"Class is Pain 101; your instructor, Casey Jones."

He says nothing as Raph pulls him in, Casey’s arms folding around the other’s shell, doing his best to engulf and comfort his best friend. It tore the vigilante up inside to see Raphael like this, beaten and broken down. His blood boiled at the words that had been spewed, aimed purposefully at the terrapin’s tender heart.

There’s nothing he could say to try and make Raphael feel any better, so all he has to offer is this. 

Warmth, comfort, a shoulder to lay on, arms to hold onto.

Niccolo followed closely behind him, letting his brothers handle the chaos for a while, as he took some time to rest with the one person who meant so much more to him than he could have ever imagined. Just the thought of cuddling up with him for some time alone was exciting enough.

“I’m sure you’ll be tired enough eventually,” he mused, tilting his head. “You’ve been on your feet all day after all. It’ll feel good to lay down.”

“ Why, ya’ plan on snugglin’ me to exhaustion, Nico - Nico - Nii? “ 

Arnie stops outside the twin’s shared bedroom, pushing the door and holding it open with a playful bow, letting Niccolo walk in first. Maybe he really did need some time away from everything, a chance to just focus on something other than family and work stresses- and if that something just happened to be his boyfriend? 

Then so be it.

“I thought you might.”

Arnie’s kiss brought a similar flush to his face, as Nico moved his hand to take one of Arnie’s, holding it with a light squeeze. He leaned forward against press a few extra kisses to his face, squishing his snout against Arnie’s nose.

“How about we go lay down together in my room for a while? I could use a napping partner to keep me cozy.”

He squeezes the hand back, taking the first step towards the hallway and away from the living area- leaving their chatty families behind for a much quieter space. Nico knew exactly what he needed in times like this, and a little bit of TLC between the two of them didn’t sound too bad.

“ Uh.... Okay. “ 

Oh, ow. 

{~ℜ  Nico? So this is where the brat is from, clearly from an extended family dimension. No wonder he was so defensive, before collapsing. Snout wrinkles a bit at the offer, shaking his head. Though the more he stays here, the more he feels like he doesn’t belong…all these new people put him on edge. 

“No. The sooner I can get home the better.”

Voice just dead pan, a bit more gruff then he wanted but it’s not like he was trying to curb it. Eyes shift to look at the lab, snout wrinkling even more. Like hell he was confronting Nico again. He will just wait for their Donatello to wake up.   ℜ~}

“ Well, take a seat then and chill, bro. We’ve kinda’ been goin’ through a rough spot around here, so Don’s exhausted. Don’t expect anyone to wake him up anytime soon. “

Arnie pulls his head out of the fridge and a pizza box with him, throwing it on the center island and pulling out a cold slice. The aura of aggression the other was giving off made the elder Jones uncomfortable- he started hoping this wasn’t some bad version of Raph.

“ Cold pizza? ” 

{~ℜ  Another Jones? Casey never said he had a brother. Snout wrinkles more, his one good eyes analyzing him. He certainly resembled Casey…well he’s come to the conclusion he’s in an alternate world so who knows what the fuck they have here.

“Unless you have a portal I can go home with, I don’t think so.” 

Voice a low, rumbling and an edge of anger.   ℜ~}

“ That would be Don or Nico’s area of expertise then, man. “ 

Not that he was keen on directing a strange Raphael to his boyfriend or boyfriend’s twin. Well, he was already up, might as well eat something, right? Arnie stretched and headed towards the kitchen, keeping an eye on the alternate Red.