Archive of Our Own ^beta

Michelangelo sighed, content with the feeling of being comforted in his brother’s room. This was his safe harbor during storms, his reprieve from the scary things that go bump in the night… especially a stormy one.

Technically he has three brothers, all older. But for right now, as far as he’s concerned, he only has one. Donatello, his immediate older brother, is always there for him.

The other two, the older pair, are idiots.

The so-called A-team and Michelangelo decided that the “A” stood for argumentative.

Donnie is the smartest in the family, but Mikey is the most intuitive. They only had to glance at each other and know what their strategy was for the evening.

They didn’t need a fearless leader for this sort of battle plan.
They didn’t need a hothead to protect them—they have each other.

Raphael and Leonardo had arguments, but they also had fights. The two were different, depending on the degree of how heated their temper got. Years ago during an argument, Mikey drew a DefCon-style scale to make Donnie laugh. Not only did it cheer him up, but he turned around and added to the joke by naming each level in jest.

Some time later Mikey learned that his brother—because for the moment he only has one—kept the page when he pulled it out during the next fight and announced the level that the other two were at which made him giggle. They distracted themselves from the yelling by analyzing the argument so they could gauge how it was going. While it wasn’t his favorite inside joke, it was still one that he could find solace in during those troubled times.

When they were younger, the bickering was annoying. (Maybe the “A” really is for annoying.) But as they got older, when their lives extended outside their sewer home, the conflict escalated and sometimes could get scary. (Maybe the “A” should just be for angry or aggressive.)

DefCon started off as a joke but recently, began to feel more accurate. Yet somehow, their chart still provided comfort even in those times.

The worst fights so far had been early Spring last year. Mikey guessed maybe the older two were a bit-stir crazy from being stuck at home more often during the cold months and didn’t understand why they just didn’t blow off that steam topside now that the weather was warmer.

Now here it was, Spring again and a storm had been brewing all day. The “A” now stood for abysmal because that was exactly how he would describe the forecast both above and below ground…

It started first thing in the morning. Mikey loved food more than sleep, so waking up early to make breakfast after hours of not eating (because you break the fast) was what put pep in his step to get every day started. Pep, weird word—did they mean pepper? Like how he seasoned their eggs with pepper?

Because if he was pepper, the other early morning turtle was definitely salt. Very salty.

Normally the oldest greeted him cheerfully, appreciative that he cooked warm meals for all of them. It can be easy to take regular things for granted, but for someone who was only allowed to make tea and never permitted near the toaster, Leonardo knew he would probably starve if not for Michelangelo.

Instead, he only quietly greeted him with “Morning” and Mikey immediately knew it was going to be one of those days. After he placed a cup of hot tea where the blue-banded ninja sat, he turned to start on making his favorite brother’s coffee stronger than usual knowing he was going to need it…

Who walked in next was also a sign. Donatello was only last if he didn’t get a full night’s sleep and last night he did not stay up late in the lab. So when he didn’t walk into the kitchen by the time the pot of coffee was complete, Mikey suspected he had been interrupted a time or two last night just as he had.

He supposed that, technically, today started last night. Although it might have been late enough to be considered morning—he hadn’t bothered to check the time. There wasn’t fight per se yesterday, in terms of an argument, but there had been something unspoken going on between the A-team earlier before bedtime.

The “A” stood for aggravating, which is what he felt when he was woken up by loud music last night. Or insanely early this morning.

But really “A” stood for antagonize, which is obviously what Raphael was doing, acting out in a cry for Leonardo’s attention. (Yeah, “A” could be acting out or attention seeking for the hothead.) But the noise wasn’t just Raph’s fault, because instead of quietly going next door and unplugging the source—like the silent ninjas he’s always lecturing all of them to be—Leo started yelling at him over the music!

Even the youngest thought of the better solution to remove the device and go back to bed, resolving that they could deal with the situation in the morning but no… the two started arguing because, apparently, it didn’t matter that other people were trying to sleep! It was more important to Raph to defy his brother’s authority and irritate the holy hell out of Leo with his obstinance while it was more important to Leo to command respect by ordering Raph not only turn off the music but “have some respect for others.”

Pot, kettle. (Also, “A” was definitely about the leader’s obsessive search for validation of authority, both his own and their Sensei.)

The least Leo could have done was step into Raph’s room and shut the door, but from the sounds of it he stood right in the freaking doorway where their argument could be heard by the rest of the family!

It was so bad that Master Splinter actually got up to do something about it, which Mikey wished he would do more often because that’s his job. Except Hamato Yoshi never asked to be a single dad of four mutant turtle boys with no support network. He was only human—well, he was only human—but this life was not one he chose, he only chose to not leave them abandoned on their own. Understanding that made his parental shortcomings easier to forgive.

If their father said anything to his older sons, Mikey couldn’t hear it. Then again, he probably didn’t need to. Both would have froze the moment they noticed those dark rodent eyes glaring at them, looking like deer caught in headlights… Raph quickly turning the music off which would annoy Leo even if he wasn’t looking down in shame. He could almost hear in his head the mumbled apologies from the two and wondered what their punishment would be, but he really didn’t care because nothing ever had a lasting impact…

He didn’t mean to sigh when Raphael walked into the kitchen next but the consequences were the same, intentional or not. The leader looked up as if Mikey had a lot of nerve to look tired while his second-in-command gave him the same look, but even more annoyed.

Second-in-command… in a team of four. Mikey thought it was a joke at first but no, Leo was really serious when he first called Raph that and the hothead actually looked proud about it. The guy who constantly undermined orders and leapt before looking.

If anyone was in charge other than their leader, he felt it should be the level-headed genius. Mikey would gladly follow whatever Donnie told him to do because he trusted him the most, but he also didn’t mind the two of them sitting back on the benches as the B-team.

Because to Mikey, the “B” meant Better.

Back to breakfast…

Mikey waited to see if Raph took his usual seat besides Leo. Sometimes when they were mad at each other, he purposefully stole his seat so they could glare catty-corner at each other. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was the easier target to intimidate or if it was because Donnie had subtle ways of getting back at them for any sort of slight, but more than likely it was because that afforded them the most space to fill with tension. Whatever the reason, it was his subtle way of making his issue everyone else’s problem too just to implicate and embarrass the other.

They really had a lot of audacity dragging in this nonsense during meals! They had a lot of audacity in general, but the kitchen was his sacred space! It’s not like he deserved this by replacing Leo’s meditation candles with firecrackers or greasing up Raph’s weights. (Although there was the one thing with the punching bag, but it really wasn’t that big of a deal. It was just a joke…)

Yeah, the “A” absolutely stood for audacity! These two had it in spades.

Yanking back the chair unnecessarily rough in order to cause a loud scraping sound, Raphael also roughly sat down at the table. It was obviously intentional as there was a satisfied look in his eyes while everyone watched drops of tea splatter out of the only cup on the table, making a mess.

Raph was not as appreciative of Mikey’s cooking like Leo was. While he wouldn’t starve, there was no doubt he would get tired of cereal in time. Sliding a plate full of food in front of him, Mikey hoped to prevent some drama this morning if he could, because the last time they had a silent standoff like this he managed to constantly spill drops of milk all over the table just to get on the other’s nerves. It was as if each spot of white made the eldest see red. It didn’t matter that the mess got cleaned—and on these days, never by the person who made it—the point was Raph’s behavior was seen as sloppy and disgusting to Leo—so it was an effective way to subtly irritate him.

One would think if they were that angry, they wouldn’t want to bother even looking at each other. But instead, they couldn’t take their eyes off each other. Mikey figured it was some weird display of dominance, that maybe to them looking away was weakness so they wouldn’t stand down from the challenge of who could last the longest.

If that was the case, the “A” in A-team stood for arrogance because he was pretty sure he already thought of aggressive and antagonize…

Finally—to his delight—Donatello stumbled in and Michelangelo greeted him with coffee. He let his fingers wrapped around the mug linger as he handed it to him directly, the first warning he could communicate that would escape even Leonardo’s keen observations… Watching him take his first sip, the recognition flashed in the other’s eyes—the second warning was received and understood. Only glancing at the table through the corner of his eye, a look of reservation settled upon his features where it remained as he sat down at his place across from the leader and, for the moment, next to the hothead.

“Thanks, Mikey!” The youngest settled a third plate on the table, grateful to be acknowledged with both warm words and a warmer smile for the first time that morning.

Stony silence was a welcome reprieve from the waves of rage that rolled off the older pair so he said nothing during breakfast, hoping that things got worked out during morning training.

But then Raph was late even though he was just right there and knew Leo had seen him so they both were aware he intentionally showed up after the start time! It was as if the brawler wanted to assure there would be no holding back between the two, provoking the eldest to punish him through training as much as possible under their Sensei’s watchful eye. Even Splinter had learned that when the oldest two were like this, it wasn’t fair to the younger to pair them off as it was to be expected they would turn simple spars into complex competition.

There was a silver lining with training on days like today. For one, he would only be paired with Donnie. Which means less rough-housing from Raph and less out-maneuvering from Leo. Donnie challenged him, but they also worked really well together. Especially some of their moves where the agile one could catapult off the bo staff and launch into an attack! People underestimate their weapons because they aren’t sharp like sai or swords, but they can both knock someone unconscious without a drop of blood. Mikey may goof off a lot but nunchakus require serious coordination, people can really hurt themselves if they don’t know what they’re doing. And Donnie? People don’t realize what upper body strength he has wielding that heavy stick, he didn’t get that strong just working on engines and hot water heaters!

But the second silver lining with training on days like today is no weapons. Because while he and his one brother can be trusted, the other two cannot since they are idiots.

A third positive is watching the older two go at it. Sometimes it’s nerve wracking, but after making everyone miss out on sleep last night there’s a bit of satisfaction watching them pummel each other.

Sorry, not sorry.

Mikey might have been the only one to notice the not-quite-legitimate tactic Raph used on Leo to get the upper hand and turn the match around—literally. Well, Leo obviously noticed and Raph knew what he was doing. But if Sensei doesn’t catch it then an illegal move counts, no matter how dirty it’s played. As mischievous as Mikey can be, he already knows that’s not something even he’d resort to…

Maybe one brother is a bigger idiot than the other. Yeah, he was the one who blared the music in the middle of the night and woke all of them up.

Finally they are dismissed and the younger two rush out as fast as possible, leaving the older two for extra training as part of the punishment for the screaming match in the hallway that woke everyone up.

Even after dinner, there was no winding down after a long day. In fact, it was the opposite. The weather was starting to warm up and Raphael wanted to hit the streets, but seasonal showers threatened to make doing so unsafe and so Leonardo cancelled patrol that night.

In the leader’s defense, absolutely no one wanted this. Those two NEEDED to get out and burn off their excessive energy in ways that didn’t involve using each other as a punching bag and these two needed those two to do just that… But the subterrain dwellers were grounded thanks to the sky falling down around them.

Mikey watched with Donnie for the same old song and dance… The arguing and fighting continuing until Raphael stormed out of the lair, Leonardo fussing that he didn’t care before feeling guilty he failed to keep his entire team secure and running off to look for the one who went astray. Which was pointless really, it wasn’t like he could pick him up by the shell and drag him home. It was some weird cat-and-mouse game or maybe more like hide-and-seek… Raph ran, Leo chased, and when they caught up the leader told the hothead to get home soon and then just… left him there! The eldest arrived home and stayed up waiting for a particular bump in the night to be heard… The later the hothead took to return, the longer the lecture was.

Mikey sighed, once again woken up by loud voices. He glanced over at the headphones plugged into the music player next to Donnie’s bed as they decided to share a room for the night to deal with the inevitable drama that would occur. He had forgotten exactly when his brother—because he still only had one as far as he was concerned—got them, explaining they were noise-cancelling and could be used to help sleep quietly.

But there were only one pair and he wondered if it was better to just spare the other from even being woken up. Except he would probably accidently wake him up with a touch while trying to help him sleep through the sounds. So he laid there, the voices loud enough to hear but not to the point he could understand all of the words. Not that what they were saying mattered, it could have been about their favorite flavors of ice cream for all Mikey cared, they were just too impassioned in their interactions with each other.

At least this time they closed the door of Raphael’s bedroom. It was always Raph because that was where the fights ended up since Leo always followed him. This time there were loud steps up the stairs and down the hallway before a door slammed.

“FUCK YOU!”

Mikey sighed as Donnie bolted awake. Their eyes met, one asking and the other answering without a word—unlike the other pair who had lots of words. Loudly. The older of the two tilted his head curiously and the younger shook his head.

No, this was new. Not what Raph yelled, but it was out of order. Knowing how disdainful Leo felt about cursing, he usually escalated their arguments with other explicatives. Even during normal conversation, he had a way of drawing out and emphasizing certain terms since doing so had the effect of claws on a chalkboard to the other. But he had not dropped any choice words just yet, leaving three turtles confused about the change in an old song and dance…

Quiet for a moment. Then something else new…

“You couldn’t even if you wanted to.”

That… that was a different response. The surprise on his face had to be the same as what he saw on Donnie’s. No way they had heard that before. Yet he could still visualize the familiar smirk the leader sometimes allowed himself when he felt he had bested the hothead.

“The fuck you say?!”

Quiet. Leo did not like to repeat himself, but he would make exceptions to throw something back at Raph when he felt he had been dealt an underhanded blow. This would account for that. He held his breath to listen for a response he knew would be said in a normal tone, as if he was simply telling the time of day.

“Maybe if you listened better, you would have heard what I said.”

Mikey heard Donnie suck in his breath too. They knew what this meant.

Leo just cornered Raph into either admitting he didn’t listen (although they all knew that wasn’t the case), not just listen but better—a slight underhanded insult implying inferior skill—or he is exposed as not having a better retort, using the question to bide him time to think of a stronger response and resume the upper hand.

Just like that, Leo redirected Raph’s misdirection and got them back to their usual steps.

Back to their same old song and dance.

Mikey was almost disappointed. If they were going to argue the same old way, a different new twist or two would make it more interesting to help pass the time. But no, they were like fire and ice—every time Raph stoked the flames Leo was there to douse them, his icy resolve melting with every flick of fire thrown his way.

More cursing, the kind that usually preceded Raph’s favorite statement to tell Leo who would then respond one of three ways… Only one word reprimanding him about his vocabulary (“language”) or a casual comment calling him out on poor communication (“Classy, Raph. You know, you are capable to get your point across without cursing.”) or a lengthy lecture about civility and respect which—to Mikey’s surprise—Raph never interrupted like he did other lectures.

Maybe it was a way for him to catch his breath or rest his throat—how the two of them didn’t have sore throats more often with all the yelling and hissing they did at each other surprised even Donnie—but Raph would just wait on Leo as he admonished him.

Admonished… he must have learned that word from Donnie. That can stand for the “A” in A-team too.

This time Leo launched into a lecture and Mikey sighed. Whether out of relief the yelling was on pause as the leader rambled on nonchalantly about expectations or frustration because neither of them would be shutting up any time soon, he wasn’t sure.

He looked at his brother, grateful he was not an only child. Even better, he thought as an olive-colored arm wrapped around his shoulders—he was the older brother between the two of them! Mikey could still be the baby and Donnie would protect him! Not in the same way that Leo and Raph would fight or die for them, but in his peaceful way that was more comforting than dramatic.

“Ya done? ‘Cuz even if ya ain’t, ya can take the rest and shove it!”

That… that was new too.

Michelangelo and Donatello had noticed one pattern during these arguments… when both of the two were starting to tire but, of course, neither wanting to concede defeat, it wound down to a simple exchange. That was when, in response to Raphael cursing Leonardo would simply reply, “language.” That succinct reply either spurned more verbal abuse or, as happened more often than not, was met with the simple reply of, “ya can take ya language and shove it up ya ass!”

Mikey is not too proud to admit that the first time he heard that exchange, it did make him giggle. But a few uses later he noticed that it tended to abruptly end arguments and Donnie theorized this statement basically broke the blue-banded brother’s brain. The concept of taking words to shove anywhere was maybe too abstract a concept for their leader to grasp literally, let alone the visual it put in everyone’s minds which would certainly be awkward for their reserved brother to imagine.

As odd as it might sound, it made sense and besides, Raph’s contribution to the A-team can be the “A” standing for him being an ass whereas Leo’s contribution to the A-team can be the “A” standing for him being awkward.

Seriously, he should be used to it by now and not get so flustered. Raph is aloof about using language the rest of them rarely say, so much for being a fearless leader if he is afraid of the crudeness.

Yeah, that describes them too. The “A” can stand for Raph being aloof while Leo is afraid.
Except… he really didn’t think of Raph as being aloof or Leo as being afraid, because both are too fierce for either of those things.

Maybe the “A” is Raph being abrasive while Leo is too apropos about their attitudes. (That was also definitely a Donnie word.)

Wait, what were they saying again?

Oh yeah, Raph told Leo to shove it. He didn’t say what exactly nor did he say where.

“After you.”

Say what?

“What?”

“You said I can take it or I can shove it. I said, after you…”

Is that… Silence? Glancing at each other, they left the bed and stepped with stealth to listen at the bedroom door, barely hearing the next part spoken almost in a growl.

“What’s the matter, Raphael? If you don’t like following my orders, why don’t you try leading in something for a change? Or are you all talk and no action?”

Mikey had no idea what the heck Leo was talking about. Was he actually going to let Raph lead their patrols for a while? Also Raph was a lot of talk AND action when it came to fighting, so that made no sense either.

“That’s what I thought. Not so fun being fearless is it?” he spat. “Every. Single. Day. And. Night. I TAKE what you give me and I SHOVE it! So far down to make room for whatever else you throw at me! Because you’re the only one who does this to me!”

He jumped hearing a loud crash against the wall. Donnie did too. Okay, now they were actually fighting. Except… they weren’t. There was only one sound. Did… did one of them just kill the other?

It seemed an impossible thought, why did he even think that? But Raph has a history of losing control and a time or two hurting them bad enough he regretted doing so but Leo sounded like he was ready to snap and everyone knew if that day came, it would rival if not surpass the other.

If one of them had simply punched a wall, something should have followed. Words being said, the door being opened, something… Could one of them hit the other so hard they collapsed? Or maybe it was like one of his fighting video games where both characters could connect an attack at the same moment and double KO. It wasn’t likely, but with fighters like them maybe it was possible.

As far as he was concerned, there were no stronger fighters than his oldest brothers.

Because Mikey really did have three brothers, even if two of them were idiots. He didn’t like the thought of one—or both—of them laying in pain, unconscious, or worse…

He could see on Donnie’s face that he felt the same as he nodded towards him before he reached for his doorknob with a shaky hand. The youngest reached out and gently placed his hand on the other. Together they opened the door and he was told to be silent as he saw an olive-green finger placed against the genius’ lips. Mikey nodded. If one or both were hurt, startling them would cause more panic.

Partway down the hall they heard a low voice speaking in hushed whispers. To their relief, they soon heard a second voice. Not realizing he had been holding his breath, Mikey exhaled as quietly as he could. That’s when he heard some unfamiliar sounds and looked to Donnie questioningly who started to slowly step away. Because they might not survive if the other two knew they could hear them. They would be too embarrassed to admit…

They were crying.

He really wanted to go and hug both, but this was obviously between the two of them. Again with his extraordinary protective brother senses, Donnie wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed tightly as they stepped lightly back to his room and silently closed the door.

Maybe the “A” could stand for agreement or amicable. Because it seemed like things would get better from now on, even if it didn’t all change overnight—because he definitely heard a little bit of yelling later. But hopefully the “A” would be for amend.