Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT or anything to do with TMNT.

Author's note: I want to thank those who have helped me with this chapter and have also been helpful in giving me critiques. I also would like to thank my reviewers. And a big thank you to the wonderful beta roxygoth.

This story is based primarily in 2012 TMNT though there will be other elements of different TMNT universes found throughout.

Warning:

This story contains Raph/Casey, a slash or male love pairing. If that's not your cup of tea, I recommend not reading the story.

This is a rewrite of Chapter 1 "Just A Story" .

Raph's eyes narrowed, the grip on his weapon tightening. His enemy was only a few inches away.

"Calm yourself, Raphael..." Master Splinter's voice entered his mind.

He took a deep breath before driving his weapon down with a long exhale. His eyes flashed white with fury as the sound of metal clinked against metal. With gritted teeth, he steadied his hand. A triumphant smirk crossed his face. "It's just you…and me."

"Raph!"

He jumped, and the chair hit the floor with a loud thud. He closed his eyes a moment before looking down at the table and slowly opening them. The instant he saw the noodles he was aiming for, he groaned inwardly.

"Mikey…" his tone was low and menacing as the fork dropped from his hand. His fingers grasped for a shuriken at his belt, throwing it before sparing a glance towards the door.

"Ya don't see me eatin' here?" Raph snapped at his baby brother whose head was slowly coming back up from its shell.

"I just had a question," Mikey whined with his bottom lip poking out.

He rolled his eyes at Mikey before leaning over to pick the chair and fork back up off the floor.

"Whattya want Mikey?" Raph folded his muscular arms across his plastron before leaning against the kitchen table with his eyes back on the orange-masked turtle.

"I um…" Mikey tapped his chin, his words trailing off nearly making Raph roll his eyes for a second time.

"Lemme guess, ya forgot," he snorted while Mikey kept tapping his chin before pointing towards the bowl on the table. "Are you gonna eat that?"

"Well...I was," he dropped the fork back on the table. "But then someone," his eyes landing right on his baby brother, "decided to yell my name like an idiot."

"So..." Mikey drew out the word. "That's a no?"

"Go ahead, ding dong" he mumbled before Mikey jumped with a fist pump.

"YES!" Mikey laughed, first going over to the fridge and pulling out a few containers. Mikey opened one, and the stench hit Raph's nose making him grimace. Mikey only shrugged after sniffing it, putting it on the table along with more jars and containers.

"I'm scared to ask. But what ya doin'?"

"Just gonna spice it up a bit." Mikey's brow ridges furrowed with a tongue hanging out before he started pouring various items into the bowl. Raph felt his stomach starting to turn, almost preferring the stench of the sewer to whatever shorter turtle was concocting.

"What is that?" Raph's mouth gaped open while pointing to an open container full of some lumpy green food. He made a face at the fur on it.

"Um…" Mikey dipped a lone finger into the container and bought the chunk to his mouth. Raph's stomach turned as his brother sucked on the finger. Mikey let out a loud bleh before shrugging and eating the rest.

"I think it was eggs." Mikey turned towards him as Raph brought a hand to his mouth swallowing back bile.

"Aw, I ate it all." Mikey pouted at the empty container before getting up to get a spoon and started stirring the mixture before pausing. "Want some? I mean, I guess I sorta did keep ya from ya food."

Raph's eyes went to the odd color mixture in the bowl. He spied a few pieces of pepperoni floating around and quickly shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good," he moved from the table standing while Mikey sat eating the stuff. Mikey was always creative in the kitchen, and sometimes he could make stuff that sounded wrong but tasted great. Then other times it went like this.

"Yo losh bruh," Mikey tried speaking with a mouth full of food before grinning at him with stained teeth. Raph couldn't pick apart the freckles on Mikey's face from the crumbs.

"Whatever." Raph stretched out his arms before dropping them to his sides. "Ya remember what ya wanted yet? If not, I need to go feed Chompy" he watched Mikey turn up the bowl, slurping away at the contents before pausing and slowly bringing the bowl back down.

"Wait!"

"Yeah?"

"You know that thing you found in the dump when we went last week. Mind if I go to your room and borrow it?" Mikey put his hands together. "Pwetty pwease with sugar on top Raphie?"

Raph took one long look at his brother after he heard the old nickname before snorting, "Nope." He turned to leave; there was no way he was falling for that.

"But Raph!" Mikey whimpered with a few sniffles.

"Not happenin'," he kept on walking.

"Did I tell you that you're my favorite older brother?" Mikey's voice was back to normal, and Raph held back a laugh.

"Ya other choices are Fearless or Brainiac. Course I'm ya favorite." Raph smirked a bit with a teasing tone. "But still ain't gonna happen."

"Why not?" Mikey shrieked.

"Sides ya breakin' damn near everything ya touch?"

"I don't break everything" Mikey huffed. "And it's not my fault! You guys know not to leave me alone with stuff that says 'Do Not Touch!' And red buttons don't count. Everyone pushes the red button. Can't I just borrow something else from your room then?"

Raph turned around quickly to look at Mikey. "Hell. No."

He could already picture his brother's hands on his comics and then he'd have to deal with pizza stains and grease all over his pages making it hard to read. Again.

"But Master Splinter says sharing is caring..."Mikey crossed his arms over his plastron with a pointed look at Raph.

Raph gave Mikey his own look, "First off, Dad never says that. And second…" he was barely holding back his temper as his brother shrunk in the chair.

Mikey slowly started to straighten in the chair as Raph held a glare but stayed silent. "Second?"

"Stay out my damn room!" he snapped.

"I won't even be in there long!" Mikey yelled back with a huff. "Just in and out. You won't even know I've been there."

Raph snorted. "Yeah I will. Cuz every time ya go in my room, ya break somethin'."

Mikey's leg started to bounce. "Well, can ya least not go to ya room right now?"

Raph's eyes narrowed. "Why?" the word came out slowly.

"Just asking," Mikey squeaked out before clearing his throat. "I mean...Chompy probably isn't that hungry. And why even go to your room right now? Rooms are like you know those silly places you go at night. Or maybe like...um not go back into for the next maybe hour?" Mikey slowly rose from the chair and started to go towards the kitchen exit.

"Mikey…" Raph's eyes followed his retreating brother. "What did ya do?"

"Who said I did anything?" Mikey gave a laugh, eyes darting around the room.

Raph started walking slowly towards him, "You got two seconds to start talkin' or…" he paused with a wicked grin, watching his baby brother back away as he cracked his knuckles, "I beat the green off ya."

"I um…" Mikey took a quick glance at the door. "Might have already been in there? And…" he took another step back as Raph's eye ridge rose as the orange-masked turtle squeaked. "Maybe dropped your ninja figurine?"

"Ya…" Raph stayed quiet a long moment. "Hold up, lemme get this right. First, ya go in my room without askin..."

"Um...yeah?" Mikey continued to back up, but Raph kept coming closer.

"And then…" Raph drummed his fingers along the counter as he moved and pondered all the ways he could knock sense into his baby brother. "Ya start messin' with my stuff…"

"I wasn't messing with it." Mikey's eyes shifted quickly towards the doorway before back at Raph. "I was just holding it," he paused while trailing off. "In a creative way?"

"Oh a'ight." Raph stopped while making sure not to show anything on his face, and Mikey rose a brow ridge at him.

"So you're not mad?"

"Nope," Raph emphasized the p. He gave his baby brother a smile before suddenly dropping it then lunging forward."I'M PISSED!"

"I didn't mean to," Mikey cried out and dodged from him before running jumping over the counter. Raph followed, dishes were knocked over and crashed to the floor as Mikey slid under the table then sprinted out the kitchen.

Raph could feel his irritation grow as he tried catching up. "Ya know how long it took me to get that?".He charged at Mikey before feeling a hand on his shoulder. He turned and threw a punch which landed on nothing but air while only seeing a brief glimpse the blue tails of a mask.

"What the fuck ya want Leo?" Raph turned around quickly, his voice not losing its volume. He could no longer hear Mikey's footsteps as he stared down his older brother.

"Just keep breathing and calm down. Whatever it is, I doubt it's that serious."

"That's easy for you to say" Raph snorted with his eyes narrowing at his older brother.

Leo let out a deep sigh while rolling his eyes. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That it ain't your room" Raph gritted his teeth with a growl behind his tone.

"I still say it's not a huge deal." Leo's brow ridge slightly rose while keeping a hand on Raph's shoulder.

"A'ight, Leo. You tell me where I'm gonna find another modern ninja collectible," Raph shook Leo's grip off him. He was trying to reign in his temper, but hearing Leo tell him to do it wasn't helping.

"I'll fix it!" came a yell from another part of the lair.

"How?" Raph yelled back.

"I'm gonna ask D." Mikey exclaimed, and Raph could picture the huge grin on Mikey's face "No worries, bro!"

Raph took in a long breath before he exhaled. He'd give his baby brother a few hours, but if his stuff wasn't fixed by the time he went in his room, Mikey was meeting Mr. Fist.

"You know how Mikey is, Raph." Leo sighed. "It's like Master Splinter always says 'you should not let your anger take hold of you and instead must let it fall off like water. Besides you could just get another."

"I got lucky findin' one the first time!" He threw his hands in the air. "And if it was that easy, don't ya think I'd have more than one?"

"Then maybe Casey or April won't mind getting another for you. Just give one of them the money, and I'm sure they can pick it up."

"Really Leo?" Raph faked a gasped. "Damn, I shoulda thought of that." He facepalmed himself before holding up a finger. "Oh, but wait. Just one problem..." Raph quickly pointed to the lair's exit while barely controlling his temper. "We live in a fuckin' sewer, Leo! Where the hell would I get the money?"

"You could do what Don does?"

"Not happenin'. There ain't no way I'm swimmin' in shit just to find a few quarters."

Leo sighed. "My point is Raph...it's an object. Objects can be replaced."

"Uh huh, I'll remember that the next time he uses ya Space whatever comics for his drawings when he runs out of paper." Raph gave Leo a cocky smile while Leo's eye started to twitch, finding a way to get under Leo's skin never got old.

"Regardless…" He could hear the slight annoyance in Leo's voice. "Try not to let it get to you. I know you're bored around here. But taking it out on Mikey won't make you feel better."

"Yes, mom," Raph snorted while ignoring the look Leo threw him. "Anythin' else or ya wanna tell me how to tie my mask too?"

"Just remember we have patrol," Leo groaned, before throwing up his arms.

The corners of Raph's lips threatened to twitch upward, "Whatever ya say Fearless." he brushed past his brother, glad that the lecture was over. He was still annoyed, and like always Splinter Jr was pushing it. At least Mikey had the sense to take his figurine to Don. His Brainiac little brother could fix anything.

"And by the way, I wouldn't use a slip knot," Leo smirked, and Raph rolled his eyes.

He made his way to his favorite spot and plopped down onto a bean bag only to see "Space Heroes" in bold letters appear on the tv screen. He didn't understand Leo's fascination with this damn show. With a click of a button, the channel changed, and the image of an alligator taking out a deer became front and center.

"Raph...," Leo said while Raph turned up the volume to bother his brother more. "Raphael!"

Raph held back a laugh. Was he being petty? Maybe. Was he going to stop teasing his big brother? Not in this lifetime. He let his finger hover over the volume button, "Ya said somethin' Fearless? Ya gotta speak up" he smirked and turned it up even louder.

"I was watching that!" Leo shrieked, but Raph had already lost interest as he started flipping channels and didn't bother with a response.

"RAPH!"

"Calm down bro. It ain't that serious," Raph mimicked the words from earlier and felt some satisfaction at the sound of a low growl behind him. Putting his arms behind his head, he dropped the remote on the seat of the chair beside him. He tried to settle back, hoping the tension would leave his body.

"Real mature..." Leo muttered.

Raph snorted, his eyes staying on the TV before suddenly the channel changed and "Space Heroes" was staring back at him.

"What th- What ya do that for!?" Raph glared at Leo after jumping to his feet. His eyes went to his brother's hand, spotting the remote.

" .Back," Raph's words were slow but harsh. He stepped forward with transparent lids slowly covering his green irises.

"It's just a stupid remote," Leo sighed, only irking him further. "So relax…"

"Here's a plan," Raph came closer. "Why don't you stop tellin' me what to do," he hissed before lunging towards Leo, missing his brother's sidestep and sliding into the television.

"Not my baby!"

Raph blinked a few times, his eyes back to normal before standing up. He looked towards Mikey who reappeared and looked at the broken television on the floor like he lost his best friend.

"Stupid TV." He muttered before kicking the pieces with a frustrated growl before Mikey ran over, picking up the pieces.

"No Raph, you're hurting it more," Mikey cried out, throwing a glare at him before starting to pick up the broken pieces. "Shhh...It'll be okay. D will fix you. And then we'll be playing the new MMO again. You'll like that, won't you?"

Raph rose a brow ridge while looking over at his younger brother trying to decide if he should bother with a joke.

"Great job Raph. Now we even have more stuff to do."

Hearing Leo, his head snapped from the scene to his oldest brother. "Ya blamin' me for this?" Raph's eyes narrowed.

"If you would have just controlled your temper..," Leo's voice stayed calm, and Raph eyes were almost slits. He couldn't take Leo's high and mighty attitude right now.

"You're the one took the remote," he yelled, his blood starting to boil. He stomped towards his brother, not bothering with silent steps.

"I had it first, and I was already there."

"Well, I ain't see ya!"

"Maybe if you weren't so busy chasing Mikey that wouldn't be the case." Leo shook his head a moment. "If you would just take a moment and stop being so impulsive and hothea-"

Before he could think, Raph's fist shot straight out hitting Leo square in the jaw making his brother stumble back against the wall and to the floor.

Leo blinked a few times, lifting himself up while Raph's chest was heaving with his fist still balled up. The phone rang with Casey's ringtone blaring through the silence. Raph tore his eyes from Leo to glance down at his phone while ignoring the throb of his knuckles.

"Raph," Mikey gasped, and he looked to see his freckle-faced younger brother helping Leo up.

"I'm fine Mikey." Leo gave Mikey a smile before the orange-masked turtle engulfed him in a hug.

Raph watched the scene playing out in front of him unsure what to do. He looked down with his fists clenching tighter as guilt started to bite at him. Without another word he quickly turned on his heel to leave, he needed to get out of here.