Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 2 - Old Rivalries, New Memories
#2 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - More Than Brothers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - More Than Brothers series These stories are based on a mixture of the TMNT comic universe and the New TMNT 2003 Cartoon series universe. This basically means three things: 1) All the turtles have tails. Just like real turtles. 2) The age distribution from oldest to youngest goes: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo. 3) The storyline of the first several stories is that of the TMNT 2003 series. This is just to give them some context and a starting point for the author, so maybe later stories will be written to fit into the storyline of the old cartoon series. Nobody knows yet. The usual disclaimers apply. We don't own the Turtles, this is fanfiction. All credit for their creation goes to Mirage Studios. Don't read it if you're not old enough. Look both ways before crossing the street. And call your mom, she worries about you. This was a collaborative effort between two authors. Like you care. All feedback appreciated!
- * * More Than Brothers - Old Rivalries, New Memories By [email protected] & [email protected] His body still ached for more. In retrospect a part of him found the feeling disturbing, but a larger part of him reveled in it. The only problem was, should more happen at all? Did they want more to happen? Raphael hated being this emotional, it confused him having to deal with feelings that had nothing to do with anger or frustration. It had all started only a few nights earlier... *** Leonardo leaped onto the rooftop just behind Raphael. The red-masked turtle had not noticed he had been followed up until this point at all. Damn, he thought he had gotten away clean from the lair tonight, and he really needed to catch some fresh city air before heading back again. Splinter had told them in no uncertain terms that they were not allowed to go topside under any circumstances, but after having tasted the sweet lure of freedom only a few weeks ago it was very difficult to resist those urges. It was only a quick little trip to the rooftops, he had told himself, he would be back before anyone was the wiser. All chance of that had been blown now that Leonardo had popped up behind him and stood there with his arms crossed and staring, just as Raphael was about to leap onto the next building from here. He crouched down on the roof edge as he peered over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes. "Damn it, Leo, what's your problem?" He asked, and his older brother had to give him some credit, he had been behaving for the past week by not going topside. Leonardo had been following Raphael every time he went into the sewers too, he apparently had a healthy mistrust for how his temperamental brother would behave himself when left unchecked. It was just easier for him to follow him down there unseen since he was a lot more used to the surroundings and could spot hiding places more easily. Leonardo stood up and narrowed his eyes at his brother with his arms crossed in a most accusing stance. His blue bandanna fluttered behind him in the wind. "Where do you think you're going? Raph, I've just about had it with you. You know you're not supposed to go up here." Raphael had his reasons to be going alone down into the sewers to get away from it all. His reasons to be up here were far more questionable. He twisted to face Leo more directly. "I'm going for a run in the night air." He responded, which was far better than in sewer air, plus that adrenaline rush. "You might enjoy one too if you weren't so against it." His head turned at distant sounds on the wind of people talking, probably down there on the streets nearby. "Oh no you're not.." Leonardo shook his head. It looked like he had it in for Raphael tonight, and he certainly knew that tone. That was the one Leo always used when they were smaller to let him know that he was going to tell Splinter on him if Raphael did not do what he was told. "No running, no night air escapades. We're going to turn around and go straight home.. NOW!" His eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth a little. If Raphael did not know any better, he would think he had dragged him out of bed late at night or something. But Raphael had not dragged him anywhere, it had been Leonardo's own choice to decide to follow him up here, he would have been perfectly fine without him running around babysitting his brothers. He jumped down off the edge, but not giving in yet, at that point Leo would have to physically drag him home to get him to go. "You know what your problem is Leo?" He ground out, pointing a finger at him. "You got a damn stick up your ass." "I'm not the one who insists on disobeying Splinter's rules, Raph!" Leonardo bared his teeth at Raphael. The discussion was heating up. Clearly Leonardo was in no mood for his brother's antics tonight and he was already grumpy that he had to try to talk him into going back home when he was already supposed to know that he should not be doing this in the first place. "Now, we're going.. home." It only made Raphael bare his teeth back. "I've been obeying the rules for the last week, if you'd been paying any attention." He said almost furiously. "Oh wait, you weren't, all *you* look for is one of us not so perfect sons to go and do something wrong. I'm staying here, now leave me the hell alone." Leonardo did not even try to argue, possibly because he thought it was hopeless, possibly because there was a limit even to the patience of the leader. In one fluid, well-rehearsed movement, his right hand went to his katana and he slipped it up right in front of Raphael with barely a sound. The blade hovered two inches from his brother's throat and it served to pretty much keep him from moving away in the direction of the next rooftop where he was trying to go. The blunt side of the blade was facing him, so there was no immediate risk of injury. It was his brother after all. "We're going home, Raph. Right now. I'm not going to tell you again..." Raphael growled and bared his teeth before grabbing at the hand with the sword and twisting it downwards hard while swinging around to land a kick to Leonardo's chest. He then jumped back and removed a sai from his belt, ready for more. "Bring it on." Leonardo just barely got the chance to voice his pain at having his arm twisted before Raphael kicked him backward down onto the ground. He leapt to his feet again in a flash and had the other sword drawn before he got within combat range of Raphael. No more words were needed. This would be settled the old fashioned way. Leonardo started by swinging both swords at his foe from different directions, knowing full well how adept he was with those sais. Raphael drew his other sai, getting in a ready stance as he waited and watched, prepared for what came next. He lashed his sais out to block the twin blades coming at him, while trying to strike out at Leonardo as well. This fight had been a long time coming, for sure, he had finally gotten tired of Leonardo trying to boss him around. The blue turtle's take on it, however, was that he was going to boss Raphael around for the rest of his life if he had to, he just had not come to terms with that yet. So far it had just been a sort of indefinite babysitting position he had taken. He flung his swords at him, swiping from all sides and angles, but never really followed through with any of them. He knew Raphael was quick to parry each one, so it seemed like he just mainly tried to get him to defend himself, rather than trying to actually hit him. If he had been trying to strike all the way through, he would not have been able to shift positions this quickly either. The barrage of easily averted strikes inadvertently lulled Raphael into a sense of superiority, if only for a split-second, but Leonardo knew exactly when it happened and he spun around quickly, planting a solid foot straight on his belly to kick him back with a spinning roundhouse. Raphael flew back, actually loosing the grip on his weapons as they came clanging down on the roof. He used the momentum to roll back onto his feet, taking half a moment to get his breath back in his lungs, before he darted and rolled as he made a grab for the sai nearest to him. Leonardo did not even savor the moment when Raphael fell and triumphed in his superiority. Such a waste. He just flew forward to get him again, hoping to beat him to the recovering phase. With a swift leap and a head start, his one sword scooped up one of Raphael's sais and flung it to the side, embedding the knife straight through one of the small metal chimneys on the roof. Unfortunately Raphael had managed to grab the other one and roll to his feet before Leonardo could turn to face him again in a ready stance. Still, that was one down. Not about to give up, Raphael crouched on the roof, listening to the clang as the other blade sliced through the chimney. "You'll pay for that one Leo." He threatened in a low growl as he got to his feet. One sai was plenty in his mind, though the odds looked to be against him. Leonardo approached him again, his eyes narrowed and his legs wide apart in a battle stance. He was ready for anything. The shining blades took a few swipes at Raphael, but not really close enough to actually touch him, just within a range that was close enough for Raphael to feel that he had to parry it with his sai. He went through a number of tactics surprisingly fast as he sought a weakness in his opponent's technique that would be enough for him to win. Leonardo tried to wedge his sword into the parrying sai and then rapidly twist it out of Raphael's hand. Unfortunately he seemed to forget for a moment that the sai is specifically made for disarming others, not for itself to be disarmed. He might not have tried anything this stupid had he actually been trying to hurt Raphael, but it was difficult to figure out how to disarm a person that is only carrying weapons meant for disarming others. Raphael knew very well how to handle his weapons of choice and he used it for just that as he locked blades with Leonardo. The katana flew from the turtle's hand forcefully and made a metallic skid across the uneven surface as it tumbled towards the chimney that had already been pierced once already. Now they were both down to one weapon each. The hot-tempered one advanced forward, stiff and angry. He wondered what Splinter would think if they went back tired and sore or worse, but at this moment it did not matter much. The defeat of his enemy was all that his highly trained mind allowed him to focus on for more than a glimpse of a moment. He tossed his single sai spinning in the air between them, ducked low, and kicked his leg out to sweep Leonardo's feet out from under him. The attack was seen too late and the distraction of the spinning weapon in the air worked perfectly as the misdirection that Raphael had hoped for. Leonardo tried to jump over the footsweep, but managed only to get one leg off the ground. He tripped and went down hard on his shell, getting just a glimpse of his brother catching the falling sai in the air again before all he could see was the black sky and whispy clouds that tried to hold back the full moon. It was a nice night to be outside indeed. Apart from this business with the fighting of course. He barely recovered fast enough to stick his sword between himself and the sai that came bearing down, stopping inches from his throat as Raphael threw himself on top of his fallen rival. A shrill sound of grinding metal drowned out their panting breaths as they matched strength and pushed against each other. The leathery bands around Leonardo's arms stretched and squeaked as his muscles bulged out, as if desperate to hold them back. Misdirection was not a trait inherent to Raphael, however, and all too late he felt a foot firmly planted against the bottom of his front armor. A swift roll and a kick sent him toppling over his brother in a wide arc, giving Leonardo enough room to leap to his feet and stand ready again. It was now Raphael's turn to go down hard and flailing, the landing knocking out the air in his lungs before he tumbled onto his back. He winced a moment at where the kick had landed, but was determined not to let Leonardo see him weakened. With less grace than his brother he too got to his feet, breathing hard from the exertion and the fall. Grace was no longer an issue, however, and he rushed headlong towards Leonardo, slamming his shoulder and body against the other turtle. Leonardo tried to sidestep, but the extended arms had anticipated this and grabbed his waist to pull him in front of the oncoming juggernaut that was Raphael. There was not a lot of options available here, he could have used his sword of course, but not against his own brother so he had to take the full brunt of the angry turtle instead. The air was knocked out of him and he toppled down on his back with Raphael on top, barely managing to land a hard strike with the butt of his sword handle against the charging amphibian's bullneck before he was body-tackled to the ground. Leonardo never liked the way his brother had so readily adopted this form of street fighting rather than something like the honorable Bushido, and this was just another clear example of why. Even in the midst of the fall, Raphael maintained some sense of his ninja training and his sai locked the last katana in place and he threw the last of his enemy's weapons across the roof to the side just as they both impacted against the rough roof plating. The blue turtle was busy trying to breathe again and Raphael managed to land a hard punch across his face before he leapt back and off him again, probably to avoid another one of those sneaky rolls. The growl after the rough punch was drowned out by the sudden hiss of steam being released from one of the nearby vents, but his facial expression was unmistakable. He tried to retaliate, but hit nothing but empty air since Raphael had already retreated. With some difficulty Leonardo got to his feet again and stood there slumping slightly as if his whole body felt heavier now, panting and grinding his teeth at his insolent brother. His chest heaved fast and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. So quickly the tables had turned. "So... what now, O fearless leader?" Raphael spun the last sai in his hand self-importantly, taunting his brother. The pride at having beaten him was evident in his every move, but he knew that Leonardo was just as dangerous unarmed. "Going to give up?" "You're way out of your league here." Leonardo spat. A semi-friendly fight was one thing, but that punch was over the top. He ran forward and made a grab for Raphael's body, thrusting himself against him in a body tackle of sorts, though nowhere near as reckless as his brother had done moments earlier. He did not try to push him over, but merely to get close enough to push him backwards. The red turtle's larger build made that difficult and he did have a few split seconds to retaliate, but even Raphael stopped short of stabbing his brother with a sai. It was a terribly effective weapon in combat, but not so much so when you are not trying to cripple your opponent. The indecision solved itself quickly when Raphael felt a clenched fist slam against his side just behind the front plastron. He hissed loudly and lashed out to try and defend himself. His brother knew exactly where to hit him so he could *really* feel it, probably from the many times Raphael himself had struck him there when they were young. However painful, the strike served only as a distraction and before Raphael realized it, Leonardo had spun himself around so that his shell pushed back against his brother's chest and both his hands clasped securely around Raphael's wrist, easily twisting the weapon out of his hand. A guttural growl sounded when Raphael's sai was wrenched from his grip and hit the roof, only to be kicked out of sight by Leonardo's foot just as quickly. His fists bunched in reflex and he tried to grapple Leonardo's chest and squeeze the stuffing out of him. The blue-masked turtle had successfully disarmed his foe, but now found himself in a rather precarious situation here. Not exactly an optimal combat stance, and he did suffer a a bit of a crunch from the bearhug Raphael gave him, but turtles are notoriously enduring to this particular treatment. As such it did not take long before the futility of this action was realized even by the enraged turtle behind him and Leonardo took the opportunity to grab his brother's arms and push them out to the side quickly in an attempt to escape the grapple. Clearly having underestimated the thickness of the infamous Haze of Rage around Raphael's head, Leonardo's wrists were grabbed and his arms lifted to the sky, extending him out in a most uncomfortably vulnerable position. Raphael even had the nerve to wait for his brother to try to trip him with his right leg to get out of this position, before he leaned forward with his full weight and let the two of them slam down on the roof like falling timber. Leonardo bore the brunt of their sudden encounter with the rough asphalt that covered the roof and he found himself pinned down helplessly with both his arms and legs stretched out by Raphael. One hand on either one of his wrists and one foot on the back of his ankles to keep him in place. They both breathed hard at the physical effort and Raphael enjoyed the moment of assertiveness he had over his older brother, brief as it may turn out to be. The oldest turtle was not easily subdued, especially in front of the others, but this whole rooftop fight had been strangely different from start till finish. He had clearly been ticked off at Raphael when the struggle broke out, probably tired as well from having to get out of bed in the middle of the night to track his missing sibling to a rooftop, which would have explained his bad choice of tactics throughout the battle. Then again, no one was perfect. Not even Leonardo. He had gone down with a helpless grunt when his front armor had been trapped against the floor and now he just lay there, not even resisting when both his arms were twisted back over his shell, just to make absolutely certain there could be no doubt about the winner here. Holding down his brother like this, it was just impossible for Raphael to resist the rush of victory and superiority that surged through his body from having bested the leader and exposed his weakness. It was only now after the battle that his mind wandered freely again and he looked down to notice his brother's sheen of sweat over the green skin, his exertion and indeed exhaustion apparent from the fight. Strange thoughts became apparent to him now, like how many years it had actually been since they were last this close to each other. They had already touched each other more in these past 10 minutes than they had for the past year. He looked out over the rooftop as his chest heaved, his own sweat shining in the dim moonlight and feeling cool in the evening breeze. Even as impossible as it seemed, his grip loosened and turned more gentle. His eyes closed and he shaked his head at the thoughts as if trying to get them out of his head again, but denying them only made them even more insistent. He knew his loss of focus left him wide open to be tossed off Leonardo's back if the older turtle set his mind to it, but all he could think of was how good it had felt to touch and to hold his brother after so long. They had grown very distant, more than he had realized until now and it reminded him of their earlier, simpler days when they were there to support each other. His sibling took his time to recuperate, just panting and relaxing for a while. It was somehow not as humiliating a defeat to him when there had been no one else around to witness it, plus they could not mention it to anyone without getting into trouble about having been out in the city at night. All that only left more touching to be had and his arms made no move to try and escape at the moment, they just fell down to lie along his sides when the grip freed them enough to do so. It gave Raphael all the time to reminisce, back to the days when they were both young and playing took up more of their time than training did. One could only miss the days of playwrestling and having fun. Not to mention the many times of bruising from falling off the sewer pipes while climbing around.. back when hugging each other was a regular activity during the day that was practiced for anything from saying hi to comforting each other after those very bruises. The red-masked turtle was lost in thoughts of good old days and other feelings that at the moment were unwanted and unneeded he thought, but they kept pressing on until he had dealt with them. Leonardo, however, did not have quite the same mindset at the moment and Raphael's trip down memory lane was turned into an actual trip in a sudden, rude interruption that made his inner voice cry "Aha! Told you so!" at his other inner voices for not having been focused on the moment. One hand had grabbed his wrist and Leonardo tossed him off the side while yanking the arm back so that Raphael ended up spinning sideways and rolled along the ground instead of just falling off. In the midst of the tumbling, the blue turtle got to his feet again and brushed himself off. "I oughta smack you, Leo." Raphael came to a halt on his back a short distance away and just lay there, groaning a bit, not even feeling like getting up anymore. It was totally unfair to start another fight just after he had won the first one. Yet that was not the foremost thing on his mind. There was an urge there, one he was trying to resist. Something that was not right to do, yet the way things were now were not right either. This was all terribly confusing for someone whose primary solution to everything is to smash it until it goes away. Leonardo stepped up in front of his brother who had managed to sit himself up by now, and crossed his arms. He made a much easier target sitting down. "That's enough out of you, Raph. You've been nothing but trouble the last months, always running off to the city. Who do you think you are? You think you're special? That somehow Splinter's rules don't apply to you?" All that yelling seemed so loud and it just filtered away to incomprehensible noise after that. Raphael rose to his feet slowly, moving sluggishly as if he was completely worn out. Despite all efforts, those old memories just bubbled to the surface faster than Raphael could keep them down as if the fight had poked a hole in the dam that should have burst a long time ago, but which he had relentlessly patched and held back for years. The longing for his past life overshadowed all other rational thought, everything Leonardo did and all the angry finger pointing he was doing while yelling had just been enveloped in this hazy cloud. All he could see was his loving brother standing in front of him, whom he had not shown how he truly, deeply felt about for much too long now. That was when his urge took over. "Damn it Leo, just shut up!" Raphael suddenly interrupted and in a quick move he grabbed Leonardo, pulled him close and kissed him deeply. Leonardo had let him up in mid-scolding, assuming he was just going to be blown off as usual, and he was right, except... the ending was a bit different from what he normally remembered. The turtle blinked widely and flailed a bit when Raphael grabbed him securely with his strong arms. At first it just seemed like a way to maybe shock his brother or get him angry, but as Raphael pressed his body up against him this close without any chance of getting hit or wrestled to the ground anymore as he normally would at this close range, it was like a heavy weight lifted from his heart. Leonardo was still too surprised to do much other than just stare in disbelief while the sensation of finally being free to indulge in that slick, sweat-sheened, rubbery green skin as it brushed against his own consumed Raphael and made him crave more. He had felt it building for years, he knew that now, but every time there had been an opportunity to think these thoughts, Leonardo had always been able to piss him off enough to make him forget about it again before the thoughts were brought to their conclusions. Maybe that was part of why needed to get out, away from the sewers. Too many memories down there. He finally pulled back and stared back at Leonardo, seemingly almost as much in shock as his brother was at this point. Raphael dared not even think about what had just happened and he tried to distract himself, his one hand gently massaging his brother's shoulder blade while he half expected to get slapped or punched. Yet, Leonardo barely resisted the advances all the way through. Or maybe he just could not summon a single clear thought to figure out how to react. Even as Raphael pulled back he just stood there, staring at him soundlessly with wide eyes. Clearly he had suffered a brain meltdown of some sort, because he was not slapping or punching or pushing or doing anything much at all. Leonardo had been suspicious of his brother's actions and motivations for years now and all that did not just go away with one kiss. There had to be some trick to this. There had to be. Apparently Raphael was not quite getting through to him even now. But what on earth do you say or do when you have just kissed the one brother you have seemingly hated all these years and even after another big fight with bruises on both sides? His mind was going a mile a minute, trying to grasp and hold on to some coherent thought. His eyes were not as cold as angry as usual and he kept coming back to his own amazement at how he was not already lying flat on his shell from an angry kick or punch. Leonardo was usually not knocked off course that easily. What the hell had he done? Why had he even done that? The questions seemed superfluous in the light of his body that ached for more. "Leo, I.. um... I.." For once even Raphael was speechless, not that he had ever been very good with words and this was especially one of the times where he wished he was able to articulate what was truly on his mind. He had this whole 'big, misunderstood brute who is simply unable to put words on his emotions'-thing going on, which was.. partially true. Leonardo was similarly speechless, but not for quite as long. When the idea finally entered his mind that this might not be a trick or some attempt to distract him, because surely something would have happened by now, he could not help but to smile a little. It was one of those moments that seemed too good to be true and he was still in wide disbelief about it somewhere in the back of his head, but that part of him was shrinking by the second. It was after all more in his nature to want to think the best of his brothers and of their intentions. Raphael turned away slightly to gaze over his older sibling's shoulder and at the building behind them. His arms remained, wrapped around the other turtle to where they had naturally positioned themselves during this whole ordeal and he dared not move his hands for fear that Leonardo might realize where they were. He had expected to be forced away by now, either in disgust or anger, and he was actually getting increasingly frustrated at his brother's complete lack of reaction. If he had been punched in the kidneys, at least he would have known what that meant, but this.. this.. uncertainty, only made him more nervous. "Raph..?" Leonardo smiled at him and brushed a single finger underneath his brother's chin. Without another word he gave in to his own desires and lifted Raphael's head up a little more so he could press the green beak against his, this time in a much more passionate display of affection. Raphael hardly hesitated at all, he leaned in to meet his brother halfway and as they kissed, closed his eyes and wrapped his arms a little tighter around the other. Their bodies held together as if to protect each other from the cold breeze that fled across the rooftop. It felt so right, especially after such a long time of being at each other's throats every day. Even though it may have started as a somewhat awkward attempt, neither one of them were thinking about making up for years of animosity at this point, however, the passion had erupted between the two souls and overwhelmed all else. It gave them warmth and comfort in the notion that all would be right from now on. The fight that they had moments ago seemed to melt out of their minds, becoming a distant memory as their bodies pressed closer, chest plates grinding together hard as if hoping they could somehow feel skin there instead. To compensate, their hands moved to seek the skin they desired for a more intimate touch, the sheen of sweat both of them sported from the battle helped in this, and Leonardo's right hand slid up behind Raphael's neck, resting in the space between his neck and the edge of his backshell, fingers stroking gently there. Leonardo's mouth pressed against his brother's only this time not nearly as closed as before. His tongue snuck in between Raphael's teeth and poked at his to awaken it for play. Every thought melted away around them as Leonardo concentrated on kissing deeper.. firmer.. The other turtle too had completely set aside the squabble they had both just endured and the bruises were numb already. His mouth opened to the probing tongue and let it rub against his own, and once he had gotten himself comfortable with this new experience, his arms slipped around Leonardo's shell in return, muscles flexing as he pulled him up tightly against him. Raphael was given every opportunity to indulge himself in his own desires. What went on in the world around them no longer existed in their universe. The distant barking of a dog, the car alarm on the street - all was filtered out of their senses and they were left with only the heated feeling of their bodies pressing together, and their dancing tongues tasting each other as they intertwined curiously like lovesick snakes. Leonardo gave off a soft moan at the pleasant treatment. A few times he tried to trap Raphael's tongue and hold it in place, but the building amount of saliva that they exchanged just made it impossible to grab on to at this point. Vulnerable skin reacted to the soft touch and tickling of the spaces where the skin could be reached as both of them indulged in their own desires, taking full advantage of the fact that they were the only ones there. Perhaps the lack of anyone around to watch played a large part of why this happened in the first place, no siblings around to taunt them, no one to question what they were doing, and so in their minds there was no consequences for what they were doing. As a result, they tried to get everything possible out of the experience in case it never happened again. Leonardo's one hand made a bold move downwards from his brother's back to his rear, grabbing a healthy handful of one rumpcheek in it while the fingers of his other hand traced along the bottom edge of Raphael's backshell just beside his tail. It was enough to make Raphael give an approving *mmmmr* and roll his eyes back in his head. "Dammit.." Raphael thought as he caught himself in mid-moan. He had only now noticed how Leonardo had managed to take full control of the situation again, but after his initial reaction, a strange weight was lifted from his heart and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he did not mind at all to let Leonardo lead. Another groan escaped him and he had just enough time to slip his own hands down to feel the sides of his brother's brawny thighs to return the favor before their tongues parted ways and they slipped apart from the kiss. They took their sweet time, however, and ended up with their foreheads pressed together and heads bent downwards as they breathed hard to let their pulse catch up with them. Maybe it was from the lack of oxygen or maybe it was the floating sensation they both felt, but they were definitely out of breath. The brothers stood there, the only sound coming from their mouths as they shared their breathing with each other, one inhaled and one exhaled simultaneously. In the cold air the dampness could be tasted and even seen as clouds of moisture that dissolved quickly. Just think, they had the entire evening to themselves up here. Everyone would be asleep for hours more. Raphael could barely even imagine the discoveries and experiments to be made tonight, they could do it all together for the first time. Two horny teenagers fumbling their way in the darkness. The more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to him and he ended up chuckling to himself. In order to remind Raphael that perfection was only something people wrote of in novels, the illusion cracked when Leonardo uttered the destructive words. "We should be getting back to the lair now..." *** In the days that had followed, he and his brother had avoided each other whenever possible. There was a looming feeling of uneasiness between them and they felt it both. Fortunately, neither Master Splinter of any of their brothers had commented on it, perhaps just accepting it as the latest quirk between the eternally warring leaders. If Raphael had not known any better, he would have thought that everything had gone back to the way it was before. With the addition of extra awkwardness amongst the two of them. The feeling stayed with him as he stood in the kitchen scarfing down a chocolate and banana pizza that he did not want to share with Michelangelo. He had tried to get his shields back up over the last few days, he hated being emotional and open like that, and certainly wanted to avoid it in the future.