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Raph didn’t notice the approaching storm.
Well, he did, but he acknowledged the soft thunder the same way one acknowledged a tear in one’s shirt,: a minor inconvenience, but one that could be ignored. As he tries to figure out how far they would get before the storm officially set in, Leo stomps into his line of vision, barely giving Raph time to slide to a stop.
“Um,” Raph starts, confused., “You OK?”
“I’m tired of walking for today. We need to stop.”
Raph blinks, first in confusion, then to process what Leo is saying. “We barely started out. We need to make it a few more miles before we call it quits for today—”
Leo rolls his eyes in an almost exaggerated manner before snapping out his fan and airing himself off. “No, you promised that you would stop pushing us so hariously hard and I refuse to get my new clothes wet,” he says, gesturing to histhe long sleeveless hooded tunic he had procured in the brief time he and Doniel had been separated from Raph and Mikey.
It had taken them a few days to reunite (a few days he was struggling not to think about). When they had met up again Leo had traded in his royal garb for some traveling clothes, which had been surprising nonetheless; he had half -expected to find the two turtles tearing the other to shreds, not giving each other free clothes. But there had been a definite change since their separation. The stoic silence that he had come to know from Doniel was somehow more pronounced, his razor-sharp focus replaced by a more tired one that often had him asking people to repeat themselves. Leo seemed to hover closer to Doniel’s side when they were traveling. And at night the prince didn't seem to have any more problems sleeping closer to them. Some nights Raph could swear he heard Leo and Doniel talking to each other.
Raph looks back to the group, who have now stopped walking as well. Mikey is happily riding Infinity’s back, swinging his legs and giving Raph an even bigger smile when he looks at him; Raph makes sure to offer one back. Buddy seems fine as well. He looks to the back of the group to where Doniel normally stood (usually they took turns being at the front and back of the group since Mikey and Leo diddo not have as much fighting experience). At first, nothing seems different, but then he notices a tightness to Don’s shoulders that was not there before. His staff was summoned and hanging from his hands, which was not unusual, but held with a tightness a child would have with a safety blanket or an item of comfort.
He is barely given time to explore Don’s strange posture when Leo steps directly in his line of vision. “Well??” he demands, “Are we stopping or what?”
The bounty hunter lets out a tired sigh. “Ok fine, we’ll stop for the day.” He cannot quite cover the irritation in his voice as he tries to ignore how little ground they covered. But Leo’s haughty stance suddenly relaxes and Raph could swear a relief not matching the situation fillingfills his eyes.
“Positively blipherous! Let us see if we can find a barn to sleep in—”
“What? No, we have tents now, we can just sleep outside.”
“You’re more than welcome to depend on those tissues to protect you, but I’m finding shelter.” Leo turns towards the Phoenix and her rider. “Do you agree, Michael?”
Mike’s face twists in contemplation before smiling sheepishly at Raph. “Sorry, but Infinity gets cranky when they sleep in the rain. I think Leo’s right on this.”
Raph lets out a loud growl before dragging his hands down his face.
(#)(#)\/(#)(#)
It takes another hour for the group to find a large, abandoned barn to sleep in. The purple spider painted on the outside wall shows it has been foreclosed recently and therefore will have little to no damage to it. Like every time they see anything with the Matriarch’s symbol on it, he expects Don to look at it for longer than is expected. But this time, Leo steps in the thief’s line of vision, and surprises Raph by gently pushing on his shoulder, guiding him inside. Raph looks to Mikey to make sure he is not seeing things. But whereas Raph is confused, Mikey has a big smile on his face and shrugs.

“Maybe they’re finally friends!” he concludes with the optimism of a child as he guides Infinity and Buddy inside.
The large bounty hunter usually finds it wiser to be more suspicious, especially when Mikey is the voice of optimism,. As he ducks inside, he looks around in confusion. The barn is thankfully larger than he expected and has plenty of room for all to lay around comfortably,. The walkway overhead and door seem to indicate that the barn had also housed farmhands. Raph does a mental count of the group.
“Uh, where’d Doniel go?”
“I asked him to look around to make sure no one else is here,” Leo says.
“I- “—” Raph shakes his head. This is bossy even for the Prince, but Raph s too tired to argue. “OK, fine. Leo, Mikey, go —” - “
“No.”
Raph’s fingers instinctually twitch into a fist, as he barely keeps his growing anger at bay.
“Let me guess, you don’t want to ruin your nails?!” Leo turns to say something, but Raph already has his hands held up. “You know what? Fine! You stay here in your precious palace! Spend time with yourself since that is the only person you care about!”
Raph snatches up his cloak and storms out the door, slamming the barn door after him with more strength than necessary. He barely acknowledges the door opening behind him and Mikey’s small footsteps scampering after him as Raph stomps deeper into the woods, yanking branches off the ground for kindling with more force than necessary.
•
” “D- — don’t you think that was a little mean?” Mikey asks in a quiet voice.
“A little mean?!” Raph snaps, harder than he means to,. He mentally berates himself as Mikey jumps back in shock, looking at him with confused, soft eyes. He takes a deep breath, and picks off another branch. “Leo hasn't exactly been the easiest guy to get along with today, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“It doesn’t bother you when he talks to Doniel that way.”
Raph goes to pick up another branch and hesitates, closing his eyes as he sighs. “It — it does. Just because- —” he stops himself. He’s unable to find a justification either for why he lets Leo talk to the thief that way or for anything else. Leo wasis a Prince after all. Royalty means power, and even the idea that heLeo is somehow related to Raph makes him jittery with anxiety. But it's that same anxiety that overcomes him when he thinks about being related to Doniel.
A criminal.
He twists his face in pain as he tears off another branch, but hides it with a smile as he looks at Mikey.
“Mind helping me collect kindling, little man?” The child gives him a big smile as he scampers off to do as he is told.
It doesn't take long for them to gather enough firewood, but by the time Mikey waddles back into view with an armful of wood bigger than his body, it has already begun to drizzle. It becomes a full-on tempest that nearly takes Mikey with it. Raph has to grab the child by the ankle and pulls him along like a kite (all while Mikey flails his arms and shrieks in panic). By the time they make it into the barn they are both thoroughly drenched, and Mikey has the faraway look in his eyes of a battle-weary warrior.
Raph does not hesitate to close the door after them and drops his heavy rain -drenched cloak. “Leonardo? Doniel?” he calls into the barn. When he does not get an answer, he growls in irritation as he takes up his bag from where he set it earlier and pulls out one of his blankets, kneeling in front of Mikey. “Here, squirt,” he says, wrapping the blanket around him.
The youngest immediately brightens up as he pulls the ends of the blanket around him. “Thanks, Raphie,.”
Raph makes sure to rub his scalp before standing up again, looking around to make sure that the two are not swaggering into view grumbling. This time the sigh he lets out is more tired than angry.
“Let’s go find them, make sure they aren’t killing each other,” he says, turning slightly and letting Mikey scuttle up and rest on his shell.
He searches the top floor, which is mostly bedrooms and an eating area (where they should probably sleep later), before he goes back to the ground floor. The first door leads into a large empty space with tables and counters, probably the farmhands’ kitchen at some point. Raph tries not to think about all the people who lost their jobs here, lives ruined by an unforgiving tax hike. He sees another door with the sign ‘feed’ above it and walks over to it, raising his hand to open it.
A shaky breath reaches him.
Raph hesitates, his hand drawn back, looking over his shoulder to Mikey’s bewildered, but otherwise calm , expression. He blames the noise on the pounding wind outside before he pushes the door open.
“Would you shut that!?”
The giant jumps at the harsh tone and steps inside, closing it after him. It takes his eyes a minute to adjust and when it doesthey do, he freezes.
Doniel is sitting on a bag of feed, with Leo sitting directly in front of him, Doniel is doubled over as though doing his best to hide within his own body. Leo’s hands are holding his trembling forearms as his gold eyes glare at Raph. He presses his forehead against Don’s scalp. “It's OK, buddy, it's OK,” the prince says in a gentle tone that makes Raph openly flinch in surprise.
“-W- — what’s going on?” he asks, stepping forward. “What’s your problem, Doniel? Are you sick?”
In a flash the trembling stops, and Doniel turns away, pulling free of Leo’s touch and pulling his hood down further over his face.
“It's nothing, I'm fine,” he says in a gruff, thick voice. Leo turns and glares at Raph with such anger that when the prince storms up to him, Raph cannot help but step back. Leo grabs him by the bicep and forces all three of them out the door, closing it and leaving Don alone.
“What is wrong with you?!” Leo demands in a hushed tone that barely masks his anger. “Do you know how long it took me to convince him to let me comfort him!?”
It's only then that Raph notices that Leo’s normally clean clothes are covered in pieces of hay and grain and his hands are filthy.
”What do you mean, ‘comfort him’? He’s fine- — “
“He’s not fine! How can you see him looking like that and say he’s fine!?”
“I- —” Raph’s not sure what to say. “Why’s he so-...”
A particularly loud thunder strike catches his attention. Leo visibly flinches and glances back to the door. Raph sees the pain and guilt that fills Leo’s eyes and lets out a surprised laugh.
“A — -are you kidding? It’s the storm- ?”
Leo jabs a finger into his chest. “Don’t you laugh at him. Don’t you DARE laugh at him!” he snaps.
“I- — I’m not! But this is Doniel, — I’ve seen him jump off giant buildings and fight off twenty guards and you’re telling me this is what he is afraid- —”
Another clap of thunder cuts him off, far louder than the previous ones. The barn shakes so abruptly that he doesn’t have time to brace himself and falls on one knee, reaching back to catch Mikey before he falls. He looks around the room to see the tables and chairs have all been overturned.
“Who- — what was-“—”
The Prince squeezes his eyes shut before turning to grab the door handle again. Raph cannot stop himself from grabbing his arm.
“Was that Doniel?!” Raph hisses, “I thought he didn’t have any magic-”
.
“It’s... complicated. And right now, I must be there for him ’cause I’m all he has now.” Leo yanks his arm away and slams the door after him, leaving Raph to stare at the door in shock.
He takes several steps back and sits down on one of the few right-side-up chairs. “He’s kidding, right?” Raph asks as he feels Mikey slide off his shell and move around. “There’s no way someone like Doniel is afraid of storms-...” He looks to Mikey in hopes of verification, but Mikey’s thoughtful , yet sad expression sends that hope away.
“I always wondered why Don goes off on his own when the weather gets bad, but the last time we were all trapped in that little cave, I- — I remember sensing an intense fear. At- — at the time I thought it was some animals nearby, but it was so intense. I thought I was going to melt down without delay. Remember? You let me cry in your arms ’because I could not control my emotions. It didn’t occur to me that it was Doniel.” Mikey looks at Raph. “But it was him, wasn’t it?”
Everything in Raph wants to deny what Mikey is saying, but he thinks back to the storms they had encountered since they had started traveling together. Every time they would find shelter beforehand and Doniel would go off on his own under the excuse of ‘"needing non-jerk air’" and wouldn’t reappear until the storm ended.
Was he so scared of storms that he refused to let anything be around him out of fear of these powers Raph had no knowledge of? Or affect Mikey?
His question is answered when he hears a shaky sob escape the room. He leaps to grab the door handle but stops himself from opening it. He looks back to Mikey who is now watching him with the fragile eyes of the child he claimed he wasn’t. Raph knows his next action will help shape Mikey’s view of him for the rest of their lives.
He hurries back to the main room where the animals are resting comfortably, oblivious to the tension and the storm outside. Even so, he makes sure to give Buddy a pat on the nose before hurrying back with his and Mikey’s bags. This time, he makes sure to give the door a gentle knock before stepping in. He’s not surprised that Leo is sitting back at Don’s side with his arms wrapped around him, glaring at them as they enter. Raph makes sure to raise his hands up slightly to show he means no harm. He looks around the room at the stalls of hay and feed and realizes that Leo had been trying to muffle the noise by moving the feed around (and failing horribly). He hands off his bags to Mikey and starts stacking the hay against the wall. Out of the corner of his eye, Raph sees Leo let out a small sigh of relief before turning his attention back to the trembling thief.
The pounding of rain already seems more muffled by the bales of hay and feed and as he steps back, he cannot help but feel satisfied at his work. When he turns to Leo and Doniel, he sees that Mikey has taken up Doniel’s other side, with the top half of his body curled up on Doniel’s lap like a cat. Raph isn’t sure if that will help until he sees Don’s free hand take the youngest’s and holds him tightly. As he is trying to think of how to help next, he watches Leo’s hand rub Don’s bicep again.
“I wish your dad was here too.,” Leo whispers.
Dad? Immediately guilt replaces the satisfaction he had felt for his ‘soundproofing’ idea. Why did it surprise him so much that Doniel had a dad? He squeezes his eyes to quell the overwhelming urge to disparage himself in favor of finding another way to help. He sighs and moves closer, kneeling in front of Doniel and reaching for his cloak.
Leo’s hand suddenly grabs at his wrist with the same speed and viciousness of a viper. “What are you doing?” Leo hisses.
Protective Leo - — that was something Raph would probably never get used to. Even so, he gives Leo what he hopes is a comforting smile. It does its job and Leo releases his grip. Raph reaches up slowly and undoes the clip- on Don’s cloak. Leo finally understands what he is trying to do, and he reaches up and holds Don’s hood, so it does not uncover his face as Raph wraps the other side of the cloak around Leo’s shoulders as well. Raph had figured out a while ago that Don's shadow cloak had the added ability to expand when he used it to shield Mikey from a sudden downpour. Leo gives him a soft, grateful smile before rewrapping his arm around Doniel and rests his temple on Don’s scalp without the separation but the comfort of the cloak.
It does its job, and Doniel lets out a small sigh as the tension leaves his body,. “T- — thanks guys,” he whispers.
“Anytime, Doniel,” says Raph soothingly.
The thief lets out a weak chuckle, and for the first time since they arrived, turns his head to look at Raph. His swollen pink eyes are filled with a gratitude that makes Raph’s heart hurt.
“You guys can call me Donnie, if you want.”
Raph gives him a shaky smile, and picks up the large blanket again. He manages to wrap it around himself and the younger turtles before settling in behind them like a protective barrier. He feels them relax against his chest and it is not long before the three fade off into a well-deserved, albeit way too early, night's sleep. It is only a little later that Raph joins them.
It was then that the four turtles finally started to learn how to be a family.