There were lulls in the daytime when everyone was locked in the lair and left to their own devices. Each room would be occupied by someone, and it was an unspoken rule that these lulls were strictly alone time.

And so it was in one of these times that the lair was utterly and completely quiet. Michelango wandered into the living room, greeted by the subtle noise of the world above and the trill of tiny rats scampering about the sewers. The place might as well have been deserted.

No one was in sight, but Mikey could see the signs of undisturbed life.

A luminescent blue light throttled under the lab door and through the rusting cracks, as if some spiritual energy was humming about in that room. A line of yellow light escaped Raphael's room, and a faint flickering orange teased at the sparse and thin openings through the doorway to the dojo.

With a little hum, Mikey tapped a finger to his lip as he thought – absentmindedly scanning each door.

Well… It had been awhile since he joined Leo.

And with that and a little stretch, Mikey strutted to the dojo.

He pressed an ear against the rice paper door before slowly sliding it open. At first, there was no real sign of his brother, just candles strewn around in a seemingly random pattern. But to the far left, in a little corner, the familiar sharp gleam of metal caught his eye.

Leonardo was sitting on his knees, carving some sort of wood with his ninjaken.

Blue eyes against blue cloth peered up. "Mikey," Leo said, "what're you doing here?"

"Nothin'." He prodded forward with his hands behind his back until he was standing right in front of Leo. "Whatcha doing?" he shifted his weight to one side and looked at his brother expectantly.

Leo just sighed and lightly shook his head. "Making chopsticks."

"Making what?"

"Chopsticks." He gestured to a pile to his right.

With a plop, Mikey sat down in front of his brother and looked to the pile.

It was pale wood, a bunch of chopsticks messily stacked one on top of the other. There must've been at least fifty.

"Whoa," With a spreading grin and wide eyes, Mikey picked one up and inspected it. "Dude, is this some sort of new ninja weapon?"

"No, they're chopsticks." Leonardo turned his attention back to the piece of wood in his hand and began meticulously shaping it with his blade.

"You already told me that. Are we gonna use them to fight, 'cause there's no way we need that many chopsticks to eat. And," He held the stick like a dart and narrowed his eyes as if to aim at something, "these could totally be used as weapons."

"No Mikey, they couldn't." Leo finished the stick in his hand and tossed it to the pile. He reached for a block of splintered wood and began shaving at it. "I'm honing my skills."

"By mass producing chopsticks?"

"Yes. By mass producing chopsticks." And Leonardo couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips when he saw Mikey's expression, "It helps me learn to focus. Think about it, every," he shaved off another piece and continued to speak without looking up, "piece I cut off must be perfect and precise. By making something so small, I have to pay more attention to detail."

Mikey shrugged and aimed for a lowered leaf on the tree in the dojo. He threw the chopstick and eyed it as it barely missed the green and arched just below it. "Dangit, I missed."

"And I suppose chopsticks can be used to improve aim…"

Mikey grinned slyly at him, "there are so many uses for chopsticks, heck, I can think of ten right now." He grabbed another, held it up, and positioned to throw it.

Leo chuckled and finished the stick in his hand.

These lulls in time, when adrenaline wasn't pumping through their blood like water and the world was threatening to tumble under their feet, they were as priceless as diamond. And Leo quietly wondered that after the sun fell and night began - when he would lead his brothers to the outside world and the face of danger - if he would be able to make more chopsticks for his little brother.

"I hope you know you're cleaning that up." Leo said with a shake of his head and the beginnings of a genuine smile.

Author's Note: I would love some feedback - can't really improve without it... Pretty please?

Anyhow... Babymamhu my partner in crime, thank's for the prompt and the editing :)