Moments of utter bliss can only last so long.
That's what Raphael thought as he watched his brothers retreat into their metaphorical shells.
After they saved the world from the Krang, they had the sweet privilege of pizza. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was happy.
So it really hurt to see the shock settle into their bodies the moment his brothers stepped back home. It was like the adrenaline stopped pumping. The same adrenaline that gave his brothers their spunk and their quirks and their hilarity. It was devastating to watch everything sink in within a matter of days. Merely days showed just how much this fight really wore them down.
Mikey was the least hysterical. That's not to say that he wasn't in horrible shape. It's just that he was unresponsive most of the time. He'd lost his creativity to draw or do tricks. Or maybe it was simply his lack of enthusiasm. Rather than being the family's cheerleader and general source of sunshine, he'd spend his days sleeping, and when he did leave his room, his eyes were so half lidded that you'd think he'd fall over at any second. It was like Mikey was permanently tired. He also wasn't showering, but one would think that this behavior was a typical teenage boy's general laziness. It wasn't, not for Michelangelo anyways.
-
"Morning, guys!" Raph urged onto his emotionally damaged brothers.
"I'm not hungry." Mikey pushed away an empty bowl that hadn't gotten the chance to be filled. "Goodnight."
"Mikey!" But once Mikey's shell was turned, there was no way to persuade him to stay for breakfast.
-
Donnie wasn't doing great, either. He seemed a lot more jumpy at little things. The other day, Master Splinter rewarded his sons with strawberry ice cream, and Donnie just keeled over and barfed before even getting a bite.
-
"Donnie, what are you wearing."
Donnie was donning a purple hazmat suit, likely the same one he'd used whenever their father fell ill.
"What ever do you mean, Raphella dearest? It is simply my new look."
Donnie waddled in place a full three hundred and sixty degrees, showing off his precautionary clothes.
"The inside is lined with purple satin." He crooned.
-
Leo seemed to be getting worse and worse by the day. Different forms of shock seemed to be zapping him at random, all surprising but each with a special kind of hurt.
"Oh, Casey, you dropped this."
"Thanks, Sensei."
Before handing Casey back his treasured picture, Leo finally got a closer look at it. When Leo scrutinized it before, he only really saw the big picture. There were his brothers, his dad and April. That was all that really mattered to him. But upon further inspection, little details began to bloom devastatingly, similar to the unfurling of a disaster before his eyes. There were fingerprints on the photo all around. What a dirty photo, Leo briefly thought. But the color of the fingerprints was a crimson brown color. Some of the shades of this hue were lighter, like the prints were recent. That's because it was. It was blood, he came to realize. His blood. His future blood. It hit Leo all at once like a car stopped in front of an oncoming train. His ears began to ring and the pain made him drop the photo. His heartbeat was in his ears. It was pulsating loud and fast. A drum rushing through a song to get to the end. Breathe, just breathe, Leo tried to reassure himself but he just kept hyperventilating.
"Leo!" Casey cried out, and ran over to his side. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" Casey frantically looked to Raph, who was horrifically stunned.
"Leo, it's okay." Raph embraced his younger brother into a tight embrace, trying his best to convey that he wasn't going to leave him. "We're here. You're here. We're all here."
Leo's shuddering breaths were his only reply, so he and Raph just sat there on the floor, motionless and quiet. Eventually, Leo slumped atop Raph's right arm. He was sleeping soundly, the telltale sign being his serene sleeping face. Casey gave Raph a look of concern, but Raphael simply motioned for the kid to just leave it be.
"I got this, Jones."
Raph swiftly got to his feet, careful not to stir his brother. His leader.
They were a wreck.
That night, Raphael stayed awake on his bed, staring at the stygian nothingness. He could feel the illusory grip of something beneath his mask. Panicked, he threw off his bandana, but not before getting it caught between the wiring of his orthodontic headgear. He struggled for a minute, eventually creating a tear on his red bandana as he flung it across the room and away from his overall vicinity.
"Stupid mind tricks." He mumbled with a lisp to no one in particular.
Even at the most peaceful of times, Raph was tense in his own safe space. That's how he knew that he'd contracted that strange illness that plagued his younger brothers.
Raph's door suddenly swung open, his heart up in his throat. He got into a defensive position, no sais equipped.
Peeking out of the darkness was a sliver of the home's light, and illuminating the shape that was Leo. Raphael had a hard time seeing some stuff, but that stupid nightcap Leo always wore at night helped Raph determine which brother was there.
"Hey Raph." Leo's voice was shaky. Raphael could practically hear him near to tears. "Um, there's a roach in my room. Can I crash?"
"Oh." Raph's muscles relaxed and he put his fists down. "Sure."
Leo beelined for Raph's bed. Raph had the biggest bed due to his sheer size, enough for a second brother. Raph felt his brother's shoulder rub against his. He looked at Leo, who was hiding his face away in his hat.
"Goodnight Leo."
Raph adjusted himself and lay in his bed. He couldn't sleep, it was quite obvious, but he tried to simulate sleeping to reassure Leo. He slowed his breathing and shut his eyes tightly.
Raph felt a dangerously rough grip on his arm. He didn't dare open his eyes, but he just knew it was Leo. Then there was a warm droplet that hit his bicep, followed by discreet sniffling. Raph didn't know what to do. Leo was crying, but he had already faked his unconsciousness. He didn't want to make Leo more upset than he already was. So he just continued to pretend to be asleep, listening to his brother's sobs the entire night.
We need a break.
