Series: TMNT

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: No real spoilers but brief references to episode S306 – Race with the Demon

Summary: The adrenaline that fuelled their friendship obviously wasn't enough after all. After the events of S306 – Race with the Demon, Raphael feels hurt and jealousy over Casey and Donnie's developing friendship.

AN: Sorry about the false alert, for some reason, the file got screwed up and I had to delete. Twice _

Losing His Best Friend

He was losing his best friend.

It had been obvious for a while now, even to him, but he had been in denial. Now though, it was impossible to continue to ignore the truth. When they had still been in the city, it felt like they had everything in the world in common but out here on this damned farm in the middle of nowhere, away from Purple Dragons and Footbots, random muggers and Kraang, he was beginning to realise just how precious little in common they really had.

A shared short temper and a love of bashing the skulls of those that desperately deserved it just wasn't enough. The adrenaline that fuelled their friendship just wasn't enough after all. Not out here in the back of beyond where there was precious little entertainment to be found and even fewer people.

The worst part of all this was that he was losing his best friend to his nerdy, least social brother of all people. Beyond their desperate rivalry for the affections of the same girl, he seriously would have thought that those two had even less in common with each other; however that was proving to be painfully wrong as they continued to work in close proximity with each other day after day after week after month.

One was a genius and the other barely keeping his grades up enough to avoid being kicked off the school hockey team, at least before the invasion, and yet they somehow connected better together than the cocky young human and himself did and it hurt.

He was losing his best friend and it had never been more obvious than tonight after the Speed Demon was defeated and he just didn't know what to do about it. He didn't know how to reconnect with his friend out here on this god forsaken patch of land so far from civilisation and common street thugs.

His heart ached as he stared wistfully towards the dilapidated old barn; the combination of makeshift lab and garage workshop where the two rivals spent the vast majority of their spare time over the past few months. He listened, just barely hearing them as they traded good natured barbs and laughed over their victory.

He sensed the presence before he felt the light green hand rest comfortingly upon his shoulder. He turned to look briefly into concerned light blue eyes and gave his younger brother a half smile of silent acknowledgement before shrugging off the proffered wordless support and standing.

Tossing one last envious glance towards the seemingly warm and yet somehow cold, uninviting barn, he walked off into the woods.

He was losing his best friend and right now, he just needed to be alone for a while.