A/N: This was written for tumblr's TMNT flashfic theme: grateful. This is a bit of my personal therapy for myself as well. It's short but it got the feelings out that I needed. This fic is in the 2012-verse. Given how the show's timeline seems to work at a very slow pace I actually imagined the turtles in their late teens in this particular fic. It'll make sense once you read it to the end.

Veil of Darkness

The warm autumn scents filled the room, allowing one to forget the grey overcast and bitter cold of November. The table overflowed with bowls of stuffing, yams dotted with little marshmallows, mashed potatoes with gravy, and at long last, the giant turkey joined the feast. The delightful odor unleashed a grumble from deep inside Raph's stomach. All he wanted to do was tear into one of the large, meaty legs but Mikey had insisted that each person count their blessings and proclaimed what they were grateful for, especially with the type of year they had. Between the Super Shredder, nearly losing Splinter (yet again), and crazy-ass possessed April the Hamato clan needed to search deep for the silver lining in their life.

"What about you, Raph? What are you grateful for?"

Emerald eyes locked on Mikey's bright grin. Did anything ever get that boy down? Raph was always baffled over how his brother maintained so much optimism even in the darkest of times. Yet somehow the cheery goofball was one of his strongest rocks.

– 15 years prior –

Shoving his face deeper into his pillow, Raph thought the fabric would soak up all of his tears. Try as he might though the salty rivers could not be dammed. He needed to sob yet he did not want to draw attention to himself so he pretended to nap. After a while he may have actually fallen asleep…or maybe he didn't. He couldn't be sure. Time just seemed to stop.

Tap, tap, tap.

Groggy eyes fluttered open at the soft sound. For a few seconds Raph didn't dare move a muscle. Staring at the door, he waited but was met with only silence. Perhaps he had imagined the sound. As his muscles relaxed an incessant round of pounding shot him out of bed. Grumbling under his breath, Raph marched to the door with balled fists.

"What?!" he growled out as he flung the door open ready to punch the intruder.

Wide blue eyes stared back though rather than surprised Mikey just looked utterly stupid with his arms raised into the air, frozen in place in mid-pound. Raph cut his eyes and before he could yell at him for disturbing his peace, Mikey's demeanor shifted from stunned stupid to caring concern.

"Have you been crying?"

"None of ya business! What d'ya want?"

"Daddy said we have to take baths tonight. Was just coming to tell you. Why were you crying?"

"Why you so nosey," Raph countered, scrunching up his snout in irritation.

"You're eyes are so red."

Mikey was either completely oblivious to Raph's desire to be alone or he just didn't care. Either way, Mikey was not planning on leaving…especially since he suddenly had pushed his way into the bedroom. Grabbing Raph's hand he led his brother to the bed and sat them both down.

"Tell me," Mikey gently nudged him.

But how could he? Where did he start? No, it would ruin Mikey if he shared Raph's troubles. He couldn't do it to him. But those sapphire orbs begged to share in the burden. The world had become too heavy to carry alone.

"Tell no one?" Raph wanted reassurance. He was not going to get in trouble on account of Mikey's big mouth.

"Promise!"

Mikey even offered his pinky as the ultimate sign of trust. Raph rolled his eyes but slipped his pinky around Mikey's to solidify the pact.

"Ya know how those people flew those planes into the Twin Towers?"

Mikey's eyes watered a bit as the memory was still fresh just one month since that day. Father had actually found a working television and antennas. Father was watching the morning news when they shifted to breaking news about a plane crash. It was supposed to have been an accident. That was until the second plane smashed into the other tower. The family had been in shock. Father immediately turned the TV off when he snapped back to reality but the damage had been done. The boys learned for the first time the price of hate.

"Well," Raph continued. "While we were playing hide-and-seek I was near one of the sewer grates…." His voice trailed off as he recalled the events. Tears pooled, distorting his vision. Lips quivered as he sought for the right words. "I saw some guys. They were yelling at another guy. He was wearing a turban….uh, I forgot what his people were called…I saw something about them on tv before. Anyway, the mean guys were calling him a dirty Arab, even though he wasn't, and said it was his fault that the towers were attacked and all of those innocent people died. They pushed him and punched him. He got knocked to the ground and they began kicking him. He was totally outnumbered and couldn't protect himself. Then one of them pulled out a knife and starting stabbing him…over and over and over!"

The tears flowed freely as all restraints were shattered. His whole body shook as he choked out his sobs. Tiny fists pressed against his eyes as he tried to shut the world out but his vision was only invaded by what he had witnessed. Then chubby arms snaked around his shoulders, pulling him into Mikey's smaller frame.

"Why are humans so cruel?" Raph demanded to know. "They're the same species but all they want to do is kill each other! What would they think if they ever saw us?!"

"It's okay," Mikey tried to console him while patting his shoulders. "We're safe. Humans don't like the sewers. Even if they came down, it's a huge maze. They'd get lost. They always get lost according to Donnie's books, like in the labyrinth. They'll never find us. I promise."

– Present –

True to his word, Mikey was right. No one ever did find them. That didn't stop Raph from training hard and being prepared just in case. If he ever saw a human, he'd be ready for them. He'd know how to defend himself. He'd know how to protect his brothers. No one could ever hurt them. Raph swore to it. As he grew bigger and stronger and developed his skills nothing scared him. The false sense of security was shattered once the new president-elect was announced. The once harmonious world had again deteriorated into chaos. Perhaps this is how the human world always operated. The few short weeks since the election were filled with demands for Blacks to go back to Africa, for walls to keep the Mexicans at bay, to intern Muslims into camps, and to cure homosexuality via torture. Intimidation and assault became a regular occurrence. And yes, though no one should be surprised, the humans resumed the cycle of slaughtering each other. Raph would be lying if he said he wasn't scared shitless of those so-called civilized animals.

"Earth to Raph," Mikey shoved him to gain his attention. "What are you grateful for?"

Somber green eyes met dancing blue spheres and he finally responded, "The sewers….I'm grateful for the sewers."