Raph and Mikey Brotherly Fluff and Comfort Oneshots TMNT 2012

Chapter 7: It's Not Your Fault

    Mikey sat on a rooftop one night, looking up at the sky with tears in his eyes, 3 months having passed since it happened. "It's my fault," he whimpered, his head hanging down in shame. "If only I'd paid attention, none of this would've happened."

    Why was he like this, you ask? Well, he and his brothers were on patrol one night 3 months ago when they happened to run into a bunch of footbots along with Razhar, Fishface, and Tiger Claw. The turtles had put up a good fight against them. Mikey, however, was fooling around while fighting and didn't notice several footbots with long katanas creeping up on him. Raph had noticed, however, and had yelled at him to look out before leaping in and managing fight them off, getting badly injured in the process. It wasn't until the turtles were on their way home with an injured hothead that Mikey realized that the katana footbots had meant to kill him fatally but his older brother had prevented that.

    Raphael Hamato had taken most of the blows that were all meant for Mikey.

    When Mikey had realized that, he'd come to terms with the fact that it was his fault that it happened and that it wouldn't have happened if he'd just paid attention. Leo and Donnie had tried to convince him otherwise, but he wouldn't listen out of grief.

    After they'd treated Raph's injuries, Mikey had snuck away topside to the rooftops every night. And that's where he was tonight. Realizing how late it was getting, Mikey was about to return home when he sensed something behind him. Turning around, he saw a whole squad of footbots heading his way. Sighing, he reached for his nutchunks only to realize he accidentally left them at home. Mentally facepalming himself for doing something that stupid, he resigned himself to fighting them off with his bare hands. He put up a good fight at first, but soon he started to get tired. The footbots took advantage of this weakness and slashed once at each of his legs, sending him tumbling to the ground. The footbots held him there by the arms, preventing him from escaping. Mikey struggled, but it was no use as they beat him up badly. Now all bruised, Mikey couldn't stand and could only watch as one footbot approached him, pulling out a katana and preparing to finish him off. Goodbye bros, Mikey though as he started to cry. I'm sorry I never pay attention. I love you all. With these thoughts, he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the final blow as the footbot swung his katana at him.

    But before the blow was given, a loud DING! was heard as a sai flew through the air, knocking the katana away from the footbot's hand. Before they could process what had happened, a familiar voice rang through the air as one of the footbots was kicked away: "GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!!!"

    Hearing the voice, Mikey opened his eyes to see none other than Raphael fighting off the footbots. Seeing his buddy injured was enough for Raph to go into a frenzy, stabbing every footbot he could until the rest ran away, not wanting a taste of his wrath. Sighing heavily, Raph put away his sais before turning towards his baby brother. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Leo and Donnie told me what happened in the past few months. I only found you because I was tracking your shell phone."

    Mikey didn't reply; his shock at seeing his brother awake and alive took away any words that were in him. His widened baby blue eyes were filled with unshed tears, one trickling down his cheek. Raph understood and just opened his arms, preparing himself for what was to come next. Despite his injuries, he was able to steady himself when Mikey launched himself at him despite his bruises, wrapping himself around Raph. "I'm sorry, Raph!" he exclaimed, close to his breaking point. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"

    Raph didn't say anything. He just wrapped his arms around Mikey in return, happy that he was alright. After what happened, the younger just wanted to go back home, and Raph understood that to. So when Mikey's legs started to feel like jelly and he was close to falling over, Raph stepped back so he could wrap one arm around his shoulders and the other one under the crook of his legs. Seeing his injuries, Raph scooped him up, cradling him in his arms and carried him home, Mikey wrapping his arms around Raph in return and hiding his face into his neck.
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    As soon as they got home, Raph carried Mikey to Donnie's lab and set him down on the cot before turning and getting some medic supplies. While he treated the wounds, Mikey didn't say anything. He just stared at the ground, guilt still filling him up. Raph noticed this while wrapping up his slashed legs with bandages. Once he was done with treating them, Raph put away the supplies before going to Mikey's side, but Mikey still wouldn't look at him-even as he got off the cot. Worried, Raph placed his finger under Mikey's chin and tipped his face upward until the youngest's face was in front of him, but his eyes were closed, tears pooling in the eye areas of his mask and staining his freckled, child-like face. "Come on, Little Sunshine," he said, cupping his face in his hands while using his longtime nickname, "I'm not angry at you. Open your eyes. Let me see those baby blues."

    Slowly, Mikey opened his eyes to reveal baby blues filled with tears. "It's not your fault, Little Sunshine," Raph said gently, wiping his tears away with his thumbs. "It was never your fault; I decided to get injured protecting you because I love you. This stuff happens."

    "B-But..." Mikey started.

    Raph raised a hand to stop him. "Listen Mikey," he said. "Was it you who struck me with that katana?"

    "No," Mikey said.

    "Was it you who snuck up on me during the fight?"

    "No."

    "And was it you who told those footbots to attack me?"

    "No."

    Raph smiled. "There you go," he said, leaning forward so he could nuzzle Mikey's forehead with his own, red and orange meeting in the middle. "Just that simple. So you see, it's not your fault that I got hurt. It never was; I made that choice to save you so you don't get hurt. And I'll gladly do it again if I have to."

    Mikey sniffled a bit, his chin trembling as he tried to hold back a sob. To his disdain, a whimper came out. It wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for Raph to hear. Smiling sadly, he wrapped his arms around Mikey and pulled him close so his head was resting on his chest. "It's okay, Little Sunshine," he whispered in his ear. "Go ahead and cry. When someone cries, it isn't because they're weak, it's because they've been holding it in for too long. I know it's been 3 months for you, but you've already held in your depression for far too long. Let it out. Cry."

    And that final word was all it took for the dams to break as Mikey finally cried for the first time in 3 months. Everything that was weighing on him all that time came flowing out in two waterfalls of tears, soaking Raph's shell.

    Raph didn't mind at all. He just hugged Mikey tighter against him, giving him all the comfort he needed. He didn't care that he was getting tears on him; he didn't even care if his chest got covered in snot. All that mattered most in the moment was comforting his youngest brother and best friend. "Shhh. It's okay. I got you. I'm here for you. Let it out, shhh."

    After a long while, Mikey finally calmed down, but he almost ended up falling asleep in Raph's arms. Raph noticed this and hardly held back a coo when he took note of Mikey's sleepy face. Reaching beside him, he took a tissue and held out in front of him. "Blow," he gently commanded.

    Mikey did as he was told, not caring that he was being babied at the moment. Once his nose was cleared out, Raph folded it and used the clean side to wipe the tears off Mikey's face and threw the used tissue into the wastebasket. Mikey yawned and fell against Raph's chest, causing the hothead to smile. "Time for bed, Little Sunshine," he said affectionately.

    Mikey didn't reply. When Raph pulled back a little, he saw that Mikey had finally fallen asleep against him. Raph smiled and picked Mikey up, cradling him bridal style in his arms as he walked out of the lab. Stopping at Mikey's room, he paused and looked down at the peacefully sleeping turtle in his arms. Deciding against the goofball's room, Raph walked up to his own room, knowing that Mikey probably wouldn't want to be alone tonight. After shutting the door behind him when he arrived, he laid Mikey down in bed before getting in himself, pulling the covers over the both of them. Immediately, Mikey curled back into Raph's chest, hugging him like a pillow as he nuzzled his face into the hothead's neck. "Thank you, Raphie," he whispered before becoming still.

    Raph smiled and wrapped his arms back around him, planting a kiss atop his forehead as he cuddled his baby brother close. "You're welcome, Little Sunshine," he said as he fell asleep also.