"You were acting stupid. I did not raise stupid," Splinter reprimands, shaking his hands in exasperation. "Why can you not be more like your brothers?"

Leo waves sheepishly from behind Splinter, his smile strained. Donatello’s brow is furrowed as he tries to look uninterested, forearm raised as he types away into his gauntlet thing-a-ma-jig. Mikey’s hands are clenched at his side, eyes wide and set on his father. Raph is absent. You think he’s cleaning up the aftermath of a fight with- Hypno and Warren Stone.

"I expect more from you," Perhaps he's being too harsh. But how else can they even begin to expect of fighting Shredder, Draxum, or heck—even the Foot Clan, when they keep getting their rears handed to them.

"I know you can do it." He offers some reassurance that falls through the cracks of cement like sand before he spins on his feet to leave.