A/N: Another fic I uploaded on DA, might as well put it here ^^

That finger on his chest…

That push…

Those harsh words…

That handshake…

The feeling of Raphael still lingered on his plastron. After all these years, he could have sworn the feeling would cease to exist within him, but Leo couldn't help but felt a jolt coursed through him the moment they took each other's hand. How could he forget the heat from his brother on his skin? The moment his light was stolen from him, the image of his hothead brother was implanted in his retinas, damned to stay forever in his sight. And now, reunited once again, he vowed to himself that he'd protect what's left of his family. But then, this was Donatello's plan. Not the Donatello he knew, but the one from a different dimension, but they were the same to him. Leo would lead, but he couldn't. He was no longer the Fearless leader he used to be. Only the empty shell of his former self remained. His only concern was the Shredder's fall, and they would be free from this nightmare…

Heavy footstep approached him from behind…

That breath…

That musky scent…

That scorching aura…

- We'll leave in two hours, Leo. – The voice embraced him like it was yesterday, when they still sat around the dinner table.

He wanted to say something… anything to signal that he heard him. But words choked in his throat like water tried to break over a dam. He simply nodded.

The figure behind him stepped forward, so they could stand side by side. Silence reigned over them as he took in all of Raph's with his remaining senses. His breath had become heavier over the years of smoking. The scent of gunpowder, sweat and blood stained all over his body. He changed so much, from appearance to character. So was his aura. If in the past, Leo could sense the flame of passion in his brother, now he found himself standing beside an erupting volcano. The heat emitting from his Raphael was overwhelming, and it's making him suffocate. But at the same time, it ignited something inside him, something that shouldn't have been there a long time ago…

- I'm sorry.

- What? – Leo turned to the direction of the voice.

- I'm sorry, for everything I've said back then – Raph's voice rumbled through him as he continued – I know ya, Leo, or at least who ya was. Yer just trying ta protect me and Mikey, and so was Splinta. When Don disappeared, I was lost, and with Splinta gone, I just couldn't take it. That's why I blame everything on ya. And I'm sorry.

Leo couldn't find any reply to that. All these years he's been blaming himself of how weak he was, of how this was all his faults. He's been living in his own hell, his own prison. If anyone must apologize, it should be him. But here he was, standing beside the turtle who once was half of his soul, who made him complete, who almost never said sorry. Slowly, he turned away:

- Something died in me the day we fell apart, Raph. Let's not dig up the past and focus on helping Don succeed his plan.

Raph didn't say anything, but he could feel the aura beside him intensify. At one point he could even hear the heartbeat in his brother's chest. He felt Raph reached up and pulled him into an embrace. He should step back, push him away, voice his protest. But instead, he just stood there, taking in the blazing fire that now burned around him. It was unbearable, yet warm beyond anything he's ever felt before. The voice, now so close to his ear, whisper:

- Ta be honest, I don't have much confident in maself, or even this plan. I don't know if we can make it out alive. That's why I have ta say this now. I don't want ta live in regret anymore.

The wall in Leo's heart crumbled with those words. He too wasn't sure about any of this, even if he trusted his brother, or at least his doppelganger. Yes, he might lose his sight, he couldn't see the expression on his lover's face, but he could feel the magnitude of his pain, his anguish. Leo returned the embrace, and planted a kiss on Raph's lips as if he could see them. He couldn't deny his feeling no longer. Leo missed this. He missed the burning skin of his Raphael on his body, the fiery kiss they used to give each other. Most of all, he missed the aura that made him the Leonardo he once was. He felt moisture rolling down his cheek, at the same time something salty dipped into their kiss. Raph was also crying, not knowing if this would be the last kiss they shared together…

:::

- LEO! NO!

Karai just slashed through his brother, his lover. That bitch cut through the one that just spared her filthy life. Everything went red in his vision as he charged at her like a storm. He'd kill her, he'd FUCKING kill her for what she's done to Leo.

SLASH!

Raph fell to his stomach as she too slew him. His year had caught up to him. He could take on the Legion, but not Karai herself. He couldn't avenge Leo. He failed again…

With what remained from his strength, Raph dragged himself to where Leo lied. The glasses had broken, revealing those once deep, black pearls, now turned milky white staring into space. They were the result when Leo stood between him and a flash bomb. He tried to reach up, but he couldn't. Raph collapsed on top of half of his soul. He could hear Leo's heartbeat getting weaker, as well as his own. His remaining eye threatened to close, sealing him into the darkness. The throbbing pain in his chest, where Karai cut him, now subsided. He couldn't even feel pain anymore, but at least he could feel the boulder of his guilt finally left him…

Wait for me, bro. I'm coming…