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It's not the first, but it's hopefully the last time.
The last time they have to deal with their older brother feeling as if he isn't good enough, or that they won't listen to him, or that he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. The last time he marches around the house with furrowed eye ridges and a bunched up snout, the last time he speaks with a growl in his voice, and the last time he's the reason Raph's punching bag explodes.
Many a time, Mikey and Donnie find themselves on the couch, previously enjoying each others' company, until their two uptight brothers collide in the middle of their spacious living area. All that space to walk around each other, and they choose run face first into each other..
Now their younger brother time is sullied by incessant arguing right behind their heads, about how Raph shouldn't head off right before daybreak, about how Leo needs to get off his ass and he can leave the lair if he wants to.
With such a look of absolute irritation, Donnie pauses the movie he and Mikey were watching, and drops his arm on the arm of the couch, remote in hand. He looks to his baby brother on the right of the couch, who's slumped almost halfway to the floor, head thrown back and hands covering his face. The sight is enough for Donnie's irritation to melt away just slightly, but Raph raising his voice right behind him was enough to throw him right back.
With pinching eye ridges, Donnie turns around to look at the two, lip curled just slightly in what barely counts as a snarl. The two are chest to chest - one slightly above the other, but not enough to be such a humiliating difference. Yet.
Leo keeps his hands on his hips, a bold move if Raph ever decides to strike first, however, when looking at his face, it makes it clear why he's so.. relaxed. He doesn't look as angry as he typically would. Annoyed, yes, but not furious, not itching for a fight.
He opens his mouth to speak after Raph gets finished laying down his piece, just to close it, the expression passing into bewilderment, wide eyes of realization, then almost confusion in such a comical fashion that it knocks Donnie into a stupor. He's actually never seen Leo make these faces in such a rapid succession.
Leo stuns the room into silence with a sort of half laugh, half scoff. The humor floods his features just as fast, and he tilts his head.
"Wait a minute.." He starts, entirely too calm. Mikey's interest is piqued, and he's now looking just as intensely as Donnie, who's almost afraid of what Leo's about to do.
Without warning, the eldest lifts his hand to Raph's forehead and pushes him away with a single finger, and the brawlers stumbles back a few steps, shocked at such a childish move by the most honorable of their family.
"I don't care." Leo snurks, like clarity is finally coming to him. "Oh my god, I don't care. I'm older than you, I don't have to listen to you."
"Wha-" Raph starts to retort, but plays back what he said in his head a couple more times. "..You-"
"Don't care." Leo interrupts him, looking at his fingernails to drive the point home. The amount of relaxed he was made it clear he was serious, and he just had this real epiphany.
"I don't have to explain shit to you, actually."
Mikey snorts so hard snot flies from his nose, and Donnie covers his mouth, big eyes looking between his two brothers, fighting not to laugh in the same way.
Raph's face flushes a dark green as he visibly struggles to get his thoughts together. Leo deviated from the script, he threw him off completely. And from the way Leo's looking at him, it becomes abundantly clear that he enjoys this outcome.
"Fuck you-"
"Fuck yoouuu." Leo imitates him in a whiny voice before he could even finish, knowing exactly what he was gonna say. He barks a quick laugh at his little brother's dumb expression, followed very quickly by Mikey on the couch, who is also thoroughly enjoying this, and finishes it with a sigh.
"This is hilarious. You're hilarious." Leo meets Raph's eyes, unafraid, unstressed. He waves him away, turning on his heel.
Raph doesn't know whether to reach out for him or let him walk away. He takes a step forward the moment Leo starts leaving, and barks a "Hey!"
Leo doesn't stop, snickering to himself.
"Come back here you bitch ass-"
"Suck my dick!"
"You mother-"
"Suck ittt!!"
"Leo-!"
"I can't hear you over the sound of you sucking my diick!"
And he leaves Raph there, stunned. Mikey is on the couch inconsolable, laughing himself into silence until he could replace that with a scream. Raph makes eye contact with Donnie, who was doing so well until he decided to look at him. Donnie damn near spits on the man the way the laugh came out, and he and Mikey scream laugh in unison. Donnie didn't mean to laugh in Raph's face like that, but he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Fuck alla'ya." Thoroughly flustered, Raph stomps off to the dojo, leaving the two screeching reptiles behind him. He'll get all of them back.