AN: For spootycup, who kept pressing for updates even when I didn't know if they were coming. Also, thanks to pac for the beta! And though I've tried Raph's language is gonna get colourful and some of it may have escaped the censor.
DISCLAIMER: Lyrics belong to Rascall Flatts and 'I'm Moving On' No profit made, no intention to do so, though the song itself is BEAUTIFUL! LISTEN NOW!
Trying
Could you let down your hair and be transparent for a while?
Just a little while, see if you're human after all.
Honesty is a hard attribute to find
When we all want to seem like we've got it all figured out
"Aw man ..." Raphael's lip curled up and his toes wriggled. It would be best to get to the point and identify the crime, so he looked down at the stale pizza that had been left on the floor. Stale, cold, pizza that Mikey had just had to leave on the floor. Oh yea, that was the creme iced topping to the oh-so-wonderful night that he had been having. It wasn't enough that his sojourn into the 'real' world had ended with him turning tail and scooting home in fear of recrimination. No, it had to end with his bratish brother staying up late, eating pizza and leaving the remains on the floor where anyone could find it. Peachy – it was just peachy! Disdain dragged forth a sigh and the boy wiped his foot off on the same sofa Mike was sure to be parking his arse on in the morning and continued on his way to the one place he got some peace, only to stop again.
It felt wrong, standing between his room and those of his siblings. All around him the doors were drawn to, the sound of Mike's snoring reaching his ears even through the thick wooden doors. Don's workstation was still well lit, but if he'd been up he'd been there to meet him at the entrance to the lair when he snuck in. Slowly Raph's teeth began to work on the inside of his cheek, chewing the tissue that was it. Don wasn't up, turning on his heel Raphael moved across to the regimentally secured door opposite his own halting for a moment he leant forth to press his ear to the surface, hearing nothing he straightened up and returned to his own room, pushing the door open it took every inch of his self control not to go with his gut instinct.
He'd sat in the dark, surrounded by the smell and the mess and the iridescent sounds of others moving around him and settling for bed. Leonardo had never found himself in this position before; he'd always had a way of dealing with the anxiety and impending sense of doom that could swallow him in a heartbeat. Master Splinter had sat with him for hours on end imparting wisdom and techniques for meditation and self control, and it had been with a large degree of irony that he had absorbed and perfected that information to the best of his abilities. It was for that reason he sat where he did right now, after ensuring that Don went to bed. A soft smirk crossed over his lips – there were not many times he got to do that anymore. Nope the thought was bitter, Raph saw to that. And Mike looked after the lair, more or less, sure he left it as his own personal pig sty, but he was the head chef; it was one of these strange pay offs that simply was. Like a lot of things since his return to the real world; he had fixed Don, it had taken months of hard work and gentle pushes but his brother was almost back to his old ways, as was Mikey. It had always been a relief to not have to care about Raphael – as surely as he sat on the side of his bed he could always predict his brother, he just hoped that said brother was in the market for having the current 'favoured son' in his pocket.
To his left a crack of tepid light began to grow, and with fleeting irritation Leo turned to meet it head on.
"What th- ..." Leo stood to greet him, stepping up to close the distance between the pair, and it threw him. "Git out!" stepping aside Raph's arm went flying up to indicate the vacant space between his domain and the general public area that was fair game.
Leo didn't move, he could see it in his eyes and his head moved surreptitiously to the right and up slightly. All the better to hit him with, You know you want to sweet as honey the words ran reassuringly through his head. Raphael was predictable, more importantly Raphael hated him with every moral fibre of his being. He'd violated his sanctuary, and was giving him a free shot. He'd be crazy to turn it down, "Make me." he pushed tensing his shoulders and planting his feet. Eyeball to eyeball Leo waited for the satisfying crack of thick knuckle across his jaw to materialise, but he was to be disappointed, with a grunt Raphael barrelled past him into his room his arms drawing across his chest so that he could take a good look at his elder brother.
"Yo' must think I'm a frickin' idiot." was Raphael's final assessment. "I aint playin' yo' fuckin' games."
"It's a free shot." He wasn't moving, he needed this, Hell to be more precise at this exact moment he needed Raphael to be Raphael. "If anyone asks, I slipped in the shower..."
Raphael had to admit it was getting to him; the low level of self control that he possessed was being pushed to its very limit. This room, his room was just that – his. And here Leo was just chipping away, and that was something Raph didn't need.
"It's not like there's any love lost here." Raphael's eyes narrowed, when Leo stepped back into the room so that he was up in his face again there seemed to be something more to his brother's silent waiting game. Leo looked tense, and drawn, shaking his head directly in response to his sibling's assessment of their brutally terse and uncivilised relationship Raph straightened up and took it on the metaphoric chin.
"I don't think so." tucked from sight Raph's fists alternately clenched then relaxed. It wasn't that Leo's offer wasn't tempting, smacking that smug, all knowing, attention grabbing prick ... ooo it would be sweet. But so would the pay out when it was all done. "Nu uh, get out." was all he hissed coldly at his brother's expectant face.
But he kept on pressing, again Leo stepped closer Raphael's previous conclusions about drawn tempered by the slight falter in Leonardo's usually determined step. "What's the problem here?" It was a change in tact on his brother's part too. "You don't even like me Raph; that much is kinda obvious. So what the HELL is the problem with you getting a little of what you want?!"
And it was right up to that point that Leo might have got his way. It went directly against the grain of Raphael's character to let this go without a fight, but it was even more against Leo's to speak out of turn, or more to the point whine at his siblings when he didn't get his way.
"Out!" There was a game to be had, a test of some sort here but Raphael wasn't biting. Grabbing the top of his brother's arm Raphael gave his elder a more than helping hand out the door. With one almighty tug he had Leo in the curving frame of his door; stepping out into the open space (fuelled by his temper) he pulled again ensuring that he carried him into the area directly outside his door. "Now!"
"No!" Spinning on the heel of his outer foot Raphael let go, using momentum to carry Leo free and into the open area – or at least that was the theory. With a flailing arm Leo grabbed a hold of the cusp of Raphael's door frame and dug in. On the tip of his hand the nail caught and tore away from the finger leaving a wide gash that began to well with blood. Stumbling backwards Leo managed to balance himself in the threshold of his hot-headed brother's room once again, his composure on the verge of collapse. "Raph ..." his tone had changed, it wasn't composed any more, it was low and desperate, a feeling that was reflected in his now darting eyes.
He wasn't stupid, "Oh ..." he took his time to turn round and look at his brother's closed door. "Whatcha hidin'?"
"Don't!" Raphael had already taken one massive step towards it. "I mean it!" Leo reiterated, his eyes widening with horror. He hadn't done it in almost eleven months, but it was happening again. Bloodied as it was his injured hand rose towards his mouth as if on auto-pilot to be greeted by a partially opened jaw. It slid in with barely a nod.
Beneath the callous' that covered the palms of both of his hands Raphael felt the grain of his brother's bedroom door. He didn't even look back to bask in his glory; he'd gotten Leo's goat? Well good! Cuz Lord knew Leo had just burnt everyone of his last nerves. "I gettit ... you get to go in my room, but I don't get a look in yours!" reaching down he pulled the door handle and released the catch, "Lemme guess, it's a crack whore." The smug voice stopped dead, and despite his best efforts to remain superior and cold Raph's jaw dropped.
It was a dump; no dump was too kind a word for it. A dump was the lair itself with Mike's half eaten pizza and Don's junk lying all over the frickin' floor. This space, the one right in front of his nose looked like a fricking cyclone had hit it, and even then Raph wasn't certain that was right. Mikey? Mikey knew better that that, and Don was a shadow of his former self. Sure he and Leo got along an' all, but it was strained, that much was obvious. It was like Don was catching his words and then deleting out the bits that might set Leo off. Exhaling slowly Raphael drank in the finer details of the mess as it lay before him, each and every book that Leo owned had been dislodged from the bookshelf that normally rested against the far curving wall of his abode, the fine bamboo mats that had hung from the walls were ripped free, trawled across a bed that instead of being made had every part of it violently removed from its place and left to the laws of physics and gravity. The blanket and sheets had been torn away from a yellowed mattress that had been upended from the divan to lie haphazardly across the width of the room itself. To the right of that the doors to the wardrobe were wide open, the contents littered all over the floor and base of the piece of wooden furniture. Inhaling deeply the scent of lavender and rosemary joss sticks tickled his nose, and after wading into the debris he soon found the source, scorching its way through the outer lining of one crisp, blue pillow case was a discarded cone. With a flip of his toe the smouldering cone was off the flammable object and extinguished against the cold hard stone that made up the room itself. Strewn amongst the paraphernalia were scarlet Buddha's – the jolly fat men laughing at all the chaos that surrounded them. "Jesus!" With the cone safe from the bedlam Raphael's loose foot came into contact with the shattered remains of something else. Reaching down to study the oily substance he had it identified upon the first 'tasting'. Lotus, garlic, and a little something else; Leo's gunk. Looking, with one knee firmly on the floor Raph grabbed the side of his brother's already trashed blanket tossing it over the leak before looking for the applicator, that was with the cracked mug. Crawling on the floor it was resting at the side of the wardrobe the well used bristles still dripping with the stuff. One ... two ... three ... the single drop of brown liquid fell off the end of the brush and landed upon the cracked white where it had been pooling for God knows how long. Flicking the remainder of the liquid from his own fingers Raphael cautiously got back to his feet. The piece de resistance though could be found almost directly opposite him, hanging on the side of the wardrobe were Leo's pride and joy. Or rather the sheath of the twin katana, and one blade – the other was freed from its holding and in what could have only been caused by a fit of fury wielded. Following a path that started with one thrown pillow and ended with a cheap Chinese faux tapestry that had been harvested from a dump was the other sword. Leo must have swung it good, the tempered steel was caught in the flimsy material and then held firm by the damp cement and crummy stones that made up the wall. Tilting his head to one side Raph studied it, his head shaking in disbelief ... funny, it didn't make Raph smile, though some small part of him reminded him that it should. This sort of thing came round once in a lifetime ... and the potential payout could be huge. With a rueful shake of his head he retreated from the mayhem, catching the door with the flat of his hand upon exiting.
"Get that thin' outta there!" Raph strode back far quicker than he had liked, and the visible evidence of an old habit moved him faster. Again he engaged his brother in a tug of war, winning with the satisfying pop of hand coming out of mouth. It was with bitterness that he could check the damn thing for signs of excessive biting with little more than a glance. Ushering Leo into the innards of his room he pushed the door to and looked him over again. "Yo' do that?" Emotionless eyes looked Leo over for other signs of stress and he snorted softly. It was all there, the inability to meet his eye, coupled with the almost neglible restlessness that many would completely overlook. He was always the perfect picture of control and composure, but that wasn't to be right now. Leonardo's head turned away, looking back towards the firmly shut door before moving to study the curve of the ceiling. Behind his back his fingers tightened then loosened their grasp around the end of his wrist, and as the silence stretched and it became abundant that Raph was currently done with the talking Leo took to knawing intermittently on his lip.
"I aint layin' yo' out." was Raph closing statement, before he stepped back from his brother and walked towards his filthy, creased encrusted, unmade bed. Hopping onto it the younger of the pair fished about under his bed, dislodging and pulling into his possession a discarded music magazine from the surface. Flicking through the pages he drew his legs up to his chest and began to aimlessly scan the page. "Go git so'eone else." he spat when Leo didn't get the hint and vacate his premises.
"Who?" huddled against the wall Leo stared back at his brother's closed form. "Don? He's only just started treating me like I'm a real person. And you really want me screwing up Mike?" There it was and it brought out a stilted shudder and gasp. He was tired, he wanted sleep, and he wanted everything to slip back into place like it always did. Heck, there were things that Leo wanted that he couldn't even put pay to, but right now he had reached an impasse and it had got the better of him. Intermittent surges of adrenaline and nervous energy just wouldn't give him the sweet release he needed. Once more his eyes drifted back to his apathetic sibling; one thing, one little thing and even then Raphael couldn't do that right.
Raph himself snorted in response, the fact that Leo had a point only served to irk him some more. How the Hell did someone who was that messed up still manage to win arguments at three in the morning?! Licking his finger he turned the page, straightening up ever so slightly in order for a cursory glance in Leo's direction. He was standing still, looking dejected and possibly even a little bored. "Splin'er?" Now that garnered a response! Suddenly Leo was attentive and pleading all at the same time,
"Don't even go there Raphael ..." he murmured, the barest hints of a threat accompanying the words. The magazine recaptured his attention and Leo was left with nothing else to respond to. Silence prevailed, interspersed with the sound of paper being flicked over and the occasional squeak of a bed as others moved about. "You know ..." Leo began softly, venturing closer to Raph to better capture his reaction, "I think I found one of those things with an article on Nirvana right over there ..."
"Don't even go there ..." came the low response. The leg muscle that had tensed to lash out at his brother only to slacken upon realisation, Slick, real slick With a smirk Raph looked up, before turning another page Raph gave Leo his dues, "Ya almost had me." he added with what sounded like a small degree of awe, his eyes flicked down to the page and he descended back into stonewall silence, leaving his companion with little more to do that sink down onto the end of his brother's bed.
There was something new preoccupying Leonardo at that precise moment in time. He had come to Raphael in search of relief from his inability to sleep and consequential loss of control. When he had got up that morning he had not been on the verge of a second nervous breakdown, and now almost nineteen hours he was at breaking point. Hanging off the edge of the bed his hands became a completely different battleground. One part of his being was more than ready to cave and just stick that tiny podgy digit right into the side of his mouth and work it over until the small disc of tension that was building behind his eyes and causing his thoughts to loop and whirl vanished into submission. The other part, the rational part that had been smiling sweetly and telling everyone he was 'back on track' and 'doing just great' didn't want to do that. He'd been lying to himself for only a week or so he guessed, but it didn't matter, now that Don was a completed project and Mikey was well Mikey he had his own house left to order. And there was no one left to help him. No one. "You saw it, didn't you?" Leo drew his cheeks into his mouth before exhaling slowly, though his hands did not cease in their endless wringing his upper body bowed down so that the silhouette that Raphael captured was rather like that of a man in search of faith, it was that of a man defeated. And Raphael saw it perfectly.
"No Leo I had mah blinkers blinders on, obscured ev'rything!" He wouldn't give it to him, there was no way in Hell he was giving Leo anything, he had already taken enough from him. That alone meant he wasn't getting the sympathy too.
"What are you going to do then?" it was the next logical step, more importantly what was it going to take to keep him silent. Everyone thought that he was improving, and Leo had no intention of letting them down.
"Nuthin'." Raphael responded coldly.
"You're not going to tell anyone?"
"Well when yo' git back in there an' tidy it all up there aint gunna be nuthin' t' tell is there?!"
"Don't make me go back in there Raph!" The look on Leo's face equalled the alarm that sparkled through his words, again he was attentive and his back straightened fully. Turning inwards one leg rose to lie across the bed from the knee to the hip. "I'm not going back in there." he repeated moments later an odd sense of release settling over him.
"Oh yes yo' are!"
"Not without a fight."
Un-fxckin'-believable. "Do I look like a frickin' idiot?!" Raph shot back, slamming his magazine into the mattress once again. "I am not puttin' yo' out!"
"Then we have a problem don't we?"
Eyes widening, Raphael returned his gaze to his discarded magazine, both of his arms shooting out to his side to better support the frustration that was boiling over. Leo had his arms folded and his own back erect, he wasn't backing down, and there was a minor glint of smugness to his face. Shaking his head Raphael leant forward, "What if I told yo' I was guna go git Splinta right now?"
Leaning into meet him Leonardo responded with similar treacle tones, "Then I'd lock your door and put the bed up against it." Smirking he leant back, "I guess you should have thought about that when you added the bolt."
"Not if I call him."
"Then I'd take that pillow right there and smother you with it." Leonardo paused, "And I'd get exactly what I wanted. It's called forethought Raph, one day I'm sure you'll pick up the concept." The false smile that accompanied his words dissolved and his teeth clenched instead, "It's when you plan for every possible outcome."
"Al'aight ..." It was Raphael's turn to concede, and return a cold glower. For Chrissakes, Leo was on edge he could see it, and the fact he was being overly pissy just pointed that out. If nothing else Leonardo was normally tolerant of Raph and his demands, what sucked the most was that it him who would usually back down nine times out of ten too. "Well other than gittin' laid out what the Hell do you want?!"
"Some peace" Leo appeared to just melt again, with the danger of getting into a physical fight or having his room discovered removed the vulnerable, exhausted child surfaced again. "It doesn't stop ..." anxiety swelled and it was with conscious effort he ignored the tug to chew on his thumb "... the thoughts and the counter thoughts and the checking and th- ...".Raphael's back had turned during his impromptu rant and he had now shoved a plastic container complete with sloshing brown liquid into his hands. Eyes trailed from the battered bottle to Raphael's expectant expression then back down to it once again. "What is it?"
How exactly did one class peach flavoured ice tea? Without bashing an eyelid Raph responded dryly, "'erbal tea." his eye dropped down to the unlabelled bottle, "Helps yo' sleep." It was a load of crap and Raph knew it, didn't stop him from standing there and selling it. "What yo' wantin' isn't it?"
Taking the bottle up in one hand Leo studied it for a little longer, Raph was right it was what he wanted. He just didn't have Raph pegged as someone who'd be packing random herbal teas for every occasion. Mikey? Sure. Don? He'd have some sort of equivalent, but Raph? Unscrewing the lid he sniffed, inhaling the crystallised sugar and faux fruit that lingered within. After a moments longer hesitation he sipped, "Oh!" swallowing it he stared at Raphael incredulously, "That is horrific." How did he drink that stuff?
"Medicine aint meant t' taste good."
"I've had enough."
"That aint guna do it."
Reluctantly Leo took another swig, unaware of its complete and utter inability to do anything. "You can keep that." he told him tossing it back.
"An' yo' can go."
"I'm good, thanks." Folding his arms Leo let out a small sigh accompanying it with a sub-conscious shudder. From where Raphael was standing his eyes caught the minor flex of his suppressed fingers. How hard could it be to ignore an urge to suck on your goddamn thumb anyway? Even Mike had regrown just grown out of that.
"I gave yo' what yo' wanted."
"Did you? If I didn't know for a fact that we don't keep anything toxic down here I wouldn't put it past you to give that a go!" Bristling once more Leo eventually relented and fell back into silence once it was clear that Raph wasn't going to bite back. Not that a swift kick or punch to the head wouldn't help him no end.
There was a long gap before Raphael finally came up with something 'appropriate' "Well yo' aint spendin' the night 'ere." Leo wasn't getting a physical response out of him, and the most ironic thing was that if he hadn't made it abundantly clear that it was what he so desired it would have been the first thing Raph would have done upon his discovery. To Raphael's satisfaction Leonardo started to yawn minutes later. Don called it a placebo; he'd been giving Mikey more fake medicine than he had the real stuff for almost two years now. If he didn't Mike would put him out of business. And it seemed that the same could be said for 'good ol' Leo' too, though he wouldn't have thought he'd have seen him cave so easily. The mind, as his Father put it, was a 'wonderful thing'. Looked like it was something that even Raph could play, smirking he settled down onto his bed once again, curling up and turning his attention back to his magazine.
theek
Flexing his own fingers Raph glanced around the side of the dog eared booklet to observe his brother's descent into slumber. When had he curled up at the foot of his bed, making a pillow out of his arms? 'Damnit' With the flat of his foot he jarred Leo in the chest, "Out!" to better back up his position one thumb shot towards the door.
"Mmmmmm..." shifting his head marginally Leo did his best to ignore the intrusion into his placid dreams. Here things didn't rush about madly, here things were good. And he'd only just dozed off ...
"For fxcks sake!" Exasperated Raphael clamboured to his feet and stalked to his brother's side. Laid out over the end and edge of his bed, snorting softly Raph glanced up at his shut door and the mess he knew lay beyond that. Well if Leo was going to sleep in squalor he was going to sleep in his bloody own. Satisfied that his hands were carefully covered by the corner of his own bedspread he darted across the hall to straighten out Leonardo's own bed.
"FxCK!" It turned out that there were glass shards on the floor, laced directly over the bedspread that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time during Leo dalliance with pure rage. Yanking it out on the third attempt Raph brushed the bits of glass off onto the side table before shaking it out completely. Tossing it over the mattress he smoothed it quickly before gathering up the blanket and cover sheet and leaving them bunched at the bottom of the entire piece. Picking his way over the debris he hurried back leaning over the stainless steel frame of his own bed.
Reaching out with one hand he shook Leo gently ... and got nothing.
Licking his own lips he tried again, this time going so far as to capture the cusp of one shoulder and tugging him up into a sitting position of sorts.
"Nnnn..." it was less a word and more a groan, heaved into a sitting position Leo's descent into sleep was broken and his body began to slowly relay information back to his yet to be wakened head. "Don't make me go back there ..." he mumbled pushing against Raph's shoulders before letting his head fall back once again, actually his entire body did.
"Yo' want me t' spend the night there?!"
"Mmnn."
"Damnit!" giving up Raph let him go; if he woke him up he'd just be back where he started. His eyes darted to the alarm clock on his own bedside table. Four in the fricking morning. They'd been at this for an hour. Biting on his lip he gave it some extra thought, before starting again. He weighed a ton! Half carrying, half dragging his sibling across the hall he halted on the cusp of the sleeper's room. Oh, Leo was going to pay for this, Raph would make sure of it. Digging deep he finished putting his brother to bed before pulling his covers up and gently draping them over the top. "There yo' go." he hissed before straightening up and glancing at the room. With little more than a minor roll of his eye he reached up to the blade that was still wedged in the wall and started to tidy up ... it would all be for nought if Leo overslept and someone walked in on this shit-tip anyway. And as far as Raph was concerned he wasn't getting his ass busted for that because of this, it was his finishing flourish to switch his brother's alarm clock off.
thunk
With a start Leo sat up ... in his room ... slowly his brows knotted together and he looked around. It wasn't the same as it had been when he'd left last night. In fact it was, no it wasn't, spotless. The Buddha was facing the wrong way, and there was a twist in the belt holding his swords. The books were all carefully smoothed out and put back into the bookshelf, his wardrobe doors were closed, sliding out from beneath his creased blanket and sheet he tilted his head to one side before tentatively opening up the wardrobe doors. The right one wasn't hanging loose, partially pulled away as it had been last night. Someone had sat and fixed it.
Don
thunk
Don has been in here
Anxiety that lurked beneath the surface surged forth. Chewing on his lip he let the door swing shut, there was no one else who knew the exact lay out of his room. Slowly he reached out and tested the left door of his wardrobe; he hadn't spent the best part of five minutes last night trying to tear that one free from its hinges. And in truth he'd only given up on the other because it occurred to him that he'd need a screwdriver to get the hinge bracket out without ruining the side of it. As for the contents within, they had all been painstakingly put back in place, once again there were odds and ends that were out of place. His de-stress box, most of which had seen the floor, or wall was refilled with nearly all of his things. A fresh bottle of gunk was present, along with a new applicator. Rosemary and lavender sachets were there along with his joss sticks and ready supply of camomile tea. Closing his eyes recalled turning in a state of fury and hurling his tea at the back of the door when meditation meditating, and a ready descent to calm, had escaped him. The cup had cracked clean in half the two parts rolling in completely different directions. Looking at the neatly laid out white cup complete with saucer one wouldn't think that. His gunk had gone next; his hands had been shaking far too violently for him to apply it properly, so that too had seen the floor. After that...
thunk
Okay
Even Leo could count, and that was the third time someone had dropped something outside his shut door. Letting that door of his wardrobe swing shut he walked through the room to his door. Even as he reached for the handle his mind touched on the events of last night. Sword next, right out of the sheaf and into the far wall. He hadn't intended on throwing it, just rather the gunk that had made it onto his hands had left him with a pathetic grip. It had slipped clean away when he had turned the blade onto his wardrobe door. Climbing over to get it free only to find he couldn't had been the absolute last straw. After that the bookshelf had been emptied in a fit of fury that would have made Raph proud. There was an irony ... getting Raphael's attention for anything was a battle. Pursing his lips, his now dry fingers wrapped around the smooth steel of his bedroom door knob. Turning it slowly he got a surprise and a half just outside.
"What?" Raph's surly face peeped out just over the top of a laden box. Just to the right of his door were three boxes full of bits and pieces. "I've got more stuff than yo'." he continued dropping that fourth box before folding his arms, tilting his head and waiting patiently for Leo to bite. Getting Leo to bite was something that hadn't happened in a long, long time.
"You have." If anything he sounded surprised. Placated he looked up to notice that Mike and Don were watching over him from a far. Don held a piece of engine in one hand and a dirty oil stained cloth in the other, mid-polish he merely seemed to be waiting for something to snap. Mike was flitting in the other corner, a comic hanging in on hand, his eyes curious but his expression relatively blank.
Now that Leo had opened the door, Raph didn't retreat back into his room to collect another box of junk. Instead he moved to pick up the first one he had deposited and with it secure against his chest he turned to face Leo, wearing little more than an aggressive smirk. "And yo've got the bigger room."
Still surprised, Leo stepped aside in no mood to start a fight with Raphael. His eyes caught his alarm clock (one of the few things to escape his temper) 10.37am, no wonder he wasn't on edge. He'd overslept. "I know." he told him almost automatically, his tone still on the right side of bemusement.
Leonardo's bed was subjected to Raph's contents whilst the boy himself reached across to grab the pillow and study it. After a moment he tossed it at Leo, before upending his bits and pieces. "I'm takin' th' room." he pointed out after a moment of silence on Leo's part. There was no expectation of an easy swoop on Raph's part but it was to his credence that they didn't go straight to war, instead he settled with a "Yo' can keep th' pillow. It's covered in spit."
Clinging to the pillow, Leonardo settled to wrap his arms around the soft cushion and he shot back with a surprise and a parry. "Okay. But I think you'll find you're takin' your bed. I don't want one that squeaks."
Raphael was in the process of loading Leo's books and Buddha into the box he had emptied out, faltering he glanced back, seeing a set face he put the statue down and smirked. "Fine, but I'm keepin' this wardrobe."
"Alright then."
"Al'aight then." Looking at the statue he put it back on the top of the bookshelf, "An' yo can pack yo' own shit." Exiting the room he disappeared back into his own domain to finish emptying it out so they could complete the swap.