Brotherly Bonds

You're the Best

                 

"Raphie! Raphie! Raphie help! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Raphael rolled over with a groan, lifting the covers up just in time for his youngest brother to jump in beside him. "What was it this time?" Raph mumbled sleepily, sitting up and looking down at Michelangelo, who now had his arms wrapped tightly around Raph's waist.

Terrified baby blue eyes looked up into his older brother's. Raph's annoyance faded a little and he sat up wakefully. "Hush, Mikey, hush." Raph rubbed circles with his fingers on Mikey's shell softly. "What happened?"

Finally, Mikey's tears slowed and he looked up, his eyes wide and desperate. His sniffles slowed to the occasion hiccup and finally he answered the question. "There was something in my room Raphie! I swear there was something in my room! I heard it moving around! And it hissed! And it had big green eyes! I saw it, Raphie! I saw it! I swear!"

Raphael sighed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with a yawn. This had been happening every night for the past week and a half. He hadn't told Master Splinter anything yet because he'd just assumed Mikey would get over it the way he always did. But so far, Mikey's story had been the same every single night, except he'd never really been quite this upset. Now, Raph was worried.

"Aw, come on, Mikey." He patted his brother on the head. "You just dreamed it. Go on back to your room."

Mikey grabbed his older brother by the shoulders and shook him roughly. "No! No, Raphie! I wasn't dreaming! I saw it! I swear! Look!" He showed Raphael a bruise on his arm. "I pinched myself and it was still there! I wasn't dreaming Raphie! I really wasn't! Please let me stay here with you! Please! Please!"

Another sigh escaped Raphael as he raised a skeptical eyebrow at the youngest of his brothers. He turned his back to Michelangelo. "It was just a dream, Michelangelo, you need to go back—"

"No! Raphie please! Please! Let me stay!"

Raphael rolled his eyes and relented. "Fine. Just be quiet. And for goodness sakes, stay still."

Mikey hugged Raph enthusiastically before he settled down and made himself comfortable. A soft, sweet yawn escaped him and he murmured. "Goodnight, Raphie."

"Goodnight, wackjob. No more nightmares, okay?"

"Wasn't dreaming..." Mikey whimpered as he drifted off into sleep.

Soft snores filled the air and Raphael suddenly found himself alone. Well, alone as far as wakefulness was concerned. Unfortunately for him, he was never able to sleep when one of his brothers was spending the night with him. When they had all shared a room it was a little bit different. He'd slept easier back then. And of course, they had all shared a bed and so he was used to sleeping with his brothers. Now that they'd had separate rooms for a year, having any one of his brothers sleeping in the same room with him left him feeling uneasy. Besides, right now he was too worried to sleep. Mikey's dreams had been happening for the past week. And now Mikey claimed he wasn't dreaming. Of course it wouldn't be the first time Mikey had had incredibly realistic dreams, but this time...Raph had a strange feeling that Mikey was telling the truth when he said he wasn't dreaming. And it that bruise had really come from where Mikey had pinched himself, he must have pinched really hard.

Raph was torn from his thoughts by the sound of something thumping against a wall, but not just any wall. That was the wall between his and Mikey's room! Raph slowly stood and made his way over to the wall, pressing the side of his head against it. He could hear something moving around in there. He even swore that he could hear something scraping across the floor.

He didn't sleep at all after that.

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