, but when Mikey grinned and waved his shoulders fell. He didn't entirely join them, opting to duck behind the couch where Leo and Donnie were sitting. Donnie figured it would be best to leave him be.

Any time he glanced back between levels Slash had made progress on a sketch. Mikey had been right— the art was far better than anything Donnie could manage at least. The larger turtle's tail swayed slowly as he worked.

They continued playing for quite a while, and Donnie found he didn't mind having Slash sitting behind his back. Eventually Mikey stood up and dragged Cody to the kitchen with him to get snacks— more than likely the muffins he'd made that morning.

Donnie turned in his spot, his legs dangling off the back of the couch. He tilted his head. "How do you draw the flowers so fast?" Slash's pencil stuttered and Donnie winced, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." The other shrugged,

"I think it's just because I've drawn them so many times. They're easy to do."

"I'm still impressed. The best I can make is a stick figure."

"Hm." Mikey returned from the kitchen with a plate of muffins. Cody had the rest of the snacks. Muffins were passed out, and to Donnie's surprise Slash took the one Mikey handed to him.

"They're banana and chocolate chip, so they should be good!" Donnie and Leo both gave their younger brother a thumbs up after taking a bite. Cody broke his in half and turned to Leo,

"Are we still good to go check out that new game shop later?" Leo nodded,

"Just let me know when you want to go." Mikey made a rather dramatic offended noise at the word game,

"Getting new games without me? All of my brothers are betraying me today. Goodbye cruel world, life is meaningless without my family to depend on."

"Board and card games, Mikey, we'll tell you if we go to look at video games." Just like that Mikey perked up,

"Oh okay, have fun then." Leo smiled fondly and rolled his eyes. Donnie, meanwhile, did a double take when he caught Slash taking small bites of his muffin. He was eating! With them in the room! He just barely stamped down the urge to point it out. He could bring it up later— when Slash wasn't right there.

Chapter Text

The next week started with Slash's stitches being removed— a job Donnie planned to do along with several reminders to not stress his injuries. He wasn't holding out much hope for that lecture to stick. Slash apparently had other plans and threw a curveball at him almost immediately.

The other turtle had stayed silent while Donnie grabbed the couple tools he needed, focused on removing the hip brace. As soon as he set the items down, though, "I can do them myself; you really don't need to bother with it." Donnie paused at the offer. What… did he say to that?

"It's not a big deal. Really. It only takes a couple minutes and I can make sure everything looks right at the same time. Did you want to do them yourself?"

"I don't care either way." Was the monotone reply. Okay, then why bring it up? It probably wasn't just about the stitches then, but then again he had no clue what it was actually about. Or… maybe he did.

"I might be wrong, but do you think we're expecting something from you because we've helped you? We're not doing this to get something back." Slash seemed rather unimpressed by the answer, but passed Donnie the scissors. He'd have to work with it. One cut and a few tugs was all it really took, and the injury had effectively been reduced to a few scars. They'd probably disappear within a month. Probably.

"I think you heal faster than us, which is impressive considering how quickly we heal already." He was mostly talking to himself, but Slash shrugged,

"Dunn wanted weapons. Faster healing means less downtime, so." Donnie hummed as he wrapped a protective layer of gauze over the remains of the injury. Normally he wouldn't worry about it, but with the extra pressure from the brace… he didn't want to take the risk.

"Alright, don't go running around and climbing things and you should be fine."

"I think I can manage that." Donnie really hoped he was right.

Over the next several days it did seem like Slash was actually listening. He spent most of his time either in the infirmary or the living room. The larger turtle seemed surprisingly content for someone who had been stuck moving between three rooms for what was approaching two weeks.

Mikey commandeered most of Slash's time— whether it was playing games, sketching, or slowly turning Slash into his main taste tester for new recipes. For Slash's part, he didn't seem to be complaining. He followed the youngest around like a lost puppy.

For now Slash was playing through a puzzle game with Mikey. He’d let Cody curl up right next to him—the younger teen just seemed to get away with a bit more than the rest of them. Of course, this case may have been because he was helping Slash keep track of the controls.

Leo had dragged Donnie out of the lab to watch, and to confirm something he'd noticed, "I'm not seeing things, am I? He's squinting at the screen any time text pops up." Slash was, indeed, squinting at the tv. Donnie shook his head,

"No, he's definitely having some trouble. Did you try asking him about it? There isn't much I'd be able to do besides confirming it."

"I've been trying to avoid pressuring him too much, but I guess I could try…" Leo trailed off, hesitation clear in his voice.

"You might as well— he's been okay with medical questions so far."

"That's true. I'm just worried we'll push him too hard and he'll retreat on us."

"Raph would tell you to get it over with already." Leo groaned, shoulders slumping,

"I know… wish me luck, then."

"Good luck." With that Donnie waved and turned back to the lab, leaving Leo to hover near the living room while he tried to figure out how to phrase the question. Ah, screw it.

"Hey, Slash?" The other turtle raised an eyebrow at him, "If you're having trouble seeing we can move the couch closer to the tv. You'll give yourself a headache squinting at it like that."

Slash stared at him for a moment before he seemed to have a realization and shrank away from Leo's gaze, "It's fine. You don't need to worry about it." Now it was Mikey who jumped in,

"We can move the couch, dude. It isn't a big deal, and Leo's right— you're straining your eyes." The end of Slash's tail thunked against the couch,

"It's. Fine." There was a hiss under the words that made Leo look over the other teen's posture. Slash's claws dug into the carpet, tail twitching and body tense. Obviously they'd found a touchy topic, but… how?

Leo didn't get the chance to debate on dropping the subject, however, Slash already up and out of the room before he could speak further. Leo stared at the now empty spot on the couch, "Okay, that was… new. I guess we leave him alone for now."

"I can check on him later."

"Thanks, Mikey."

Mikey knocked on the doorframe as he entered the infirmary. "Hey dude, you doing okay?"

Slash looked up from the comic on his lap, eyes narrowed, "What do you want."

"Just checking on you, that's all. Seemed like you were pretty uncomfortable earlier." Slash huffed,

"Well, I'm fine."

"That's good; Leo was worried he'd really upset you. Anyway, which volume is that? There are some good ones in that series!" As he spoke, Mikey moved to lean against the back of the bed so he could look over Slash's shoulder. He caught a soft growl, but Slash held up the comic for him to see before he could back off.

"Ohhhh, the next one's got some really good stuff. Don't skip it even if you're not a fan of the focus character— there's some important info that'll come up later." Slash just hummed and looked back down at the page, so Mikey settled in to reread the section himself.

He did manage to last a few minutes before he had to ask, "Okay who's your favorite. I gotta know. Mine's this guy!" Mikey pointed to one of the characters— an archer sniping the main villain from a distance. Slash frowned,

"Do I need a favorite?" He grumbled. Mikey shrugged,

"Nah, just curious."

"Yours seems cool." His tail started wagging,

"Yeah, he's a huge dork, though. Reminds me of Leo! Don't tell him I said that. He'll kill me." Slash hummed, but kept quiet while Mikey continued, "Oh, also, what's been your favorite joke so far? Mine changes every time I read this again." Silence. Mikey blinked when the other teen suddenly tensed. What…?

"I don't. Have one."

"Wh- really? None?" The other turtle shook his head, mouth clamped shut. Mikey tilted his head as concern took over. Something was wrong. Again. His eyes trailed back over to the other's tail. Flick, flick, flick- it'd gotten worse. What was it? Wait. Leo'd said he kept squinting at the text. Mikey pointed to one of the speech bubbles, "What does it say?"

Bingo, there went the tail. "I-"

"Can't read?" Slash hunched in on himself, tail curling up to wrap around his leg. "Wait, did you book it earlier because you thought we'd make fun of you?" None of the tension faded. Slash huffed. "Dude, did Dunn even try to teach you?"

"I think you can guess." Slash muttered.

"Yeah. So, we're not gonna make fun of you for it. Dad or Donnie could probably teach you? I wouldn't be the best at it. I can ask them if you want."

"Do whatever you want, I don't care." Mikey called bullshit on that one. He'd let it slide, though,

"Okay! I'll toss Donnie at you, just give me a minute or two." The other turtle startled at the suggestion,

"Wh- now?"

"Why not now?" Slash rolled his eyes but didn't protest further, so Mikey would count it as a win. Now for Donnie…

His brother was looking at some blueprints when Mikey entered the lab. Donnie raised an eyeridge at him when he saw who it was, "You're done with the game already?" Mikey grinned,

"It's been a couple hours, Don, but sort of. Slash got uncomfortable when Leo asked about his eyesight and ducked out. It, uh, turns out he can't read. Like, at all."

"Wait- what?" Donnie shook his head, "Well, I guess we haven't exactly seen them all try, but… hm."

"It's weird, I know. Think you can teach him, though?" Donnie thought for a moment before he nodded,

"Sure, that works out. You keep stealing him."

"Heh, sorry. I just wanted to give him some stuff to do if he's going to be stuck inside."

"It's fine, really. It's- it feels stupid for it to bother me at all. I want to spend time with Raph, and he isn't Raph."

"Yeah, but they're real similar sometimes."

"It isn't fair for me to put that on him." Mikey rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke,

"Well… you seem like you've been doing fine so far? I don't really know how to help with that one, I'm sorry Donnie."

"I'll figure it out eventually. I think."

"Yeah, I'm sure you will! Don't worry about it too much." Donnie smiled at the reassurance,

"Thanks, Mikey. I'll talk to him later."

Chapter Text

It took nearly an hour to find where Slash had hidden in the apartment. It would have been longer if Leo hadn't caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye. He turned back to find a corner of the museum room where a ceiling tile had been pushed up and away for in-progress wiring. There was Slash's tail, just barely visible when Leo craned his neck to look.

How had Slash climbed into the ceiling? There was no furniture and the wires would have- nevermind, there were gouges in the wall. That explained it. He'd managed to hook his claws into the metal and pull himself up. Somehow.

Leo saw the tail shift and frowned. Now to convince him to come down… "Slash?" Flick. "All I know is that Mikey scared you, can you ta-" A drawn-out, defensive hiss cut him off,

"Don't touch me." Leo frowned at the words,

"I couldn't reach you even if- oh." He thought back to how worried his little brother had looked, "That's what Mikey did isn't it? I'm not going to touch you." Finally Slash moved to look at him. Leo winced. Those were not happy eyes. Just a sliver of yellow was still showing—blown pupils that told him Slash hadn't truly calmed down at all.

Shit, just what had Mikey managed to stumble into? If Slash didn't bolt at the slightest wrong move Leo would be surprised. "Hey. Mikey got you good, didn't he?" Slash made a jerky head movement that he thought was a nod. Okay, time to attempt to be as unintimidating as possible. Leo slowly sat down and rested his arms on his knees.

"You okay up there? You're not stuck, are you?"

"No." Slash's head ducked out of sight, and Leo was worried he'd left until he heard repetitive scratching.

"Is something up there?" Silence. Leo did his best to keep his voice soft when he called out, "Slash?"

"No." And the scratching was back. He was getting nowhere like this, but trying to get up to the other turtle would probably scare him. Waiting it was, then.

Leo took a moment to let his family know what was going on and settled in to wait. The hard part would be ignoring the screeching of claws digging into metal.

He ended up spending a decent chunk of time meditating before anything changed. The sudden quiet was startling, and so was looking up to see Slash staring down at him. "Oh, um- hi. Are you feeling a bit better?" Based on the half-lidded eyes Leo was betting on exhausted. The other turtle blinked and Leo watched him fight to keep his eyes open. So, scratch that, absolutely exhausted.

"I'm fine." That was familiar. Well, he'd take the vague answer over nothing.

"Did you want some blankets before you pass out up there, or are you going to come down? I'm pretty sure a bed would be- oh, okay." Slash had dropped down to the floor before Leo could finish. He didn't miss the way Slash tried to subtly shake out his leg after landing. He also didn't miss the limping on the way back to the infirmary.

Slash made quick work of vanishing into the nest of blankets he'd accumulated, while Leo paused to get him a glass of water and some painkillers. Handing the items over would have gone smoothly, except it gave Leo a look at Slash's hands. More specifically, his claws.

He was careful to keep his hand open when he stopped the other from fully retreating. The immediate response was a loud, alarmed hiss. "Sorry, sorry. I know you're probably iffy about being touched right now, but your claws…" They were a mess, really. He'd noticed they were surprisingly short before, but Slash had hit the quick with the scratching, and now blood was seeping out the ends. Had he done this before?

"After you take the meds, can I take a look at them? It seems like it would be uncomfortable." A pause, then Slash finally seemed to realize that Leo wasn't going to keep him there and his hand vanished along with the rest of him. While he waited for the glass to reappear, Leo gathered some gauze, cotton pads, and disinfectant. Of course, if Slash didn't let him help he'd have to leave it for now.

Supplies in hand, he sat on the edge of the bed until Slash passed him the glass. Leo really wasn't expecting much when he turned back around, but the other teen had his hand held out. He'd also pulled the covers back enough to watch what Leo was doing through narrowed eyes. He'd take it.

Leo soaked one of the cotton pads and started to gingerly wipe away the blood. It had already started to dry. He winced when he saw that one claw now had a nasty crack right down the middle, "You've really done a number on yourself…" He murmured. Slash just stared. Leo wouldn't push. As much as he was happy there was still some willingness to trust them, he could feel how hard Slash was shaking. He wasn't just exhausted— he was still terrified.

Cleaning each of Slash's claws took several minutes with how careful Leo was being, but eventually he was wrapping the broken claw to hold it together and letting Slash take his hands away. Slash looked over his work and, to Leo's surprise, made a noise that sounded like a distorted series of happy clicks. They were too quiet for him to hear properly. He disappeared under the blankets immediately after. Leo couldn't help his small smile, "You're welcome, get some rest."

With that he left the other turtle to his own devices, and returned to the living room with the hope of updating his family on what had happened. Mikey's head snapped up as soon as he entered the room, "Is he okay, Leo? I really didn't mean to scare him. I just didn't think, and- he's okay, right?" Leo nodded,

"He did some damage to his claws, but he's resting now. What… happened, exactly?" Mikey wilted, fidgeting with his hands,

"Ugh, you know that thing I do sometimes when you're on the couch— to get you guys to wrestle?"

"You mean where you gra- oh."

"Yeah…" Mikey sighed, "I didn't realize who it was until after. Didn't grab his bad leg, but it really scared him. He seemed like he was finally starting to relax, too…" Splinter rested a hand on the youngest's shoulder,

"Do not beat yourself up over it, my son. We've likely already made mistakes that we haven't even noticed. Unfortunately, it seems like Slash has been through quite a lot and we are going to find some things that will trigger a reaction we aren't expecting." Mikey gave their dad a shaky smile and a thumbs-up. It would probably take some time, but…

"If anyone could get his trust back after that it's you, Mikey." Leo said. Besides, from what he'd seen, Slash wasn't entirely unwilling to trust them now.

"Thanks, Leo. I'll just give him some space for now… hopefully that will help? Maybe. Oh man, do you think he'll still eat? I've been making his food and now he's all spooked because of me." Donnie hummed,

"If he won't we'll figure it out. Like dad said, you shouldn't beat yourself up over this. I'll try and get him something whenever he's with me. And honestly? I think anything is still better than what he was getting."

"Yeah, that's true…" Leo was sure his little brother would feel better with time—they weren't going to let the guilt eat away at him. He'd keep his concerns about Slash's self-soothing mechanisms and the fresh strain on the turtle's leg to a future conversation with Donnie.