Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Drabble 05: Special Gift

Rating: K

Genre: Family

Characters: Mikey, Raph

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He knew it was an accident. He knew that if he looked up he'd see guilt written all over Raph's face. But that didn't change the fact that Mikey's most cherished item from his childhood now lay shattered on the kitchen floor thanks to his older brother's inability to control his temper.

"Mikey... I - "

Plastering a smile on his freckled face that he knew didn't quite reach his eyes, Mikey turned his gaze from the ceramic pieces at his feet to his big brother.

"Nah, it's fine," he said as nonchalantly as possible, "It was just a mug. Don't worry about it, bro."

It was not just a mug. This was the very first gift that Master Splinter had given to him as a young turtle. Sure they had some shared toys and books, but it wasn't until their father had given them each their own unique cup that Mikey felt like he truly owned something. This wasn't something to share, something to be put back in the community toy box when he was done with it; it was his and his alone, and from that day on he made sure to take care of his only possession.

Over the years he'd gotten other gifts that were more fun or exciting, but for reasons he could never fully understand, he continued to cherish the little mug. Maybe it was the bright orange cat painted on the side that smiled up at him, but he refused to drink from anything else. Raph's had unsurprisingly broken long ago while Donnie's had gone missing and Leo's had been pushed to the back of the cupboard, forgotten, but still Mikey would always reach for his special cup.

If he was being honest with himself, the young turtle knew it was a miracle it had lasted as long as it did. He wasn't exactly the most graceful of their little family, and, being growing boys, there was almost always some sort of roughhousing going on throughout the lair. But that didn't make him feel better as he brushed the broken pieces into the dust pan and dumped them in the trash, trying to ignore the ever cheerful stare of the orange cat despite losing it's lower half in the accident.

Mikey could practically feel Raph's unease, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't think of the words. He tried again to placate his older brother with assurances that it was fine and all was forgiven, but he could tell he wasn't buying it. So he did the only thing he could think of: he pretended to see a cockroach. This effectively shooed away "strangely apologetic" Raph and gave way first to "scared stiff" Raph and then, upon figuring out he was lying, "when I catch you, I'm gonna smack you so hard, you little - " Raph.

Over the course of the next week or so, time went by as if nothing had changed. A wave of sadness would rush over Mikey every time he opened the cupboard and didn't see his special cat mug staring back at him, but it would pass, and life in the lair went on as usual. He remained his normal cheerful, obnoxious self, until he woke up one morning to a surprise sitting on the crate at the end of his bed.

Rubbing his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him, he blinked as he stared at the two mugs before him. One was clearly brand new and in pristine condition with four photos he'd taken of Ice Cream Kitty professionally printed on the outside. The other was his old, broken cup. Aside from a few small chips missing, it had been carefully reconstructed and glued back together. It was clearly unusable for actually drinking out of, but his beloved orange cat smiled back at him all the same.

There was no note, but it was obvious who had snuck into his room and left them there.

A large grin already on his face, he carefully picked up the cracked mug and placed it gently on his shelf. Once he was satisfied with it's positioning amongst his action figures and other random collected items, he snatched up his new mug and trotted out the door, suddenly feeling very thirsty.


A/N: Believe it or not, this was based on the same prompt as the first drabble, "Fix This", except with Raph instead of Leatherhead. Go figure.