A/N: Heeeeeey guys...I'm...alive...yay~ I'm really sorry how long this has taken me. Still, I haven't given up on it! I'm working at it slowly but surely and I thank those of you who have come all this way with me and welcome the new comers. I am greatful for your patience and can't wait to see how you all like this chapter!

"Raise your head up.

Lift high the load.

Take strength from those that need you.

Build high the walls.

Build strong the beams.

A new life is waiting,

But danger's no stranger here."

~Phil Collins: "Two Worlds"

"You're late boys."

Both brothers winced.

They had known that hoping their father wouldn't notice was asking too much. It didn't help that they lived in a relatively small apartment, and their front door was in the direct line of sight of their father's favorite chair.

Mikey didn't dare take his eyes off the living room floor. He opened his mouth to speak, but his brother beat him to it, looking their father dead in the eyes as he slipped into autopilot.

"It was my fault. I...I was havin' fun and I lost track of the time."

Their father sighed and shook his head as he pushed himself up from his chair. Mikey tensed. Ralph's eyes dulled

"You two called me, while I was in the middle of work to bother me with questions about playing with some kid you met..."

His walk was slow and predatory. He slunk across the room towards them almost like a mountain lion, but they both knew he was far more unpredictable.

"I decided to be nice, decided to indulge you on the condition you boys come home at what time?"

"7pm exactly, sir," Ralph answered, staring blankly ahead. His entire body was a mix of relaxed and tense. His back was perfectly straight but his face was a slack, expressionless blank slate. His shoulders were rigid but his arms were loose by his sides.

Their father gripped his jaw and jerked his head in the direction of the clock hanging above the couch.

"What time does that clock say now?"

His voice was calm, almost as if he were still only talking to them from the couch.

"7:17 pm, sir."

The man gave a satisfied nod and let his son's jaw go as he, too, stared at the clock.

"7:17 pm," their father echoed.

Ralph's head whipped to the side as a loud clap ripped through the air. Mikey flinched and looked down, shutting his eyes tightly. One of Ralph's hands reached up to touch his now stinging cheek, only for his wrist to be caught in his father's bruising grip. Cold forest green eyes stared into amber ones.

"Did I say 7:17pm?"

Despite the anger that undercut his words, his voice was still light and calm. A stranger may even call it pleasant if they didn't listen hard enough.

Ralph hated that tone.

"No sir."

Ralph's response was met with a knee to the stomach. All at once the air was forced out of his lungs and he dropped to the floor a coughing, gasping mess. As he struggled to get the air back into his lungs their father just stared down at him, as if disgusted by how fast his son was floored.

"Now look what you did, Ralphie," he tsked. "You got me all worked up and angry again."

Ralph tried to apologize, but he was still fighting to get air back into his lungs, tears misting his vision against his will. No matter how much he blinked they wouldn't stop, and his father caught on. His calm demeanor slipped away, and he became really aggressive

"What, you're crying now? Trying to make me the bad guy? Throwing a fit because you don't want to admit you fucked up? Well I can give you something to cry about you little shit!"

He drew his leg back, and started violently kicking the teen, forcing him to curl into a tight ball as he keened for breath and tried to find his words again.

"I give you a home!"

Kick

"I feed you!"

Kick

"I work hard every single fucking day to make sure you and your brother have clothes on your back!"

He gave one more kick before stopping in a huff, taking a few deep breaths, collecting himself. And then he knelt down.

"All I asked for you in return is to just...just listen to me. Is that really so difficult for you, Ralphie? Do you like making me upset like this? Do you enjoy it when I punish you? I don't!"

Ralph panted heavily as he kept eye contact with his father. The lack of response, however, made his father impatient. He gripped Ralph's hair and lifted his head by it, ignoring the boy's wince and pained groan. After giving it a firm shake he barked, "Answer me you little shit!"

"N-no...sir…" Ralph wheezed, "I-I don't like making you upset."

"Then why do you do it so much? I love you boys! I put my whole life on hold for you two. I could have left you both on the street. I could have let you starve, but I didn't, did I?"

"No, sir."

"I take care of you boys, don't I?"

"Yes, sir."

"Damn fucking right I do."

Ralph flinched as his father shook him by the hair again, involuntary tears making their way out as it felt like his scalp was being ripped apart.

"You boys wouldn't last a day out in the real world without me to come home to. You can't handle yourselves, you don't think hard enough! You can't even handle one fucking order, what are you two gunna do when it's just you?"

Ralph didn't have an answer for that, but he didn't need one because his father carried on.

"You think you two can run to that...that new friend of yours?"

That got a slight reaction from Ralph. They had fun today with Donnie. His family seemed to like them well enough. Maybe-

"They'll get tired of you."

That killed Ralph's train of thought right away.

"They don't know you little shit-stains like I do. Give it time and they'll leave. No friend lasts past high school. No, I'm all you boys got. I'm the only one who can stand to be around you two for too long."

Ralph frowned. That couldn't be right. They had fun today. Ralph had seen his brother laugh today - really laugh! Perhaps that was what spurred his lapse of sanity. He was desperately clinging to a very false hope when he murmured.

"You're wrong."

He knew as soon as the words left his lips that he had fucked up. The rage in his father's eyes only hammered in that point home before his fists could follow up. It was his own fault; he should have known not to say something that stupid out loud. So he laid there and took the beating, allowed those stupid thoughts to be violently removed from his head. In the end, their dad was right. He was always right. This was a passing thing, nothing more. Donnie would get tired of them.

He and Mikey only really had each other.

However, the realization came too late to save him. He didn't really know when he ended up on the floor, or when he wrapped his arms around his head. He knew he would be incredibly sore later, even as his body felt like it was going numb. He glanced up between his arms and caught sight of his brother.

Mikey openly wept, his legs rooted in place, the entire upper half of him trembling. He should have known better, should have fought more with Ralph, should have listened to his suspicions when the day got unusually fun for them. He should have just told Donnie no.

"Uhhhh...Donnie, you sure this is the right place?"

"Yeah! I know it isn't much but-"

"Are you kidding? This is great!"

The blonde fell to his knees and covered his ears, another sob wracked through his body.

They were having so much fun…

Ralph looked around, brow cocked, and asked, "This is your room? It's so...normal!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Mikey giggled. "We both figured it'd look a bit more...sciency."

They were happy.

Donnie blushed before laughing sheepishly. "Well then, I uh...guess I'm sorry to disappoint. I could um...show you my lab i-if you guys-"

Mikey's eyes sparkled."You have a lab?!"

"Well, it's actually just the garage, but my parents let me run tests and experiments in there and-"

"Yer not gunna show us any Frankenstein's roadkill or fucked up lizards are yah?"

Mikey gasped and flicked his arm. "Ralph!"

Donnie looked horrified and shook his head. "NO! God, no! I-I just have a thing for seeing how certain things react with each other a-and studying how things work. I only really have access to microorganisms found in nature right now…"

"Like the diatoms?" Mikey chirped, looking very proud of his ability to remember the word.

Donnie looked shocked that he had even bothered to try. "Uh...yeah. Like the diatoms. I have other plankton samples from the river if you guys maybe want to-"

"BUGS OF THE SEA!"

In a rush of gold Mikey was out of the room bounding toward the townhouse garage, leaving just the older boys standing in Donnie's room. The young scientist stared off in the direction Mikey had run off, looking rather dumbstruck, like this was a first for him.

Ralph at least had it in him to look slightly apologetic. "He has a thing for...well, weird stuff…"

Donnie shook his head absentmindedly. "Ah, don't worry about it…though we should probably go after him."

They should have known better. They did know better, but they tried to drag it out anyway.

"So...my mom is making stew tonight. She tends to make a lot more than the three of us could actually eat in one night. Would you guys maybe want to…"

Donnie looked rather uncomfortable. Both boys could see that. It wasn't hard to tell that they were the first people he'd had over in a while, if he'd had anyone over at all. Even Mikey saw the shocked looks he'd received when he asked questions about the little microorganisms Donnie kept out of genuine interest. It was a bit sad to see really. He seemed so shy, Mikey just wanted to give him a hug. Ralph noticed the effort it seemed to take on Donnie's part to even get that far in the offer to have them eat with him and his family.

Perhaps that's why he interrupted Mikey.

"That sounds great Donnie but-"

"You're sure it's okay with your folks?"

Donnie and Mikey both looked to Ralph with very different expressions.

"I...I should probably ask just to be sure...wait right here!"

Neither boy missed the smile he had as he ran back into the house

Mikey choked on a sob. He should have fought harder.

"What are you doing?"

"It's fine."

"But dad-"

"I got it, okay? It won't take that long. We stick around for food and leave. That simple. You can smell it already, we got plenty of time."

"But what if-"

"Good news!"

Donnie hurried back into the garage lab and smiled warmly at them both. "They both said yes."

Mikey knew then he should say no. Should stand his ground. But Donnie looked so happy.

"Sweet!"

He beamed happily and linked arms with a now blushing Donnie. "I call the seat by you."

They had forgotten not to trust good days like this. They wanted so badly to believe…

"Wow! You two must have been hungry."

Mikey and Ralph blushed, finishing their bowls at around the same time while their hosts were only about halfway through theirs. They were used to being fast eaters.

Still, Mikey beamed at Donnie's mom. "You're just a really good cook, ma'am."

She laughed and waved a dismissive hand, holding her husband's with her free hand. "Hey now, none of that here. Dennis and I have names and are happy to go by them. You boys can just call me Eliza."

Dennis nodded with an easy smile. "You boys can grab more if you want, please feel free to help yourselves. "

Donnie looked between his parents and his new friends, smiling a bit more. This was the happiest and most relaxed they had seen him, though being out of school may have something to do with it.

Neither brother knew what to say to that. The interaction was so...casual. They ended up getting another serving and chatting a bit more with the family. It was the best dinner they'd had in years.

They should have just gone home.

Mikey couldn't take it anymore. He stumbled over to their father and hugged his arm tightly, hiding his face in his shoulder.

"Stop it! Please! Please stop! It's my fault! Please-"

He was cut short when their father shook him off and back-handed him. Mikey was then grabbed by the front of his shirt and pulled uncomfortably close with a whimper. "Was I fucking talking to you, Michel?"

Mikey sniffled and laid his hand over their father's. "N-no sir...but please…"

He looked down at the unnervingly still form of his brother. "H-he learned his lesson, sir. I-I can only cover so m-much...please."

That seemed to register in their father. He stared down at his youngest son a few moments more before letting him go with a sigh. "Clean him up, then. We'll talk more about this later tonight, you understand me?"

Mikey gave a meek nod, staring down at the floor and suppressing a shudder. "Y-yes sir."

His head was gently tilted up until he was looking deep into his father's eyes.

"Everything I do, I do for you boys. You know that right?"

Mikey nodded. "Yes sir."

Their father brushed the tears from his face tenderly, like he was holding a glass doll.

"I love you boys so much. I just want what's best for you. I'm the only one who can take care of you boys, and it hurts that you two don't seem to appreciate the things I do."

Mikey laid his hands over his father's. "W-we do...it won't happen again. We promise."

"You're such a good boy Michel. I'm sorry you had to see that."

Their father smiled softly down at him. It was hard to believe that he had been so angry only moments before, like a switch had been flipped. But there was something else in his eyes. Something much scarier to Mikey than his anger.

His father kissed the top of his head and Mikey felt incredibly sick. He was only able to breathe comfortably again when their dad pulled away and sat back down in his chair, as if none of that had happened. It almost would have made Mikey wonder if he had imagined it, were it not for Ralph's beaten body on the floor.

Mikey scrambled to his brother's side and helped him to his feet, whispering words of comfort and encouragement as they made their way back to their shared room. After carefully laying Ralph onto the bottom bunk of the bed he helped him get his shirt off to look at the damages. If their father was good at anything, it was hitting the less noticeable places. The red mark on both their faces would mostly fade by the next day and could be explained away, and the bruises that were starting to show up were all in places that could be covered easily with a shirt and pants. Still, they looked very painful, and it was obvious that Ralph was too sore to move much. He was just grateful that tomorrow wasn't a school day. Mikey planned on keeping Ralph in bed all day, but what if even that wasn't enough? What if something happened between right then and Monday?

Ralph had gotten very good at reading his little brother, even in a state like this. Slowly reaching up, he gripped his arm.

"He didn't leave any cuts Mikey. I'm fine alright," Ralph mumbled, giving his brother what was supposed to be a reassuring smile that only managed to look tired and fake.

Mikey wasn't letting it slide. Not tonight. He gave a small frown and wiped at his still damp eyes. "If you think I am letting you set one foot out of bed tomorrow-"

"Mikey, I'm fine. This...this ain't a big deal. I'm used to it, alright?"

"That's gonna be a hard one to explain to Donnie," Mikey said quietly, almost to himself. "Maybe...maybe it should be."

Now it was Ralph's turn to frown. "What are you talking about?"

Mikey bit his bottom lip ain thought and met his brother's eyes with a look of determination. "What if we told him? Tell him what dad does to you?"

He saw Ralph's face go blank and his tone turned a little desperate.

"You said dad was wrong. You said we have someone who cares. Donnie...Donnie's our friend. He'll understand, he'll help us!"

Ralph's expression didn't change and Mikey felt his eyes watering again as he held Ralph's hand tighter.

"We could get out of here Raph! He'd let us stay with him, I know he would! A-and his parents seem to like us a lot, I'm sure they wouldn't mind either! We could crash with them a while! We could get jobs of our own and then get our own place. Just like we always talked about. And Donnie could come too! We would all live together and not worry about getting hit or yelled at ever again! Come on, whatta you say?"

"Don't be stupid Mikey."

The words felt like a heavy stone, mercilessly crushing his heart. Ralph wasn't looking at him anymore, just staring blankly at the top bunk above him.

"Donnie may be our friend for now, but we can't drag him into this...not this. It ain't any of his business or anyone else's. You know what they would do if they found out? They'd tell us to get lost, that it isn't their problem."

"But-"

"-and if someone did find out what Dad was doing? He'd get carted off to prison or something at best and you and me would end up in an orphanage or foster home. They wouldn't let me keep you, Mikey. They'd put us in the system and when I age out of it, they'll toss me out and you'd be all alone. We'd get split up."

Raph glanced up at Mikey with that dead look still in his eyes.

"At the end of it all, you and me are all we got, little bro."

Mikey couldn't look at his brother anymore. He couldn't take that look of defeat any longer, so he looked down. Shutting his eyes tightly, Mikey felt his nails dig painfully into his palm but he didn't care. It wasn't fair. What had they done to deserve a life like this? How could they even call this a life?!

The blond hadn't even realised he was crying until Ralph pulled him into a tight hug and started wiping away his tears.

"There's no reason for you tah cry Mikey. I gotcha, and I ain't lettin' nobody hurt you."

"But what about you?" Mikey hated the way his voice sounded, as wet as his tears. He was always in tears lately. Always sobbing and crying in a corner while he watched their dad beat up on his brother, unable to do anything but beg for it to be over. He felt so useless...so pathetic.

"What I tell ya bout doin' my job?" Ralph hugged Mikey even tighter to him. "I'm the oldest, I'm supposed to be the one lookin' out for you. Don't worry about me, okay little bro? I'll be fine, I've gotten used to it by now, remember? It really ain't a big deal."

He pulled back to wipe away his brother's fresh tears. "Just don't stop smilin' okay? Don't let what's goin' on with me get to yah. A'right?"

Mikey sniffled again then took a deep breath, calming himself down. Beaming up at his brother, he nodded, tears still threatening to spill over.

"Okay...if you say so."

Raph gave a satisfied smile, and nodded as well before letting go of Mikey. Relaxing back in the bed he suddenly felt really, really tired. He yawned and shut his eyes.

"It's late, go tah bed. You can have the top bunk tonight."

Mikey gave a silent nod before scrambling up to the top bunk. Then he just laid there. When he heard the sound of his brother's snoring he carefully crawled back down, careful not to make a sound. Shutting the door silently, he made his way back to the living room where their father still sat, who didn't look up from the TV when he asked, "Is he asleep?"

Mikey nodded with a soft, "Mhm."

Their father shut the TV off and stood, stretched, and walked to his bedroom. His son silently followed behind him, his head down, his eyes lifeless. The two disappeared into the dark room, and the door shut behind them.