[Open]

[meanandgreen]

Characters: Raphael and YOU
Date: Catch-all for End of July and August
Location: Water, Wood, and Metal Sectors
Situation: Just a Turtle doin' his thing
Warnings/Rating: None

Things were getting better, much as Raphael would hate to admit it. Ever since they'd split his family up, ever since Don discovered his new power, things have felt off-kilter. Unbalanced. And that reflected on his own stability.

He started going to the fight ring in the Fire Sector again. Spent weeks stumbling home late at night with cuts and bruises he wouldn't talk about. Disappeared for days. Went quieter than usual, his thoughts turned inward, closely guarded. It's his own way of coping.

Lately, more than ever, he could feel things changing, feel the bones of his family shifting. The growing pains are hard to avoid.

But move on with their own cadence, building a new familiarity around him. Leo comes almost every evening, and they meditate. Talk. He and Mike spend quiet nights over home cooked meals and idle conversation about the kids he teaches at the dojo, the people they've met, and it helps. Makes the chaos in his head go quiet for a little while. The days get longer and hotter, and the heat soothes the aches.

As much as he'd hate to admit it, he hasn't felt this good in a long, long time, and it shows. After a long disappearance, he shows up at the dojo again, hoping he still has a job. Hoping he could pick a fight with Korra like they used to. He starts collecting books about building motorcycles with plenty of diagrams. Even starts gathering a handful of parts. But without Don, he doubts he'll get very far.

But things were getting better. Falling into a new rhythm that hurts a little less each day.

He has to tell himself to enjoy it while it lasts, because he knows all too well how fast these things can change.

Comments

[meanandgreen]

Oh, Raph knows that look. But he's not gonna just let Don start thinking up some super fast leaf blower on wheels. So after about thirty seconds of silence, he just punches his brother in the shoulder.

"Don!"

[i_speak_softly]

--

Do not leak, Don-Dad!

With an effort of will, Don turns his thoughts all the way around, keeping them safely inside his own head. Only then does he look up, fixing his brother with an intense stare.

"A techno-organic motorcycle."

[meanandgreen]

Raph only folds his arms, frowning irritably while still managing to look at his brother like he's just grown a second head. He hates when Don gets like this.

"We're puttin' an engine in it."

[i_speak_softly]

"More or less." He reaches for a clean sheet of paper, fails to find one, and draws his idea in the air instead. "A quasi-sentient biodigester. It will turn any handy organic material into concentrated fuel, then intelligently cycle the engine at optimal RPMs for the task at hand."

[meanandgreen]

"No, Don. We're puttin' a good, fast, normal engine in it," he says stubbornly. "You make it some crazy machine and I'm not gonna know how to fix it if I have to, never less maintain it."

[i_speak_softly]

Comment ignored.

"I'll have to start the cell cultures right away." Don looks delighted with himself, then makes a face. "I still have those spore cultures around somewhere, don't I."

[meanandgreen]

"Don!" Raph yells, gesturing like he wants to crush his brother's head with his bare hands. "You're not puttin' that freakin' mold in my bike!"

[i_speak_softly]

Don waves off both the complaint and the threatening gesture. "Oh, you'll like it. And it's not mold."

Off he goes to dig up a totally different set of equipment.

[meanandgreen]

Oh, Don's getting up? Because Raph's on his feet, now, and he's not backing down.

"Are you even listening!?" He yells even louder, following Don around the room. "It's my bike, so we're gonna make it my way! Got it!?"

[i_speak_softly]

Don turns back to Raph with a completely mild expression. "Sorry, I was unclear. I'm building a techno-organic motorcycle for myself. You're welcome to use these parts for anything you want; I won't be needing them."

[meanandgreen]

That... pretty much disarms him, stopping dead in his tracks, his eyes narrowing into a confused glare.

"What?" He snaps. What the shell is going on? Is Don totally giving up on their project for some wacked-out bike made out of mold? Seriously!? He can't build this thing without his help. There's no way!

[i_speak_softly]

"Mm," Don says, as though that answers the question. "Thanks for the idea."

Picking his way through the mess on the floor, he opens the closet to search for his biology-related tools. He hadn't expected to be needing those today.

[meanandgreen]

Raph's trying to breathe. Trying to stay calm. Just keep his cool. Because obviously this has to be a misunderstanding. Don wouldn't just do something like this. They've been talking about building this thing for weeks. It was their thing. They were gonna work on it together and everything was gonna be great. He wouldn't turn his back on everything now.

Would he?

"Wait one freakin' second there, braniac. What about my bike?"

[i_speak_softly]

"Your bike?" Don disappears into the closet for a moment, then resurfaces with a microscope and more of his jar-lid petri dishes. "Is something wrong with the plans we drew?"

[meanandgreen]

"You know I can't make an engine out of scrap metal!" He yells, gesturing angrily at the pile in the corner of the room. "You were gonna help me out!"

[i_speak_softly]

"Oh..." Don rubs the back of his head, surveying the indicated pile. "I'm really sorry, Raph. Other things came up."

[meanandgreen]

"Are you serious!?" He shouts, all the hurt and desperation and anger he kept swallowing exploding like a grease fire in his chest. "What the hell!? What'd I even do to you!?"

[i_speak_softly]

Don raises a brow at this outburst. "If you wanted my help, you should have taken it."

[meanandgreen]

Raphael has literally no idea what any of this is about, and it's starting to freak him out a little.

"I am takin' it! Why the shell do you think I'm even here!?"

[i_speak_softly]

"I don't know, to order me around and get what you want? I'm not building you some loud, overpowered road monster. It's just ridiculous."

[meanandgreen]

"You know what? You're right. Why would I even expect you to listen to me? I mean, it's my bike, but why should I get an opinion, right?" He grits, throwing Don an aggressively dismissive gesture. "Who gives a crap what I want?! You can go build your stupid mold bike for all I care! Just forget it!"

He is just so fucking pissed and frustrated and wants to hit Don until he's bleeding from his stupid fucking mouth. But instead, he stalks across the room and flips the desk chair with a violent amount of force. One of the legs breaks off it the second it hits the ground.

[i_speak_softly]

"Fix that," Don says, in a low, dangerous tone.

[meanandgreen]

"Bite me," he snarls, sliding into a fighting stance. You wanna go, Einstein? Because he is so ready.

[i_speak_softly]

Don takes one step forward. "I said fix it, Raphael."

[meanandgreen]

Raph cracks his knuckles, bearing his teeth at his brother's advance.

"You gonna make me?"