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When Splinter failed to be present for his sons, it was Raphael who stepped in to fill the role of father.
He was beginning to regret that decision.
“Leo! Donnie! Stop fighting!” Ten-year-old Raph ordered his younger brothers. This was their third fight of the day . Raph was getting tired of constantly acting as a mediator. Donnie and Leo may be twins, but they couldn’t be more different. Or at least, that’s what they always told him.
“But he started it!” Leo pointed at Donnie, who had a few scrapes and bruises on his face.
“Offended gasp! I did not! You did!” Donnie glared at Leo, who had his own scuffle marks.
“Who cares who started it? You’re both at fault for fighting with each other. It doesn’t matter which Jupiter Jim character is the best. What matters is that you’re brothers. And brothers look out for each other.” Raph fixed them both with a stern gaze and crossed his arms. “Now, apologize to each other.” They did the opposite, groaning and glowering at each other before turning away, arms folded. Pizza supreme in the sky. Why was it so hard for them to get along?
“Apologize, or else I’ll be taking away your Jupiter Jim comics.” Raph threatened. Leo gasped, staring at the snapper with a wide-eyed, disbelieving look. When the slider realized Raph was serious, he turned to look at Donnie.
“I’m…sorry.” Leo struggled to say it, but at least he’d apologized. The sentiment softened Donnie and he turned back to Leo.
“I am too.” He admitted.
“Hey!” Leo turned back to Raph. “He didn’t say ‘sorry’! He only agreed with me!”
“I did too apologize!” Donnie retorted.
Raph groaned. This was making him feel like he was much older than he actually was. The twins began arguing, again , this time about what made a real apology. Raph pinched his snout before glancing longingly in the direction where he knew Splinter was. He wished his dad would help out. But the rat man was more interested in his dramas than raising his sons, it would seem. At least April would soon be coming over. She could help Raph with the twins.
“I made cookies!” Mikey’s sunny voice broke through the ruckus in the room. The box turtle walked in, carefully carrying a plate of cookies. “If you promise to listen to Raph and stop arguing, then I’ll make more!”
Donnie and Leo stilled in place before rushing to the plate and snatching cookies off of it.
“Thanks, Mikey!” Leo flashed a smile before retreating to his bean bag.
“What he said.” Donnie added before leaving the room, likely making his way to his new, self-proclaimed lab.
Raph gave Mikey the most grateful look he could. His youngest brother always knew how to de-escalate arguments between the twins, something Raph struggled to do. Mikey just gave the snapper a toothy grin and offered him the plate. Raph took a cookie and bit into it, gooey deliciousness melting on his tongue.
“Mikey, you have a gift.” He declared.
“Thanks, Raph.” Mikey beamed at him, looking like he might explode from the praise. “I’ve been working on getting better. I started watching Condescending Kitchen and have been learning lots about baking and cooking!”
“Maybe you’ll have to teach me a thing or two sometime.” Raph put an arm around Mikey’s shoulders. Stars formed in his little brother's eyes.
“Oh mi gosh! I would love to!” Mikey practically dragged the snapper to the kitchen, excitedly chattering away about what was best for beginners and the numerous foods they could make together.
Raph smiled, feeling more cheerful than he had moments ago.
~Six Years Later~
“Your chasm is showing again.” Leo’s voice interrupted Raph’s thoughts, pulling the snapper to the present. Raph turned his gaze to look at his brother, who was smiling despite the bandages that covered much of his head.
“Will you stop pointing that out?” Raph asked in exasperation, rubbing at his forehead.
“Nope. I bet it’ll be so deep by the time we’re thirty that your head will split in half.” Leo’s grin widened. Raph sighed, but his heart wasn’t in it. He was just glad Leo was here to tease him.
After the events of the almost-invasion, Leo had been placed on strict bed rest, ordered by both Donnie and Draxum. The slider was covered in numerous wounds, ranging from bruises to broken bones and a cracked shell. Leo had not been left alone for a single moment the last few weeks. None of his family members had been able to stay away from him long. Even Baron Draxum had been staying at the lair, much to Leo’s chagrin.
“I don’t think you should be talking so much, Sensei.” Casey Junior interrupted Raph’s thoughts. The teen was in the room with them, having never left Leo’s side since he’d been brought back to the lair.
“Why not? Just because my ribs are fractured doesn’t mean I can’t crack a mean joke.” Leo said. Raph groaned at the bad pun, but Casey laughed.
“Good one, Blue.” Splinter sat in the room with them as well. His eyes twinkled as he studied them over the top of a magazine. Raph frowned and turned to Leo to let him know just how bad his joke was. But before he could complain to the slider, Donnie entered the room. The softshell was wringing his hands and a nervous look was on his face. Raph knew instantly that something was wrong. His good mood was gone instantly, replaced by foreboding.
“What is it, Donnie?”
“It’s Mikey.” Donnie’s eyes were full of concern. “He’s…it would be better if you saw for yourself.” Raph shot to his feet.
“Where is he?”
“In the kitchen.” Donnie moved to take Raph’s vacated seat.
“Is Mikey okay?” Casey asked, looking worried. Splinter looked equally as concerned, having lowered his magazine to better engage in the conversation.
“I’m not sure. I’ll go check on him.” Raph offered the rest of his family a reassuring smile before leaving the med bay. He didn’t get far when a burnt smell reached his nostrils. He immediately sped up, heart in his throat.
Raph came to an abrupt halt when he reached the kitchen doorway, frozen in place by the scene before him. It looked as though a tornado had torn through their kitchen. Charred, black food of various shapes and sizes was strewn all across the floor and counters. The walls were covered with splatters of uncooked food. The oven sat wide open, smoke coming from its interior. The sink was piled with a stack of dishes higher than Raph had ever seen it. Shards from broken dishes littered the ground in front of it.
And in the middle of it all, sat Mikey.
The box turtle had retracted into his shell and sniffling sounds could be heard coming from it. Raph’s heart constricted at the sight of it. He carefully navigated around the mess on the floor. Once he’d made sure that the oven was not on fire, he sat next to his little brother.
“Hey, Mike, what’s wrong?” Raph wasn’t surprised when Mikey immediately popped out of his shell and latched onto his plastron. Raph put an arm around his brother.
“I…” Mikey hiccuped a sob. “I can’t cook.” Oh boy. Mikey had been so happy lately that Raph hadn’t even realized his brother’s internal struggle. Had he really failed as a big brother? Again?
It made sense that Mikey was upset. The battle with the krang had left his little brother worse for wear. His hands and arms were coated in deep scars from the effort it had taken him to rescue Leo. They shook violently, and he struggled to keep something as simple as a piece of paper in his grasp. Raph felt he knew why his brother had tried cooking despite the condition of his forelimbs.
“Mikey, you’re still in the process of healing.” Raph tried to remind him. His statement only served to make the box turtle cry harder.
“B-But I need to cook right now !” Mikey protested, his voice garbled. Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks, having soaked his mask through. Frustration was evident on his face and he was shaking. From the anger or the crying, Raph wasn’t sure.
“Mikey, you can’t force yourself to cook. You have to let yourself heal before you get back into your hobbies. Raph would know. I learned the hard way that forcing things never works.”
“T-They’re not just hobbies !” Mikey exclaimed. “T-They are how I pull us together as a family! ” A sob caught in his throat and he swallowed hard before continuing. “How am I supposed to do that if I can’t use my hands ?” Ah. Raph should’ve known Mikey would be upset about this. If there was one thing Mikey enjoyed more than cooking, it was being able to bring his siblings closer to each other.
“Mikey.” Raph’s firm tone caused his little brother to look up at him with watery eyes. “While the meals you cook bring us together at dinner time, it is not the food that draws us to the table. It is you and how good of a person you are. You’re constantly breaking up arguments and keeping us together. You’re always making sure that we are all looking out for each other. That is something that comes from the core of who you are.” Raph poked at Mikey’s plastron where his heart should be. “Not something that comes from your hands.”
“Do…Do you really mean that?” Mikey sniffled, his eyes full of hope.
“Yes.” Raph said, giving Mikey a smile that showcased his snaggletooth. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s those very same hands that saved Leo. Give them time to get better.” Mikey gave him a small smile, but it quickly disappeared. The box turtle pulled his knees to his plastron.
“Thanks, Raph. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dump this all on you.”
“Don’t apologize.” Raph snorted. “You seem to have forgotten one important thing.”
“What?” Mikey sniffed again.
“As much as we love you making sure we are all taken care of up here-” Raph pointed at his head, “-it’s important that you take care of yourself there too. Your feelings matter, Big Man.” Mikey considered that for a moment before giving Raph a genuine smile.
“Thanks, Raph.”
“Anytime, little brother. Anytime.” Raph socked him playfully in the shoulder. “Come on, everyone else is worried about you.” Raph stood and pulled Mikey up by the lip of his shell.
“What about the kitchen?”
“Raph’ll take care of it later.” Raph guided Mikey to the med bay, where his family was waiting for them.
~Several Weeks Later~
“See, Mikey, I knew you could do it.” Raph couldn’t be prouder of his little brother than he was right now. After weeks of agonizing physical therapy, Mikey was able to use his hands with minimal shaking.
“But they’re sloppy.” Mikey bemoaned, judgmentally eyeing the cookies he made.
“Dessert doesn’t have to look perfect. It just has to taste good.” Raph shrugged, taking a bite of a cookie. The flavor melted on his tongue. “And it’s delicious .”
“Thanks for believing in me.” Mikey hugged Raph, looking happier than he had since the day Raph found him in the kitchen. “I’m glad to have you as a brother.”