A Different Kind of Brotherly Love

By: Ramen

Disclaimer: Oh please. Like I would ever be smart or awesome enough to come up with TMNT! Or anything else you might find in here that's obviously not mine… *Sad face* …I'm gonna go into my depressed corner now…

Warning: If you missed or somehow forgot the warning I posted in the story summary, then I will be glad to refresh your memory- I will not be held responsible for whatever disgust/horror/homophobia that you may or may not feel for this story, and as such, I am warning you now- flames will not be tolerated, and I will definitely find some way for that little flame to explode in your face… If you complain to me about corrupting your children's minds, then I will counter and say that it was your fault for not supervising your children properly, and if worse comes to worse, I can report you to the police if you harass me about it… Did my attempt to sound threatening succeed? No..? Aw…

Author's Note: Now that we've got that 'threatening' hoopla out of the way, let's get down to business! I'm sorry for taking so long with my updates- now I feel like a hypocrite, because I hate it when my favorite authors take too long to update… Bleh, now I know the pressure they must feel…

Thanks to Morfanerina (one of the most unique names I've seen in a while), MidnightMoonWarrior (thanks for the kinds words!), and Eridani23 (thanks for motivating me two times, you cool person xD), Love-LeoxRaph-Rage (haha, thank you very much for calling this awesome- sorry if my Raph is kinda suckish, I've been having a hard time pegging his character), and danadess (heh, that's my favorite line, too) for reviewing Chapter Three- you guys motivate me so~

Chapter Four: Sleepless in New York

It was 12:30 when Raph got back from the garage. Some bastard had slashed the Shell Cycle's tires the other day when he went out for a couple of drinks at the bar with Casey, and Donny wasn't the only one who knew his way around an engine, so he made the repairs himself.

His shoulder still ached from pushing the cycle back home all by himself yesterday (Casey had to get home early because of an 'emergency'). Adding insult to injury, he also had to take the longer, more secluded, way home, because it would've looked too suspicious for a mysterious trench-coated figure to be pushing a souped-up motorcycle down the streets of New York in the dead of the night; the last thing Raph needed was curious stares.

Long story short, he was tired, pissed, and in need of a stiff drink- for some strange reason, an image of Leonardo's angry face from last week's argument flashed in his mind at those thoughts.

God, he mentally groaned to himself as he leaned back into the couch and popped open a can of Bud, he sure hoped that he wouldn't encounter Fearless Leader tonight. It was just one of those nights, when Raph knew that just one little thing could set him off at this moment. With Leo, there's no such thing as 'little' in terms of irritation.

As you can see, he wasn't as impulsive or unexpected with his destructive moods as his brothers made him out to be; it was just that he didn't exactly know how to diffuse his anger before it exploded in everyone's face.

Beating the tar out of his poor punching bag obviously wasn't the solution, and getting shit-faced wasn't exactly a healthy alternative, either.

Unknowingly, he had confided in Casey about this predicament one late, drunken night, and Casey, who was half-sober and clearly getting some sick amusement out of seeing Raph completely wasted, had made some joke about him getting laid.

Him? Getting laid? Being a huge, muscular mutant turtle, his options weren't exactly plentiful [cue Raph's fan girls' screams]. Of course, he knew everything there was to know about the rituals of courting and all that jazz, thanks to Casey and the living documentary of carnal displays that could be seen just by walking through the shadier parts of the city.

Really, the only option of a lay that he had without it being inter-species was Donny, Mikey, or, God forbid, Leo…

At that rampant thought, he coughed violently, nearly choking on the beer that he was guzzling down, especially at that last prospect; Raph knew that he'd never get the image of Leo on top of him out of his head now.

'Wait, wait a damn second… Leo's not manly enough to be on top!' Raph scoffed. Afterwards, he shook his head with disbelief. Why the hell was he even thinking about this? Besides, if he had to choose out of the three, the last one he'd pick would be Leo. He had enough of his bossy attitude already; he didn't need to experience it in bed.

Once he finished the beer, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and crumpled the can. He tossed it in a nearby trash bin and decided to hit the sack; he'd been through enough for today.

The next morning, Raph could feel some sort of strange tension hanging around in the lair. Maybe it had something to do with those weird looks that his brothers threw at him when they thought he wasn't looking, or maybe it was the way Donny and Mikey started speaking in hush tones right after he left a room.

It was as if there was something they weren't telling him, some sort of big secret that he wasn't included in. Hell, even Master Splinter was looking at him strange. It sure wasn't the first time Raph felt like this, but this time, it felt like there was something… bigger going on.

Little did Raph know that his suspicions were about to be confirmed, but not in the way he expected.

The day proceeded on as usual, nothing out of the ordinary, just the regular sparring session that they had every single day. Mikey was his usual stupid self, cracking stupid jokes and doing stupid things (which pissed Master Splinter off to no end). Donny was normal, too, spouting off some random science shit that no one understood, and Leo… well, he was self-explanatory.

Raph yawned a bit, feeling bored. Day in and day out, everything was the same. He didn't know how long he could keep up with this monotony before he exploded (literally and figuratively).

When it came around to lunchtime, things started to get strange. The smell of slightly-burnt pizza crust, herby marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese floated around the lair; no doubt Mikey was currently baking his favorite food of all time. Raph came out of his room and saw Leo, who was lounging around on the sofa and reading a dull-looking book.

"'Ey, Leo, whatcha reading?" Raph asked curiously, trying to start a conversation. He'd wanted to question Leo about the source of all the tension, but it seemed like the blue-masked turtle had been avoiding him lately.

"Um… I-It's nothing, you probably wouldn't be interested in it, anyway," Leo murmured shyly, then looked down at his book again. Raph raised an eye ridge and stared sharply at his older brother. Was he… blushing? What the hell was going on?

"… Okay then…" Raph grunted, a displeased look on his face. Deciding to try again later, the red-masked turtle made his way to the kitchen to grab a beer, his mind buzzing with numerous thoughts.

What was happening around here? He searched his memory to see if he had done anything wrong lately, but nothing came to mind. Then why were they looking at him as if he committed a crime or something? It just didn't make any sense.

He stepped into the kitchen, intent on getting to the fridge, but something made him stop short.

"Wh-What the hell is going on here?" Raph yelped in a manly way (not), eyes wide and jaw dropping with shock.

Donny and Mikey jumped away from each other, as if electrocuted. When Raph had walked in, he saw his two younger brothers (oh God, it sounded even worse in his mind) practically grinding into each other, making out and moaning breathily into each other's mouths like a pair of wild animals.

"Fuck, don't tell me you two were about to…" Raph shuddered, looking back and forth between the two, his voice getting higher and higher as he went on. "Christ, when did this… how the hell did this happen?"

The two of them said nothing, both looking at the ground with shame on their faces. They were still flushed and panting quietly from their little 'bonding moment'.

After a long, intense silence, Donny finally looked up and shakily said, "Raph, Mikey and I… we love each other, and it would be… we would appreciate it if you were okay with that."

For once in his life, Raph was totally dumbstruck. It took a long time for him to find his voice again, but when he did, he instantly regretted it.

"But this… what you're doin' is sick, Donny! Can't ya see that?" he blurted out, his tone disgusted. Behind him, Raph heard a gasp, and he turned to see Leo standing in the doorway, dismay apparent on his expression.

"Leo, did you know about this?" Raph asked incredulously, motioning to Donny and Mikey like they were some sort of abomination.

Leo stayed quiet, a look of guilt spreading on his face, while Donny clutched Mikey's hand tighter in his own. The orange-masked turtle had a hand covering his eyes; it looked like he was crying.

"Shit, Mikey, I'm sorry, but this… This is too much…" Raph murmured, before quickly leaving the room.

"Raph!" He stopped short and looked back. He saw Donny glaring at him, tears pooling in his eyes. "You… You're such a hypocrite!"

Raph was speechless; what the hell was Donny talking about?

This time, it was Mikey who spoke up, his voice harsh but shaky and hiccups making his words falter. "Don't pretend like you don't know! I've seen the way you and Leo look at each other, so don't you tell us that what we're doing is sick!"

A shocked silence ensued. Raph stood frozen in place as his gaze shifted toward Leonardo.

"Raph…" Leo began, but stopped himself, biting his lip.

"Raph, are you okay?" It was Donny who spoke, his eye ridges furrowed worriedly at his unresponsive state.

"Raph?"

"Raph… Bro, wake up!"

Raph shot up and nearly fell out of his hammock, gasping harshly as he opened his eyes. From his peripheral, he saw Mikey standing there; the annoyed look on his face turned into concern when he saw how shaken he was.

"Dude, what happened? Aren't you, like, too old to be having nightmares?" the orange-masked turtle giggled at his own joke, but Raph's glare silenced him again.

With a combination of a growl and groan, Raph de-tangled himself from his 'bed', eyes still half-closed as he reached for his bandana and tied it tightly around his head. God knows he wasn't a morning person, and the memory of that nightmare coupled with Mikey's annoying jokes wasn't helping him with that at all.

"Wanna talk about it?" This time, Mikey's tone was serious, much to Raph's surprise. He thought about telling him, just to get it off his chest, but decided against it. The dream was just too weird, and it kind of reminded him of one of Master Splinter's soap operas. Raph made a mental note to never venture out into the living room while there was a "The Young and the Restless" marathon going on.

He snapped out of his random thoughts, realizing that Mikey was still waiting for an answer, so he shook his head and said, "Nah, it was nothin',"

Mikey considered pestering him further, but decided not to. Besides, he knew better than anybody that getting Raph pissed was never a good idea, especially in the morning. The two turtles made their way out of the room and headed toward the kitchen, where Donny was sitting at the table, nursing a cup of coffee.

"Hey bro, why so tired?" Mikey asked, putting Donny in a head-lock and causing some of his coffee to spill on the table, much to the genius's annoyance.

"Busy," Donny replied grumpily, getting up to go get a paper towel to wipe up the spilled liquid.

Raph cocked an eye ridge at his younger brother's uncharacteristically bitter mood, noting his pink-tinged eyes and deep scowl. What crawled up his ass and died?

"Geez Donny, I hate to say it, but this idiot-" "Hey!" "-has a point. Ya look like shit."

"Thanks for being so eloquent, Raph," Donny retorted sarcastically, scrubbing the surface of the table clean. "For your information, I was… doing research last night."

"Ah," was Raph's reply, deciding not to dig deeper into Donny's answer. He made his way over to the fridge, feeling a sense of déjà vu as he pulled out a beer. Looking toward the kitchen counter, he remembered his dream, and shuddered at the image of his two younger brothers fraternizing with each other.

"Ya know Raphie, it's not good to drink beer in the mornings," Mikey lectured, doing an eerily convincing impression of Leo, his eyes all and firm and his voice commanding.

Donny smacked him upside the head and Mikey winced, rubbing his poor, abused cranium. "Ow! Jeez Donny, I thought you already smacked me enough last night…"

At those last two words, an awkward silence fell upon all of them.

"Last night?" Raph asked curiously, instantly triggering a blush on both of their faces.

"U-Uhm…" Donny stuttered, and with a growing horror, Raph remembered his dream again.

"Raph, Mikey and I… we love each other, and it would be… we would appreciate it if you were okay with that."

Oh …hell no, he thought, no freakin' way Jose, that was just a stupid dream… right?

"Well uh, you see, Donny and I were um… Wrestling last night, and surprisingly, he was smackin' me around like he was John Cena er something!" Mikey laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

Raph raised an eye ridge, still not convinced, but before he could dwell on it, Donny smacked Mikey again, but harder.

"OW!"

"Surprisingly? What do you mean 'surprisingly', you unbelievable little…"

That statement was soon followed by half-hearted insults and snarky remarks, and strangely, it felt like a weight was being lifted off of Raph's shoulders. Everything was normal; there was no strange, incestual drama, no sobbing Mikey, no knight-in-shining-armor Donny, just a regular, loving moment between two brothers. Raph had a good feeling that it would stay that way for a long time.

Well, as a wise man once said… don't count your chickens before they hatch.

Ending Note: Geez, what a… bleh chapter. Hopefully, something exciting will happen next chapter, but knowing me, I'll probably drag everything out…

Anyway, thanks for reading Chapter Four guys; I'm still open to suggestions and stuff, and any kind of review will motivate me! [Points down at the Review Button] Chowder~