Raphael was not feeling that good. After seeing Donnie singing a lullaby to Mikey and then spending the next day having fun with him, the red clad turtle was very jealous of the attention that his little brother was receiving. He wanted to get some attention, but he only received scoldings!
"That's not fair, Spike!" said the tough guy, playing "try to reach the leaf" with his pet turtle. "Just look at Mikey: he is getting all the spotlights, only because of a ridiculous nightmare!" At that moment, he dropped the leaf, allowing Spike to devour it. "I mean, what I gotta do to get attention from someone around here?" He stopped to watch Mikey and Donnie playing video games.
"Come on ... come on ..." Mikey was about to win the race. At that moment, the screen and all the lights went out, startling everyone in the Lair.
Master Splinter and Leo left the dojo at that moment.
"Hey, what happened around here?" asked the leader.
"What happened was that I lost the race!" Mikey complained.
Donatello groaned. "It's just a blackout. With this storm it was the least that could happen."
"Do not worry, my sons. We have some candles here. Not much light to offer, but it's the least I can do."
"It's okay, sensei. I really like candlelight ... especially when we meditate ... that feeling of peace ..."
When the sensei arrived with some candles, everyone realized that Raphael was no longer in the Lair.
"Hey, Where's Raph?" Leonardo stood. "Did he ... No!"
Leonardo ran into the bedroom and grabbed his raincoat and his Space Heroes-themed umbrella."Surely he ran away during the blackout. I'm afraid he gets hurt. I must find him!"
"But, Leo ..." Donnie tried to say something, but Leo interrupted him.
"No buts! No matter what it takes, I'll find Raph!" Saying this, Leonardo set out to find his brother.
.............................................................................................................................
It was raining hard. There were thunders and lightnings. Leonardo was desperate. He had searched every corner of the city and nothing. The leader felt tears dripping from his blue eyes.
"RAPH! WHERE ARE YOU?" The blue clad turtle cried in tears, hiding his face in his hands.
Suddenly, he saw his brother on the next building's roof. His eyes were closed, his arms were entwined in his own body, like he was embracing the rain or the wind. His green eyes opened, revealing sadness.
"Raph! Thank God I found you!" Raphael looked down and saw the leader.
"What the shell are you doing here?"
"I've come to take you home. What are you thinking? It's too dangerous to leave the house this time."
"And since when do you care about me?"
Leonardo was shocked. What his brother was saying?!
"Since when does anyone cares about me in the lair?! Never! Nobody ever loved me there!" While Raph spoke, he cried furiously. "Nobody ever gave me support ... nobody ever wanted to know how I feel ... only Spike understands me!"
Leonardo could not hold back the tears. He felt his heart heavy as a stone. "Not true!"
"Yes, it's true! Nobody loves me, Leo! NOBODY!" At that moment, lightning struck the antenna of the building, knocking it over.
"Raph! Look out!" Leonardo dropped the umbrella and ran to save his brother. The antenna made Raph fall of the building, but Leo managed to grab his brother's hand in time.
"Gotcha." Leonardo said, breathing heavily. "And I will not drop you ... ever."
At that moment, Raphael hid his face, very ashamed. Leo could hear his low crying as she helped him to climb on the roof. At that moment, the rain was stopping. The brothers looked at each other. Leonardo smiled, relieved, and opened his arms. Even though he was still a bit sad, Raphael found the strength to smile and embrace his older brother. The two remained embraced until it stopped raining and the clouds moved away. It was as if the storm had taken away Raph's sadness and envy.
When they broke the hug, Raphael tried to get up, but felt pain in his right leg. He had scratched his leg when he fell from the building.
Leo put his brother's arm over his shoulder and helped him to his feet.
"Come on. We have to go home to bandage this leg."
.............................................................................................................................
Master Splinter wanted to give an earful to Raphael, but after Leonardo explained the real reason for his escape, he thought it best to forget what happened, even thinking it would be easier for him to have spoken with the family.
Once Leonardo finished bandaging his brother's leg, he saw that the tough guy was asleep. Beside him, his pet turtle was devouring a leaf. Leo felt tired. It was a long night looking for his brother in New York City. He approached his younger brother and threw his arms around him. Raphael opened one of his eyes. Normally, he would have told him get the shell out of there, but ... he decided to make an exception. That time. With that thought he snuggled in his older brother's arms.
"Do not forget, Raph ... we all love you." Leonardo whispered. "And even if nobody loved you ... I would always be by your side."
"Thanks, bro ..." said Raphael. "Just ... do not tell Mikey about what happened. I want to keep the rest of dignity I have left."
Leonardo chuckled. "Sure." But neither the leader nor the hothead knew that frecked turtle-face and genius were seeing everything.
"I think someone here was jealous of you, Mikey. Should I?"
Mikey knew very well what the purple clad turtle was talking about. He nodded, confirming that his brother had to do it. Once Leo and Raph lay on the couch Donnie approached them and started singing.
Raph looked up for a moment and saw the third brother singing. He felt a smile forming on his lips and fell asleep. Remembering everything that he went through that night, the tough guy reached a conclusion: he has never felt so loved.
