Disclaimer: I own no turtles, their adorableness belongs to Nickelodeon and Viacom. Seriously, when did they get so cute?
So this is my post for Candy Canes (the second advent prompt) and although it is late, I hope it does not disappoint. This one is almost double the length of the others and I acknowledge there might be some out of character moments, but I chalk it up to brothers just naturally having it out for each other.
Remember two chapters ago when I said Leo was the best at hiding presents? I may have neglected to mention that he is also the best at finding them.
Please enjoy this (late and lengthy) chapter!

Candy Canes

In the Hamato clan, honour stood above all things. One aspect of this was honouring one's debts, and this meant that when a service was provided, it was to be paid for in full.

But the currency was not ordinary money, which had little to no influence on the turtles; instead, each brother had his own individual weak spot. Mikey's allegiance could easily be bought with a toy, food, or something shiny. Donatello, while more difficult to entice, would do just about anything in exchange for a rare part or tool for his latest project. Leo could only be persuaded if some obscure Space Heroes memorabilia he did not yet own was involved. Raph was the most difficult to bribe, although in December of each year it became infinitely easier to appeal to the temperamental turtle's sense of humanity.

Or at the very least, his sweet tooth.

Yes, Raphael's kryptonite was a Christmas candy unequalled by any other: Candy canes. Everything about the delicious treats, from their red, white and green stripes to their fresh flavour made Raph's mouth water. Beneath his bed, hidden among the mechanic magazines and the forgotten action figures from his childhood was a sack of candy canes filled to bursting. There had to be at least four dozen of those bad boys in there, if not more. Candy canes were the one thing the hothead showed a liking toward – besides Spike, of course – and his siblings spared no time calling in favours when candy canes were in season.

Mikey was Raph's best customer, for he irritated each sibling at least once a day. Dr. Prankenstein's daily hijinks increased almost threefold during the Christmas holidays, when the weather prevented outdoor excursions. Whenever Mikey had not pranked Raph within a 24 hour period, he would seek refuge in his petulant brother's room with a handful of candy canes. After snatching the spoils from his youngest brother and carefully counting out the goods, Raph would grunt to indicate Mikey was welcome to stay until the afflicted sibling calmed down.

Raphael didn't simply deal in hiding fugitives; his services varied. Wanted to get out of a chore of some kind? A dozen would buy you a half hour of labour. Needed a steadfast alibi to avoid Master Splinter's suspicion? It cost a pretty penny – a twenty-four candy cane kickback, to be exact – but your shell was almost guaranteed to be safe. Throw in an extra eight candy canes and he would help you frame another brother for the crime.

But one day, Raphael was faced with his strangest mission yet.

Late one particularly cold afternoon, he heard a timid knock on his door. Swiftly tucking his copy of Hot Rod under his pillow, Raph rolled off his bed and dropped down into a plank, rumbling through a push-up, "Yeah?"

The door eased open slowly and in popped Leo's face, his expression an odd mixture of embarrassment and hope. His voice uncertain, Leo greeted stiffly, "Hi, Raph. May I, uh, come in?"

With deadpan delivery, Raph pointed out, "You kind of already did."

Leo took this as an invitation and he slipped in, closing the door behind him. He glanced around shiftily, hands clasped behind his back. Pushing himself to his feet, Raphael stretched and wondered, "What do you want, Fearless?"

"I was wondering if you could do me a favour," Leo explained in a hushed tone. Habitually, this would have been Raph's cue to make a snarky remark that would send his older brother off in a silent huff. But the package Leo kept concealed behind his back had piqued Raph's interest, and he was curious to see its contents.

"Depends on what the favour is, Leo," Raphael replied, folding his arms over his chest and raising an eye ridge expectantly. Raph sensed that it was killing Leo to ask for his assistance and could hardly suppress the smile that was threatening to overtake his features. It wouldn't do to let Leo know he was enjoying this temporary shift in power; he the one in control, Leo the underling. He would have stood there for hours if his older brother hadn't spoken up.

"I need your help to get Don off my tail," Leo explained vaguely, hoping he would not have to go into further detail.

"What did you do, O Fearless Leader?" Raphael quipped, unable to hide the delight in his voice.

Avoiding Raph's eyes in an uncharacteristic show of nerves, Leo disclosed sheepishly, "I might have accidentally snuck a peek at Don's Christmas gift for April."

"Is that all?" Raph pressed. For such a big lead up, he had anticipated a larger problem. Leo was quiet for a long moment, clearly wrestling with his conscience. Finally, the brother in blue exhaled in defeat, knowing Raphael would not help without further description.

"Well, when I found the gift and the card, I took it upon myself to add something extra to the card's message. And, well, let's just say that Don is currently on a headhunt for the culprit.…" Leo trailed off.

Based on the regret etched into his older brother's face, this prank was something Raph desperately needed to see. However, Raphael was not one to rush into such business dealings lightly, although his impulsive nature in battle might infer otherwise. Yes, big bro would have to sweeten the deal to earn any direct show of interest in the matter from Raph.

Feigning indifference, Raph drawled, "Well, Leonardo, it does sound like you're in quite the situation." He crossed to his bed and plunked down hard, continuing conversationally, "If I'm going to help you, you'll need to make it worth my while."

Suddenly, the object that Leo had been hiding behind his back flew across the room and landed in Raphael's lap. It was a medium sized brown paper bag, sealed with a twist tie. Eyes narrowing curiously, Raph opened the bag and inhaled sharply upon seeing what it contained.

There had to be at least forty candy canes in the bag of different hues, flavours and sizes. It was the Mother Lode.

Raphael quickly covered his initial shock and looked up at Leo, asking, "What do you need?"

"Do you think you can replace the ruined card with this one? I'll distract Don as long as I can," Leo explicated, immediately shifting to leader mode as he drew an envelope from his belt. The hot head eyed his brother, still trying to keep up with this new sneaky Leo. He wasn't sure if he preferred this version of his brother or if he scared him just a bit.

Raph took pause, wondering if this was some elaborate trick planned by Leonardo to get him in trouble with Master Splinter. Perhaps Leo was still feeling the humiliation of being beaten yesterday during a sparring match? Quickly he abandoned this idea, knowing that Leo was far too honourable to hold a grudge. No, this was legitimate business

"Alright, Fearless, you got yourself a deal," Raphael replied, stretching out a hand to shake. With only a second of hesitation, Leo clasped the proffered hand and shook it, sealing the transaction.

There was sure to be chaos when blue and red teamed up.

"Ready?" Leo demanded in a low voice, barely glancing at Raphael's hiding place.

Tucked behind a pillar, the accomplice whispered back harshly, "Get your butt in gear!"

'Close enough,' Leo thought and approached Donatello's door, rapping on it sharply.

After much clinking and some absentminded muttering, the door swung open to reveal the visibly peeved genius. Seeing his eldest sibling, Don heaved a long-suffering sigh and began, "If you've broken the toaster again, Leo, just leave it on the work bench–"

"No, Don, it's nothing like that," the leader smoothly cut across his sibling, his face ever placid. "I was just hoping you could take a moment to help me with something. It's a gift for Sensei."

"Oh." At this, Don's entire demeanour changed from agitated to pleasant and he smiled, replying, "Sure, I can give you a hand, Leo."

The two went off toward the dojo, where Leo was hiding this alleged "present" for Master Splinter – although knowing Leo, the Teacher's Pet would be making some complicated gift for his Sensei. Once they had disappeared from sight, Raph stole from his hiding spot and slipped into Don's lab, closing the door quietly. He turned to the face the room and was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of mechanical devices, textbooks, computer monitors and graph paper littering the large work desk. Raph gave his head a jerk, reminding himself that time was of the essence.

"Alright, Leo said it was in the bottom drawer…" Raphael mumbled to himself, approaching the desk and dropping to a knee. He eased open the drawer and lifted a large binder labeled "Climate Log" to reveal a medium sized package wrapped neatly in blue graph paper and topped with a bow made of some kind of shiny foil. Wedged in the drawer beside the parcel was a handmade card addressed in Don's efficient hand to April.

Swiftly the red banded turtle swapped the cards, tucking the tampered one into his belt. He pushed the drawer closed and escaped the crime scene, making a beeline for the meeting place. In other words, Leo's room.

Raph only had to wait a few minutes before Leo arrived, calling out a final thank you to the unknowing Donatello. When the door was closed, Leo whirled on Raph and demanded, "Did you make the switch?"

"No, I decided to go pick daisies instead," Raphael replied sarcastically, poising his hands on his hips. Leo exhaled in relief, knowing that Raphael's special brand of humour meant that he had been successful. Seeing his brother's mood shift from on edge to relaxed, Raphael couldn't help asking, "What exactly did Don do for you to mess with his gift for April?"

Leonardo hesitated, clearly ashamed of what he had done. Finally, the generally level-headed leader admitted, "He was making fun of Space Heroes."

"Leo, I make fun of you and your dorky show all the time!" Raph pointed out, surprised that it had taken so little to set Leo off.

Rubbing the base of his neck in embarrassment, Leo said, "I know, but when Don did it, I just…lost it. He called Captain Ryan an over-glorified pilot!"

Raphael raised his eye ridges, trying to hide his amusement. Leo exhaled loudly, acknowledging, "I was being childish. But the good news is, now we can destroy the card and Donnie will forget all about it."

"Leave that to me, big brother," Raph said generously, pushing himself off the wall where he was leaning.

Of course, as soon as he left Leo's room, Raph couldn't resist the siren call of the card. He just hadto know what Leo had written that was so awful. He tiptoed to the kitchen and sat in one of the rickety chairs, curling in on himself to shield the card from any passer-by. He ripped open the envelope and opened the card, his eyes flitting over the writing inside. He had to give Leo credit for his flawless imitation of Donatello's handwriting; however, his admiration of the forgery was forgotten when he read the contents of the card:

Dear April,

This Christmas, all I want is to be close to you. I love you and I hope that you will return this love. You shine brighter than any star in the sky; I hope you'll meet me under the mistletoe. I'll be waiting.

Love,

Don

xoxoxoxoxoxox

His shoulders were shaking by the time he reached the base of the page and he fought to quiet his laughter. He wasn't sure what would be funnier: watching Leo write the note, or watching April and Don's reactions if they saw the card.

Raphael's silent sniggers were cut short when he felt two hands clamp down hard on his shoulders. Releasing a shout of surprise, he whipped around and found himself snout to snout with a fuming Donatello.

"I knew Leo had something to do with this – the handwriting was too neat to be Mikey's – but I didn't suspect you. That is," Don drew the bo staff from its place behind his back menacingly, "until I reviewed the video surveillance footage from my room."

Raph was speechless. He momentarily considered trying to fight his way out of this. He never got the chance, because Don freed Raph's shoulders and sat across from him, continuing, "I require your services to get back at Leo."

He knew he was being blackmailed, yet this revenge-seeking Don was almost as interesting as pranking Leo. Crossing his arms over his chest and reclining in his seat, Raph countered, "I might be able to help…but it'll cost you."

"I have fifty-six candy canes on standby," Don replied, his tone businesslike.

"What do you need, brainiac?"

Oh, Raph XD reduced to a gun for hire thanks to his little candy cane addiction.
I hope to post another chapter very soon, but until then, feel free to leave a review with any critiques!