Work Text:
Collections/Challenges: Whumpay, Day 22
Prompt(s): “I’ve got you.”
Characters: Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, Splinter
Rating: Teen
Summary: Michelangelo has a nightmare after the events of “Slash and Destroy”. Raphael is not equipped to handle this. Leonardo is killing it (and he has tea). Donatello.. has locked himself in his lab. As per usual.
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Raphael woke up to the sound of screaming. It was loud and terrified, echoing around the lair with no remorse.
He jumped out of bed, grabbing his sais before he had even registered that he was awake. Only as he stood in the dim light of his room, his arms held up in a defensive position, did he stop to consider where the scream was coming from. Or more accurately, who it was coming from.
Mikey.
His little brother.
He knew it was Mikey because Donnie didn’t scream like that, if at all. It couldn’t be Leonardo because his scream sounded different. That, and he didn’t scream unless he was in serious pain.
It had to be Mikey.
He cracked his own door open, glancing into the dark hallway cautiously. Across the hall he could see Mikey’s room and to his relief, the door was still shut. No intruders then..
He stepped out quietly, scanning the rest of the lair with all senses on high alert.
On his right he could see the light of Donnie’s lab spilling into the cold darkness. Before he could look to the left, he heard the sound of a door creaking open and almost jumped out of his skin. His body tensed as he turned towards it, preparing for a fight.
It was Leo. Thank fuck.
His body instantly relaxed at the sight of his older brother, and he quietly walked over to him. Raph still wasn’t fully awake, almost tripping over his feet twice on the way over. He didn’t register that Leo looked perfectly alert and conscious—there wasn’t a trace of sleep in sight.
“Did you hear that?” Leo asked softly, looking at Raph with a frown. He found himself snorting, putting his sais away before he crossed his arms.
“I think a better question would be who didn’t.”
Leo rolled his eyes, making his way across the hall to Mikey’s bedroom. Raph followed after him, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. He watched his older brother push the door open, slowly revealing the mess of Michelangelo’s room. Comics on the floor, pizza boxes stacked in various places, action figures everywhere you could see, and finally Mikey. Asleep in bed.
Raph let out a sigh, his stance visibly relaxing as he dropped his head back. “Thank fuck..” he muttered, looking back at Mikey. It was only then that he notice the terrified look on his face, the way his hands gripped the bedsheets so hard Raph feared he might rip them. He could hear the quiet muttering, the shifting, the pained whimpers.
“He’s having a nightmare.” Leo said softly. He let go of the doorknob, taking a cautious step into the room. He was careful to avoid the junk of the ground, walking over to the bed silently. Raph watched him from the doorway, suddenly feeling way too helpless for his liking. What could he even be having nightmares about?
Then it dawned on him.
His breath caught in his throat and his chest tightened with guilt. It was Slash. He knew it was Slash, there was no doubt in his mind.
Leo gently grabbed their brother’s arm, giving it a firm shake. “Mikey?” He said quietly. At the lack of a response, he shook him again. Mikey didn’t do anything but shift on the bed, his head rocking against the pillows. Raph had frowned, but the next thing he knew Michelangelo was full on thrashing, kicking and screaming. Leo somehow managed to hold on to his arm, jumping onto the bed. He fought through the kicks and flying punches, somehow managing to get behind Mikey before he pulled him into a hug. Raph watched, his hands twitching with the urge to do something. To help somehow.
He didn’t even know where to start.
Slowly, Mikey calmed down, but Leo kept holding him. He rocked their brother from side to side, repeating the same things into his ear. “It’s okay. I’m here. It’s okay, nothings going to happen. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Raph felt sick. This was his fault. He did this.
Mikey finally opened his eyes, letting out a strangled sob. Leo tightened his hold, shushing him as he got accustomed to where he was. It probably didn’t help that it was still dark, but Raph wasn’t sure turning the light on would be useful right now. He turned it on anyway because he could barely see shit. Unfortunately, this meant that he saw the exact moment Mikey realized what happened, where he was, and who was holding him.
Raph was expecting his brother to cry—maybe freak out. What he wasn’t expecting was for Mikey to shut down. His face went blank, his body went limp and he stared at his door, completely ignoring the older turtles. Raph and Leo exchanged concerned glances, and Leo adjusted himself so he was sitting next to Mikey rather than behind him.
“You okay, little brother?”
Mikey shrugged. He didn’t look at Leo, he didn’t look at Raph, he just kept looking at the door. Once again, the two older brothers shared a look that clearly said what the fuck are we supposed to do?
Raph shrugged, putting his hands up in defeat. Leo gave him the most exasperated face he’s ever seen before frowning, clearly trying to figure out what to do next. He narrowed his eyes at Raph, but then he did something that had the turtle truly terrified. He started grinning. A slow smile that stretched across his face, absolutely screaming revenge. Before the hot head even had the chance to say something Leo had already started talking.
“I’m gonna go get you some tea.”
Raph wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t that. At the same time he found himself rolling his eyes, of course he would be getting tea. He was pretty sure that’s all his older brother drank.
He grumbled something about Leo marrying it and the older turtle shot him a withering glare. “It should help you sleep. Raph can sit with you until I’m back, right Raph?”
Raph glared right back at his brother, Leo smirked.
Mikey was silent.
Slowly, Leonardo extracted himself from the tangle of limbs, getting out of the bed with a small huff. As he walked by Raph he gave him his best older brother face, narrowed eyes, pursed lips, the works. He could almost hear Leo’s voice saying don’t fuck this up.
Raphael looked back at his brother and blinked.
What the fuck was he supposed to do?
He finally looked back at his younger brother, trying to figure out.. something to say. “Mikey..” he paused, letting out a frustrated huff. He was one word in and he already had no idea what to do.
Why was this so hard.
“You’re not okay, so just tell me what’s wrong.”
He wanted to face palm or smash his head into the door. Slash was what’s wrong—it was incredibly obvious, but he still asked despite the fact he already knew. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? Fuck if he knew—Leo and Mikey were the emotionally intelligent ones. Raph made it a hobby to repress everything except for his anger and pride. He didn’t do feelings.
Mikey didn’t say anything but he did pull his legs up to his chest, Raph counted that as a victory.
..Until he saw the lip wobble, the misty eyes and the slight tremble in his form. He panicked for a second, alarm bells going off in his head louder than Mikey’s scream. God why did he have to cry now—
“It hurt.”
It was so quiet he almost didn’t catch it.
Raph’s face fell, his hands balling into fists. He didn’t know what to do and it was killing him. “I’m sorry, Mike.”
His younger brother shrugged, clearly fighting back tears. “‘S not y-your fault,” he stuttered, “it was just—scary.”
Raph found himself walking without meaning too, crossing the room before he knelt onto the bed. He sat down and scooted himself over to his brother, hesitantly wrapping an arm around Mikey’s shoulders. He squeezed them, hoping that it would be comforting to him in some way. He was way out of his depth here—and Leo knew that. Probably why the smug bastard left him here.
“I should’ve protected you” he said quietly, loosening his grip. “I should’ve stopped him sooner—I should be the one hurt right now, not you.”
Mikey looked at him like he was an alien, his baby blue eyes wide with anger and pain. “Don’t say that,” he said, his voice cracking. “You did protect me, and you protected Donnie. Slash wasn’t coming after you, he was coming after us—“
“For thing’s I said.” Raph interrupted him.
“For things he took too far.” Mikey corrected, sniffling as he curled up to Raph. Raph moved so Mikey could comfortably lean against him while still keeping his arm wrapped around him.
They sat in silence for a few seconds before Mikey kept going, his voice quieter now.
“It hurt.”
Raph pressed his lips together, wanting to say something before he decided against it.
“When he did that.. I—I wasn’t expecting it, you know?” Mikey sniffed again, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “It just came out of nowhere, and then I hit the ground—…”
Raph could remember it perfectly in his head and he almost flinched. He remembered the horror, the fear he felt when Slash’s fist came down on Mikey. He remembered how hopelessly he stared while the bigger turtle bounced his brother on the cement like a basketball. The sickening cracks his shell made every time it connected with the pavement would haunt him forever.
“It didn’t hurt the first time, maybe—I think I was too surprised, but it hurt so much after that.” He was crying now, silent tears falling down his face. “I didn’t want to seem weak s-so I got up and kept going, helped you look for Donnie.” He let out a small sob, tucking his head between his knees.
The next words that came out were muffled but hit Raph like a ton of bricks. “I didn’t want you to think that Slash was right,” he paused, sucking in a shaky breath. “I didn’t want you to think that I was weak.”
Raph felt awful. He wanted to punch himself in the face. He wanted to bounce Slash on the cement like a dam basketball. He wanted to scream. He wanted to flip the bed. Instead, he squeezed Mikey tighter, clenching his free fist as tightly as he could.
“You’re not weak, Mikey.”
His little brother snorted, bringing his knees closer to his body. How he was curling up so tightly, Raph had no idea.
“I’m serious,” Raph said, nudging him softly. “I know I make jokes about it, that I call you and Donnie the B-Team, but I don’t think you’re weak.” He paused, unsure what he should say next. Was he even saying the right thing? He didn’t know but he sure fucking hoped so. “You’re my little brother, I’m always going to see you as a kid. But you’re not weak.”
He could hear the choked sobs, feel his body shaking. He shifted their positions so Mikey was still curled up like a bowling ball, but Raph was able to wrap both arms around him. It wasn’t lost on him that not even six hours ago he was in the same position with Leo, only now it was his turn to comfort his brother.
“It’s okay.” He said softly, rubbing a hand on his shell the same way Leo had, echoing the very words Leo used not even five minutes ago. “It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m sorry, Mikey. It’s okay.”
“I’ve got you.”
Leo returned a few minutes later with a hot cup of tea in his hands. He paused, smiling at the scene in front of him. Mikey had his arms wrapped around Raph’s middle, his neck tucked into Raph’s shoulder. Raph had on arm wrapped around Mikey’s shell, the other holding the back of his head. It took the second eldest a minute to see Leo but once he did, he didn’t hesitate to send him the meanest glare he could muster.
Leo snickered softly, completely unfazed as he walked through the room, sitting down on the edge of the bed with a triumphant smirk. He didn’t say anything but he didn’t have to. Raph could already hear his smug voice in his head.
Eventually, they were able to coax Mikey into drinking the tea and they all sat there in silence, letting the presence of the others comfort them. Leo had one hand on Mikey’s leg, Raph still had his arm wrapped around his shoulder, but there was someone missing...
Raph’s mind wandered to Donnie, he should be here—but instead he was in his lab. Alone. Was he having nightmares too? He’d been taken first and god knows what really happened to him, the genuis refused to give them any details.
Raph made a mental note to check on Donnie tomorrow. He didn’t trust his immediate younger brother to take care of himself if he was being honest. It was probably hurting him just as much as it was hurting Mikey, but he wouldn’t tell anyone because that’s what Donnie did. He shut down and isolated himself, dealing with the problems on his own. It pissed them all off to no end, but no matter what he did Donnie didn’t listen.
As his arm tightened around Mikey, his lip twitched into a small frown. He wished Donnie wasn’t so difficult sometimes but that’s what you get when your brothers a people pleasing genuis.
Once Mikey was done the tea, Leo took the cup, rubbing his free hand on Mikey’s head with a grin. Mikey smiled, and Leo stood up with a small stretch.
“It’ll be okay, Mike. We’ll never let that happen again.”
”I know.” Mikey nodded, his eyes were still puffy and he was still sniffling, but his voice wasn’t as scratchy. Probably thanks to the tea.
Leo gave him another smile, one where his eyes softened and his face relaxed, it was the smile he reserved for times just like this. He turned then, shutting the door behind him with a small click.
A few minutes later when Raph finally got up to leave, Mikey grabbed his arm. With still bloodshot eyes and a hesitant voice, he asked him to stay.
Raph let out a small huff but climbed back into the bed. He doubted that he’d get any sleep tonight, but that was okay.
His brothers would come first. Always.