Author Note: This is based in TMNT 2k12 universe for the most part. There are two OC characters in this of my own creation: Lana and her brother Brent. I plan on making a story on how they met the turtles in the first place. This is another story I meant to post before Thanksgiving, but too much was going on. I hope you guys enjoy the story. Please review and comment. Criticism is a good thing and I also love story suggestions!

Warning: OC pairing with OC Lana/Raph.

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT, but I do own Lana and Brent!

Raph prided himself on many things. A lot of them centered on the many ways that he could kick someone's ass or how he managed not to punch Leo's face in. Cooking, however, was not one of the things that he took pride in.

Cooking was Mikey's thing. Whether it being "his thing" was good or bad, depended on how creative the orange-masked turtle could get. On holidays, it turned out to be a good thing because Mikey could do some amazing things with just a small amount of ingredients in case they were lacking.

They also had April and Casey that they could ask to run to the store for them, but they didn't live with them in the lair, so it felt wrong to ask them after too many times. Though for the past year they had a solution to that problem.

"Hi, guys!"

At the sound of the voice, Raph turned his back and looked down at the bowl in his hand still full of ingredients from a recipe he found on Don's computer. The sticky, gooey batter had gone from runny to some texture he didn't even understand anymore as he started to glare at it.

"Is that the new Turtle Ninja game?" A boy practically squealed.

"Is!" Mikey laughed from the main room. "And guess who has a second controller?" Mikey used a sing-song voice.

Raph could hear Brent laugh and was pretty sure Lana's younger brother had joined his baby brother. He wondered should he be glad or scared about Brent being here. He liked the boy enough, but when Brent and Mikey were without the other, they were already a handful. When they were together, they gave each other ideas.

Ideas that made Raph want to beat the green off the both of them.

Raph eye twitched at the thought of the last prank the two pulled.

"We can play until I get the turkey out and stuff."

Raph didn't even have to see to know that the orange-masked turtle was grinning from ear to ear.

"Sounds cool" Brent chuckled.

"I still don't get why you two like this game. There's no way anyone would find superhero crime fighting turtles who are ninjas entertaining." Don spoke up.

"But D..." Mikey whined. "It's like our life story!"

"And superheroes are cool," Brent added.

"And just like that, I'm just the person who brings Brent." Lana joked.

"Hey, La-La!" Mikey laughed.

"Have you guys seen Raph?"

"Hey, Lana, more groceries?" Leo's tone was questioning.

"I couldn't help it. I have a mega sweet tooth."

Raph could imagine her pouting and imagined the one Lana was giving Fearless right now. That pout wouldn't help her case in the slightest. It was the holidays, and not many stores were opened. The few stores that were open were either full of people or so empty that everyone would notice the slightly green looking girl no matter how good her disguise is.

"Lana we have rules. You can't just skip over the ones that you don't like just because it's a holiday. Unless you have a good reason, but a sweet tooth isn't one."

"When do I skip over the ones I don't like?"

Raph snickered hearing Lana's defensive tone and could name on another occasion where the girl tried to bypass rules on a holiday. It was her first Christmas in the lair. In her offense, she wasn't used to things in their universe, but after Leo explains the rules he expects them followed. Raph knew that even if he didn't always follow them himself.

"My point is, I've had to say this to you more than once…."

Raph heard the deep sigh and thought either Lana was giving in or she was getting herself ready to start up another losing argument.

"You're right Leo…I just always had my red velvet mom's cake on Thanksgiving and…" Lana's voice trailed off, and Raph looked at the cake batter again in the bowl.

Red velvet cake.

The whole reason behind him mixing this damn bowl in the first place.

When he got up this morning, instead of having a girl bounce on his bed like a little kid, there was nothing to interrupt his sleep. He slept in, and it was weird since he'd gotten used to being annoyed in the morning.

When he went in search of her she was still in the small space she made her room and looking at some old pictures. When Raph asked about it, he didn't even pick on her once he saw her crestfallen expression. She told him how this would be the second year that she and her brother missed Thanksgiving with their mom.

When he asked her what the best part was, she gave a rare smile that always sparked something inside of him. When she told him that it was the first slice of her mom's red velvet at Thanksgiving dinner and a hug after, he wanted to do something about it.

He couldn't give the girl her mom so he tried to do the one thing he thought he could.

The cake.

With his next movement closer to the counter and the feel of the apron against his legs, he was reminded of the damn thing. His eyes went to the recipe on the counter, trying to read what came next but it never said when to stop stirring it. Was it 100 strokes? 500?

"Oh….my…."

"One more word Mikey and ya gonna be the first albino mutant turtle," Raph growled as he heard his baby brother enter the kitchen.

"But…"

" .word." He eyed his brother while emphasizing each word as the room went silent before he went back to stirring, eyeing the batter more this time.

"Um...Raph?"

His movement stopped, and Raph glanced behind him at his baby brother. His eye twitched as he gave Mikey a long look. "What?"

"You got a little something on your dress."

"MIKEY!" Raph went running after his brother as Mikey took off laughing, but Raph stopped before he even hit the entryway as he remembered the bowl in his hands. Cake first. Beat Mikey with his own shell second.

Raph took a deep breath as his stirring became harder and faster. He looked at the recipe again, squinting as if the recipe would speak and tell him the magic number that he was missing.

"Mikey there's no way tha-"

Raph stopped mid-stir as he looked at Don and Don looked at him. His little brother's eyes went over him as Raph's cheeks began to heat up, which only annoyed him more. He glanced over to see Mikey at Don's side with a cheeky smile that Raph had every intention of wiping off real soon.

"Got somethin' to say, Donnie?" He tried to make his voice sound menacing as he looked back at Don. The taller turtle continued to stare at him with his mouth gaped open, tempting Raph to add another gap to the purple masked turtle's mouth.

"Told you he was wearing a dress D." Mikey laughed.

"It's an apron!" Raph growled. His eyes narrowed, but it only seemed to make Mikey laugh more. He hated more now how his dad had seen him trying to bake without an apron and pushed this one into his hands to put on.

"Well um…at least it matches your eyes?" Don started to snicker.

"That's it, you're both dead." Raph practically dropped the bowl down to the counter before both his brothers scattered, and he took off for the nearest one. He was about to go after Mikey, but it'd be better to catch his baby brother when he least expected it. He didn't feel like chasing the shorter turtle all day.

Going after Don was better. He was a bit faster than him but much slower than Mikey. He nearly grabbed the tails of the purple mask before stopping the moment that he caught sight of Lana and Leo in the dojo, the girl doing some balancing act.

Raph grimaced at the thought of all of the times that he was sent to the hashi. Sad story or not, rules were rules for a reason. It kept them safe. It kept them alive. It was something that Raph was learning the older they got. Although, it never stopped him from breaking a few of them.

Moving back into the kitchen, he added Don to his list of brothers who needed to meet his fist and went back to stirring the mixture in the bowl.

Time passed, and he took a glance at the turkey that Mikey had cooked and could smell the other food that was set on the table. The youngest turtle had teased and dodged every hit Raph tried to land on him while he had been in the kitchen.

Mikey was gone now. Yet here he was still with a bowl. Raph heard someone enter and his brow ridge rose. Don hadn't come back by earlier, and he still owed the purple-masked turtle a beating.

"So the cake...it's for Lana?" Don asked.

""And if it is?" Raph's voice was gruff and daring, but Don just smiled.

"Nothing." Don turned around and left the kitchen just as Mike was coming in. Raph saw Mikey's mouth opened and Raph narrowed his eyes at the youngest turtle.

Don quickly grabbed Mikey, putting a hand over his mouth. Mikey glared at Don while making sounds under the purple masked turtle's hand.

"Good luck on the cake Raph." Don smiled as he turned to leave while pulling a silenced Mikey out of the kitchen. The whole thing confused Raph, but he just shrugged and went back to mixing.

Raph heard steps again. At these, he turned around and mixed faster knowing it was Lana's.

"So everyone's at the table."

"Uh huh…" Raph heard the sound of the stool being pulled back from the counter. They had managed to find three of them in the junkyard one day.

"And we're waiting on you."

"Ya'll can go ahead," Raph muttered.

"Yeah, that's not happening. What are you doing anyway?"

Raph tried moving as he felt eyes trying to peer around him and, for once, wished Lana had been some regular turtle girl citizen from that dimension she was from instead of a ninja like him.

"Stop bein' nosy!"

"Stop being secretive! I wanna see!" Lana yelled back.

"Too damn bad!"

"You're a jerk!"

"No one told ya come in here!"

"It's a free kitchen, jerk!"

Raph rolled his eyes and snorted as he went back to mixing.

"Raph…oh Raphael..."

"Ya real annoyin', know that?"

"Yet you're making me a cake, how sweet."

Raph stiffened and finally looked at Lana, "How ya knew?"

"Mikey said you probably wouldn't leave the kitchen until you're done with my cake."

"I'm killin' him…"

"Pfft. No, you're not." Lana teased before drumming her fingers on the countertop. "So…how's the cake thing going?"

"Fine..." he growled out and continued mixing.

"Haven't you been here all day?"

So?"

"Aren't you a little hungry?"

"I'm good." He ignored the rumble of his stomach and focused harder on the mixture in the bowl.

"You know...I don't have to have a cake."

Raph glared and mixed more furiously. "Ya gonna have a cake, so stuff it Lana!" At some point, the cake would tell him when it was mixed enough.

Stupid cake…

He heard a small laugh behind him as he continued glaring at the batter.

"Raph?"

"What…"

"Thanks."

He stopped mixing and looked back at Lana. She was giving that soft smile again, and he couldn't help but return it.

"Welcome." He felt better as he relaxed, and he began stirring slowly.

"But, you do know that over stirring ruins the whole thing right?"

Raph groaned and dropped the bowl down, walking over to Lana as he plopped down next to her and let his head hit the counter.

"There, there…" She patted his shell. "At least you got to wear a cute dress."

"I hate you..." Raph mumbled.

"I hate you too." Lana chuckled.