Chapter Text
He's doing it again.
Raph turns his head, looking pointedly over at Mikey, if only to stop Leo from gawking at his eye. (The box turtle, noticing Raph looking over, gives a cheerful little wave.)
Raphael is at an utter loss. Leo is so completely, utterly guilty- he can act cocky and over-it all he wants, but it doesn't change the fact that he hasn't been acting right. There's a sort of... weariness to him, a trepidation. And some weird vibes. A lot of energy, buzzing just below his skin. Raph could feel it coming off of him in waves, practically ever since Casey showed up.
Whatever it was, Leo was hitting harder than ever before. He'd nearly grounded that worm guy into a paste last week, over practically nothing. Less quips. More stab-at-first-sight. Over defensive. Almost paranoid, at times. Raph had wanted him to take things more seriously, especially since Pops had made Leo the leader for whatever reason, but... Well, now he wants his brother back.
"It finished rewinding," Donnie calls from across the lair, patting the old VHS player as it projects a flickering title across the wall- Jupiter Jim and the Sephron-356 Invaders. Donnie hits pause before the tape can start to play.
"And Angelo's got the popcorn, baby! Movie night, here we come!" Mikey chirps, grabbing the massive bowl he'd been making and carrying it into the living room, only spilling a few pieces onto the floor. Okay, several pieces.
"So inconvenient," Donnie mutters, nudging at the player. "I could digitize all our tapes, you know. Wouldn't have near as much hassle."
Mikey gasps, shaking his head. "Nuh-uh! That's where all the charm comes from!"
Donnie quirks an eyebrow. "Right. Obsolescence. How charming."
With a sigh, Raph pulls himself to his feet, stretching and peeking back towards his brother. Who was... Staring at his chipped shell. Perfect. "You comin', Leo?"
Leonardo blinks, looking up at Raph, confused for a brief moment before he catches sight of the Jupiter Jim movie all queued up. His face scrunches at the sight of the title screen, octopus-like aliens reaching out for Jim with their tendrils... He shakes his head. "Hm? Me? Nah, go ahead."
"But Jupiter Jim and the Sephron-356 Invaders is one of your favorites!" Mikey calls from the other room, leaning over the recliner.
"They're all one of his favorites, he's the ultimate Jupiter Jim nerd," Donnie comments. Oh, big words coming from an Atomic Lass stan and the biggest nerd in general. They all wait for Leo to point out as much...
Oh. No comeback from the slider. The brothers all stare at him in vague concern. Leo blinks.
"You alright, bro?" Raph asks, stepping closer, but Leo is quick to wave him off with an eyeroll and an easy smile. Like normal, right?
"Relax. I've just already seen it a million times," Leonardo excuses. He shrugs, taking a few steps back towards the door. "I'm not really in the mood for space movies tonight, okay? No biggie."
"Mm-mm." Mikey shakes his head. Not normal.
"We could watch something else...?" Raph suggests.
"I just rewound the tape," Donnie groans, crossing his arms. Raphael shoots him a look.
"He just rewound the tape," Leo takes the offered excuse, gesturing towards their brother. "You gonna let all that hard work go to waste?"
"Which I wouldn't even need to do if SOMEONE would rewind them after watchi-" Donnie starts, glaring at Leo, but Mikey smushes a hand into his face to shut him up.
"Do you need to talk, Leo?" the youngest pipes up. "You need a visit from Dr. Feelings, maybeee?" He waggles his eyebrows, tapping his fingers together.
Leo sighs, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "Guys, I'm fine. This isn't the first time someone's missed a movie night! I've got other stuff to do, you guys have fun."
He slips out of the living room, further into the lair, before anyone could object some more. Raph's brow furrows.
"Alright. Are we doing this? Mikey already made popcorn and everything," Donnie asks as Mikey thrusts the massive bowl of popcorn into the air to prove his point, stray kernels flying everywhere.
"Uhh... Yeah, let's watch," Raph nods, eyes lingering on the doorway for just a moment before he makes his way over to the screen. The film starts to roll. They're treated to a nice few minutes of setup, some lovable banter between Jupiter Jim and Red Fox. And then the invasion starts.
Jeez. Raphael definitely remembers it as more goofy, and less dire. The movie was certainly campy as hell, but as one of the antagonists is grabbed and hoisted into the air by a massive tentacle, Raph feels a sort of tenseness that makes it all feel a little too real. He looks towards the others to see if he's alone in that. Mikey squirms a bit in his seat, looking rather uncomfortable. Donnie is... Looking at his phone instead of the movie, naturally. Raph turns his attention back towards the film.
"Foolish human," the leader of the aliens shouts as Jim struggles to get free. "You have no idea what you're up against! Are you really the strongest this world has to offer?"
It's not getting any better. In fact, as the tentacles tighten their hold on the hero, the alien's monologue emanating from the tinny speakers of their projector, it feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room. Without thinking, Raph slams his hand onto the pause button of the player, freezing Jim in place just as the tentacles are about to strangle him. He stares at the screen for a moment, shell shocked, before his eyes drift wearily over to his brothers.
He's not sure if Mikey looks almost relieved for the movie to have paused, or if Raph's just projecting. Donnie looks over at him, confused.
"I need to go to the bathroom," Raphael blurts, the first excuse he can come up with. Donnie shrugs, looking back down at his phone. Mikey reaches for the popcorn as Raph hurries off.
He... doesn't really need to go to the bathroom. Obviously. But he goes in there anyway, peeling his mask off and splashing some cold water on his face. It doesn't make any sense, he's seen that movie a hundred times, they all have, but it never... It was never like that. He looks at himself in the mirror, gingerly touching the scar around his eye.
When he comes out of the bathroom, Raph finds he still can't quite bring himself to go back into the living room and finish the movie. It's a bit too much. Donnie and Mikey can wait for him a little while longer. Instead, he sneaks further into the lair, following the sound of something getting hit. Over and over and over. Someone's training.
Raphael steps into the room, finding Leo absolutely whaling on a dummy. The slider doesn't notice him right away, too focused on his fake opponent. Dad would admonish him for that, remind him that he needs to be hypervigilant, that he can't allow himself to be snuck up on by an unseen foe, and some other hypocritical advice. Almost funny when Splinter doesn't even notice them enter the living room half the time. Raph, though, he doesn't speak up. He's grateful for the few moments he can watch Leonardo train, a glimpse into how he's been acting when no one else is around.
He sure is attacking the dummy, alright, the poor thing rattling around as he hits it again and again, harder and harder. Like he's got some personal vendetta against the stuffed man. Raph feels a twinge of some kind of emotion, deep down in his gut. Concern, maybe? Uncertainty? Leo's not much of one to really... train a whole lot when he didn't have to.
That little feeling multiplies tenfold when Leo draws both of his katana. He slices here and there, doing all sorts of flips and tricks, really giving that dummy everything he's got. Leo raises both of his swords into the air, swinging them in a wide arc, the air whistling around them. Finally, Leonardo brings them down in two diagonal slashes, one right after the other, in the shape of an "X". The dummy falls into four pieces.
Raph raises his eyebrows. Mikey will be annoyed that he's got to stitch that thing back together again- he'd specifically implemented a no-blades rule for that exact reason. The bigger turtle watches in silence as Leo stands there, staring down at the dummy for a long moment.
And then Leo drives one of his katana through the dummy's metaphorical skull. Raph's jaw drops as Leo tugs the blade out from the fake head, the other one dragging slightly against the ground.
It was... Well, it was no harm done, it was just a stuffed puppet to whack around, but Raphael can't help but be worried.
"I can smell you, Raph," Leo calls out, looking over his shoulder at his older brother with a cock of his hips as he sheaths his katana. Damn it! Raph's worry-stench! He should've known better!
"I thought smashing shit to cope was my thing," Raph half-jokes, stepping out from the doorway and crossing his arms. He doesn't miss the eyeroll from Leo, the clear agitation at being questioned... At being discovered, for that matter. But Leo is quick to cover up his irritation with a little smirk, like usual.
"Movie over already?" he asks, ignoring the comment. Raph shakes his head.
"Paused."
Leonardo purses his lips, his arms crossing. "Why? So you could come check on me? I'm not nine, Raph."
"It was just. A lot."
Leo's expression softens. After a moment, he sighs, uncrossing his arms. "I know. But hey, you got farther than I did, huh?"
Raph frowns. "Are you okay, Leo?"
"What? That was a joke!" he brushes off, waving his hand dismissively.
Raphael points, and Leo follows his finger down to the scraps of the dummy. "Look what you did to poor Mr. Punch," Raph accuses. "Mikey said no more cutting him up, only blunt-"
"I know, I know!" Leo defends, his hands up in the air defensively. "I was just training, Raph. Don't worry, I'll put him back together this time." Raph raises an eyebrow. "I will!"
"That's not it. Look, Leo, it's just... not really like you. I think I have a right to be worried. Since when do you train?" Raphael asks, doing his best to use his gentle voice. Not that that seems to be helping much.
"Since when do I train?" Leo repeats incredulously, tilting his head in disbelief. "Uh, I dunno Raph, since I was like four?"
"You know what I mean," Raph groans. "I know you're just bein' prickly right now because you're insecure, but I'm not trying to- Look, I just want to make sure, okay?"
"No, not okay! What are you worried about me for? If anything, I should be worried about you! You went through a lot more shit than any of us did, Raph. And now you can't even finish a Jupiter Jim movie," Leo snaps, taking a few steps closer. Raphael glares.
"You can't even start one!"
"I'm just not in the mood!"
Mikey pokes his head through the doorway, wide-eyed. Leo looks over at him, and Raph follows his line of sight. "Guys?" the youngest asks, glancing between them both. "I heard shouting. Did something happen?"
"No, Mikey, we were just doing some quick training," Raph excuses, approaching Mikey as Leo hurriedly tries to sweep Mr. Punch's remains under the mat.
"Training?" Mikey asks, crossing his arms and stepping into the room fully. "You said you were using the bathroom! My popcorn's all cold now!"
"Just put it back in the microwave," Leo suggests with a smile and a shrug as he pops up right beside Raph, leaning on his brother's arm. He brushes some stray stuffing off of his shoulder. Mikey's face scrunches up, and he sticks his tongue out in disgust.
"No way, Leon, that'll burn it!" he objects, earning a mischievous grin from Leo. Mikey huffs. "Alright, whatever, but I wanna finish the movie- are you coming Raph, or are you hanging out with Leo?"
"He's not hanging with me," Leo is quick to declare, pushing Raph towards the door by his shell. Raph stumbles a couple of steps- normally he wouldn't budge, but Leo had pushed him unexpectedly hard. He glances back towards his brother, but is met with the same easygoing attitude. Raph's hurt expression tightens into something a bit more annoyed. He turns towards his other brother.
"You and Donnie go ahead and unpause it, Mikey. Don't wait up," Raph urges.
"Okaaaay, but you're totally gonna miss the sick fight scene! Jimmy knows how to knock 'em down, baby!" Mikey calls, hurrying back towards the living room to finish the movie. Okay, so maybe it wasn't bothering him. Maybe Raph really was just projecting. The eldest takes a deep breath before pointing at Leo.
"We're not done with this conversation," he warns, backing out of the room.
"Oh, I think we are," Leonardo says, shutting the door in his face. Raph's lip curls.
"We're not!" he shouts, pushing the door open again- only to catch the tail end of a portal closing. Great.
He shuffles back towards the living room, ignoring the sounds of an alien invasion ringing through the hallway.