A/N: What's this? An UPDATE? I must be imagining things, lol! This chapter is dedicated to my new kiddo, Toby. Here's hoping he's as close to his brothers as the TMNT are... but since I have to keep fighting the other two off him 'cos they love giving him big hugs all the time I think he's off to a good start.

Many thanks to CPQ for beta-reading, you do a great job chica. Many thanks too for the reviews from virtual wenrog, artykidd and The Incredible Dancing Betty, love getting 'em!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either. Unfortunatley this is true of the quote from Splinter in this chapter; it is attributed to Judith Viorst.

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It had started out almost a decade before with a small number of independent, local confectioners banding together to pay the exorbitant booking fees for the use of a section of Central Park for a few hours. To them getting exposure to the public, and thus even a small edge over their mainstream rivals had been worth the cost and putting aside of their own rivalries; for one night of the year at least, and what better night than Halloween to hand out free samples of candy?

Of course it hadn't taken too long for the event to become popular and for the major players in the market to stamp their authority on it. Each year it had grown larger until it had become a full-blown festival. It even sported a free concert of local up and coming talent this year, along with rides, a 'side show alley' and, of course, stalls selling and occasionally giving out samples of every sugar based treat imaginable.

To Mike it was heaven on earth. And despite their attempts at 'mature' attitudes, he was darn sure his brothers were grinning like idiots under their sheets too. More than the abundance of treats, the once a year opportunity to be able to freely mingle with the crowds, being able to talk to people and feel almost accepted instead of shunned had always been most appreciated by him and his brothers.

Even Leo only took half an hour to ease up on keeping an eagle eye on the whole group, though he still banned his brothers from the more exuberant rides; worried about their costumes getting entangled or blown off.
"But everyone will just think we're in costume anyway!" Mike had plied his case, desperately petitioning to have a go on the roller-coaster.
"Just as others can't recognise us, we have no idea who else is here tonight. What if that guy in the Frankenstein suit over there is a 'Dragon', or working for Bishop? Halloween or not, I don't think it'd take much for anyone like that to pick us for what we are. It's just too much of a risk Mikey. Besides, we don't have the money to waste."

It didn't take Mike long to recover from his disappointment, they were pretty much the same arguments he'd heard every other year anyway. Despite the restrictions the whole group had made the most of the outing, stretching it for hours until even Mike was relieved to leave behind the crowded hustle and bustle. Emerging on the far side of the festival they had opted for taking the long way back to the Battle-shell through the surrounding darkened parkland, instead of pushing back through the throng.

In no rush to end the evening they all wandered slowly through the gardens. Leo deliberately fell back a little, ensuring Don and Mike stayed with him, to give April and Casey the opportunity for a little privacy as they walked ahead; too engrossed in their own laughter and conversation to notice their friends dropping back. Leos' ulterior motive was to make sure Don didn't get too down over the way April clung to Casey, and with a bit of distance between them Don was paying more attention to Mikes' running commentary. Secondly, Raph and Tau were trailing even further behind, and whilst he was relieved the recent tension between them seemed to have evaporated tonight there was still no way in heck he was gonna let them out of his sight.

"It's not fair, or at least it aint right! You know most of the stalls were only givin' away samples if ya bought something. It just goes against the whole spirit of Halloween if ya ask me!" Mike rambled, peering into his disappointingly spacious bag as he held it up one handed. To Leo his voice sounded suspiciously muffled.
"Mike, you're not eating chocolate are you? I told you to wait until we got home. If you make yourself sick this year you will be suffering in solitude, 'cos I'm not going to stay up with you this time."

Mike made an odd sucking sound before answering.
"It's not chocolate Leo! See?" A half-eaten candy apple appeared from under Mikes' sheet.
"Where did you get that?" Leo asked in exasperation as the treat disappeared from view again "You didn't steal it did you?"
"Nah! 'Course not! It fell off the vendors table. Lucky I managed to catch it or it would have been thrown out. Hey, if I'd tried putting it back they coulda caught me and thought I was trying to steal it! So I figured this was the safest, least wasteful option. I really didn't have much choice, Leo!" Don chuckled at his brothers' excuse as Leo groaned resignedly, both sure the treat had probably been 'persuaded' to fall in the first place.

"'sides, I doubt Tau would let me suffer alone. She's got almost as big a sweet tooth as me! Hmmm, how long d'ya think we could share a bucket before it drove Raph nuts?" Mike cheekily wondered.
"Why would it annoy Raph?" Leo demanded shortly "They've always told me they're friends only."
"Yeah, right!" scoffed Mike.
"Have either of them told you anything different?" Leo asked; his tone deadly serious. Mike shrugged to try to dispel the feeling he was suddenly treading on thin ice.
"Nah, they give me the same story…"
"How about you Don?" Leo cut-off his brothers' ramble in his quest to get to the bottom of the matter. He'd come to his own conclusions regarding his brothers' relationship with Tau long ago, but was curious what the rest of his siblings suspected, or knew.
"No. I haven't really asked them about it, but Tau is usually pretty adamant to point out they're friends whenever Raph comes up in our conversation." answered Don.

"See?" Mike interjected.
"'See' what?" demanded Leo.
"Me thinks they doth protest too much!"
"You think they are lying to us?"
"No, not really. At least no more than they're decievin' themselves. I don't think they mean to lie about it, they just don't wanna admit it. Don't see why, it's so obvious!"
"How?" Leo asked warily.
"The way they look at each other, when they don't think anyone else will notice. 'specially the other one!"
"Actually…" Don pondered, the corner of his sheet thoughtfully rubbing his ghostly chin "I have caught Raph looking at her in a longing kinda way on occasion. I haven't seen it so much from Tau though."
"Yeah, well she is more subtle about it." explained Mike "But you'll see it if ya look for it. There's heaps of other times I've been certain there's more goin' on than what they say. I can't really say why, it's just lots of little things I guess."

Leo looked back at the pair in question as a thoughtful silence fell. They were trailing behind a little further than the last time he'd checked on them. From the expression on Taus' face it looked more like they were sharing a joke than whispering sweet nothings. They weren't hugging, or even holding hands; Tau had hers tucked snugly in her jacket pockets. Still, there seemed to be something intimate in the way they meandered along, leaning shoulder to shoulder with their heads tilted together slightly. Leo wasn't sure if they meant to separate themselves from the rest of the group, or if they simply hadn't noticed; too caught up in their own conversation to care.

'Lots of little things indeed.' thought Leo grimly, pondering how to deal with the situation. He couldn't deny the evening had been a welcome respite from Raphs' grouchy attitude of late. Would he risk a return to that if he disturbed them now? He decided he'd allow them to fall back one more meter at most, so long as they didn't try to snuggle any closer together, before he'd have to intervene.

"I don't see what the problem is anyway." Mike continued relentlessly, as if the minutes' silence had never been "I reckon they make a great couple. And just think, if they do hook up, it'll be like we finally get a sister!" Leo and Don shared a pained look behind Mikes' head. A sister had been close to the top of the list in Mikes' letters to Santa every year when they'd been kids.
"A sister huh?" teased Don "I've been starting to think you liked her more than that yourself, the way you two carry on together sometimes."
"I've noticed that too." Leo darkly agreed "Why flirt like that if you want her and Raph to get together?"
"'Cos it's fun! They know it's nothin' serious; Tau laid down the ground-rule about that pretty early on. Plus it winds up Raph, and helps him out."
"That's a paradoxical statement, Mike." said Don.
"Huh?"
"How can annoying Raph help him?" Don clarified.
"Oh. Well, I guess annoyin' him doesn't help him, but its sure fun for me! And havin' a little competition has always been a great motivator for him. Lately, or at least before he decided to become 'Mister Moody' this week, he's been joinin' in anyway. Guess he figures if we're all just having fun he can get away with sayin' a bit more and not get into too much trouble for it. I reckon she does let 'im get away with a bit more too! I always seem to cop a put-down or whack before he does anyways…"

"It needs to stop, Mike." Leo interrupted harshly "You shouldn't be encouraging them at all!"
"Why not? What've you got against Tau anyway, Leo?" demanded Mike.
"I don't have anything 'against' Tau." Leo explained shortly "I just can't see any way it wouldn't end badly if she were to become more than just a friend to him."
"Oh, so you wouldn't have a problem with it if she liked me? Or you?" Mike asked pointedly.
"Yes, Mike. I would. I'd feel the same way, no matter which of us was involved."

Leo could sense Mike sullenly brooding under his costume, picturing his brothers' pout clearly in his mind. He took advantage of the moment of quiet to check on Raph and Tau again. They'd used half of their meter of leeway, but weren't leaning on each other anymore. Instead Tau was looking at Raph as if she had a slight doubt for his sanity. Before Leo could give her expression any more thought Mike disturbed him with another question.
"Would you still be against it if it were another girl then?"

Pondering for a moment Leo sighed in resignation before he quietly answered.
"Probably."
"No fair Leo!" Mike immediately protested "You sayin' none of us should ever have a girlfriend?"
"I'm saying; it would only be a matter of time before any girl would want more than we could give them. Inevitably they would leave; it would only be natural once they decided they wanted a normal, committed, safe relationship. And realistically none of us can provide that, no matter how good our intentions. So, if it is only going to end in heart-break for us, why set ourselves up for the hurt in the first place?"

"Because maybe, just maybe, you're being totally stupid." accused Mike bluntly, continuing on before Leo could retort "You're looking at it all too logically. And while I admit I don't know for sure, I don't think love has anything to do with logic. You just have to follow your heart and enjoy what ya can outta life! Besides, you can't 'not do' something just 'cos ya might get hurt. That doesn't make any sense! If that were true why do we bother trainin' everyday, huh?"
"Our training helps to prevent us getting hurt Mikey." Leo argued.
"Whatever." Mike shrugged dismissively "But I also don't think any of us would be so naïve as to get together with a girl thinkin' it would be 'forever' straight off. You never know what's gonna happen tomorrow; it could end for all sorts of reasons. The same goes for every other person on the planet, and it doesn't stop them!"
"Mike does have a point there." Don interjected softly. Leo shook his head in frustration; did he really have to point out that they weren't like 'every other person'? Why couldn't they see the obvious? He wasn't out to stop them enjoying life, he just didn't want them to be wounded by it. Riding a train was fun, but no-one in their right mind would step in front of one.

"Anyway…" continued Mike "Raph knows the deal with Tau, and if he wants to go ahead and enjoy what they've got while he can, I'm all for it. Besides, as soon as those two kiss I'm asking Angelina Jolie out on a date!"
"What?" exclaimed Don, almost laughing in disbelief "She's kinda 'taken', Mikey! Not to mention out of our league."
"Hmpf! Brad Pitt's got nothin' on me! And if Raph c'n find a girl that likes him… any girl, then that surely means we can set our sights a little higher!"

Leo groaned, shaking his head against the hand he pushed against his forehead. He supposed he should be grateful for Mikes' knack for turning a serious argument absurd; at least it stopped things getting too heated. In his frustration he glared over his shoulder, stopping dead in his tracks at what he saw. Mike and Don stopped short too, turning to see what had caught Leos' attention.

Raph and Tau were a small distance further back than Leo had anticipated, mainly because they'd stopped walking within the last minute or so. Stood facing each other Tau looked utterly horrified. It was the last thing Leo had expected to see on her face tonight.
"Oh crud!" swore Mike softly "He's not tellin' her about the Scorpions now is he? Scratch what I said about none of us bein' naïve, 'cos he seriously needs to buy a clue if he thinks that's a good way to end today! That's not what I meant when I told him he needs to talk about it with her asap. Sheesh, there's always tomorrow!"
"I'd better go sort it out." sighed Leo, Mikes' hand on his chest stopping him mid-step.
"Just give 'em a minute, see how it works out. Ok?" Reluctantly Leo conceded with a small nod.

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Raph had been grinning like an idiot under his sheet for most of the evening. Deciding to take Mikes' advice he'd put his worries aside to concentrate on having some fun. To begin with it had been a little hard; his fists had begun to ache as he glared back at the occasional guy that gave Taus' costume an appreciative glance. Only one had had the nerve to approach her, with a crude pick-up line. Before he could get close enough to rearrange the guys' face, Tau had responded with what Raph had considered a very 'Cat-womanish' retort concerning just why the guy would need a 'little pussy', though he doubted DC comics could ever publish the language she used. But it was enough to force the man make a quick retreat, and the contents of Raphs' chest melt and dribble down to his toes.

"Gees, how do guys like that ever get lucky when they're that disgusting?" Tau had grumbled, zipping up her jacket with a huff. With no idea how to answer, Raph had responded with a shrug. To his relief she didn't seem to attract as much attention after that. Whether that was due to her costume no longer being so revealing, the chill look she gave any fellow that approached, or the way she hung as close by his side as she could; Raph couldn't say, or care.

The next few hours had passed in a blur. And whilst Raph had had his fill of the jostling crowds, glad to escape them, he was in no hurry to head home just yet; happy to drag out the walk back to the van for as long as possible. Tau was hanging off his every word as he told the tale of the first time he and his bros had gone trick or treating. Her giggles gave way to a bout of true laughter as he quoted his sensei to finish the story.
"Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands… and then eat just one of those pieces."

Despite her mirth she didn't break the contact between their shoulders, resting her weight lightly on him again as she settled. The next couple of minutes elapsed in peace, though Raph soon found himself hunting for something else to say. He didn't mind the quiet; he just didn't want to inadvertently break it with the one thing that kept niggling at his mind, what he'd tried to tell her earlier. It seemed the more he thought about it, the harder it was to find the right words.

Mainly to distract himself from his deliberations, over how to bring up the situation with the Scorpions without ruining the evening, he decided to deal with another issue that had been bugging him lately.
"Can I ask ya a funky question?"
"Sure." Tau shrugged.
"What's your favourite flower?" Tau leaned away from him, eying him dubiously.
"That is a funky question… Why? You're not thinking of getting me a bunch, are ya?"
"Nah!" snorted Raph "It's just something stupid Mikey reckons I should know; wanna get him off my back about it."
"Oh." Tau contemplated for a moment. "I dunno, never really thought about it I guess; one that's still attached to its' roots in the ground."
"Heh!" Raph nodded, trying to disguise his disappointment that she hadn't closed the small distance to lean on him again.

If anything their pace slowed further as they both lost themselves in their own thoughts for a few moments. Not sure why he had to gather the courage to do so, Raph glanced warily at Tau, catching her chewing her lip in concentration. She gave him a fleeting, nervous look in return; quickly becoming engrossed with the ground.
"These last… few days… " she started quietly, hesitantly "have you been getting annoyed… with me?" Raphs' scowl was hidden behind his sheet.
"Huh? Why'd ya think something like that?" he brusquely asked. Tau shrugged, continuing so softly he could barely hear her.
"Are you frustrated with us just staying friends?"

Raph managed to ignore the chorus to the contrary that sprung up in the back of his mind to blurt,
"No, 'course not!"
"Oh." His scowl deepened for a moment; then he shook his head to clear it. He must've imagined the slight note of disappointment in her voice; he was telling her what she wanted hear after all.
"I was tryin' to tell ya… It's nothin' to do with you. It's about Hun." he snapped, taking another step before he realised she wasn't walking beside him anymore. Having to turn back slightly to where she was stood Raph was shocked to see her staring at him, wide eyed and ashen.
"Dad? Is… is he ok? He's not… dead, is he?" she practically begged.

If he could have, Raph would have sharply kicked his own butt. He had no idea why he'd mentioned her father; this wasn't how he'd planned to start this discussion. But he couldn't just leave it with her looking so distressed it forced a lump into his own throat.
"No, he's not. Not that I know of anyway…" he trailed off uncertainly.
"Thank goodness!" Tau gasped in relief, running a shaky hand over the smooth leather she wore on her head. "Gees, you scared me for a moment there!"
"Didn't mean to." he grumped, hoping she'd take the hint from his tone to drop this for now.

Tau took a deep breath, releasing it with a sigh before she looked him sternly in the eye.
"So what is it then?"
"Later, huh?"
"No. Damn it Raph, just tell me. Now." Despite her voice being calm and low he recognised that tone, the hard set of her jaw. She'd hit her limit, and he knew full well that no good would come of pushing her past it. Absently he rubbed the back of his head; he'd sported a bruise there for almost a week the first time she'd gotten riled at him. He hadn't realised, there wasn't much she got really upset over, and she'd managed to catch him unawares. That had been months ago, when they'd first started meeting regularly; still he wouldn't tease her by calling her a 'weak girl' again. Unable to think of a way to sugar-coat it Raph shrugged in resignation, deciding to give it to her straight.
"There's this gang, the Scorpions. They're recruitin' heaps of other gangs all over the city to take down the Purple Dragons. Your Dad's their main mark. And the way they're going they might have a good chance at 'im too."

Raph shuffled slightly as Tau stared at him expectantly for a few moments in silence. Finally she quirked an eyebrow at him,
"And?"
"'And' what?" he threw his hands out wide.
"That's it?" she asked incredulously.
"Ah… well, yeah."
"Why on Earth would ya get so het up over telling me that?" she mimicked his gesture.
"I thought ya'd get upset, knowin' someone's after yer Dad." he growled in his defence.

Taushas' brow furrowed as she contemplated. Meeting his eyes again she asked in earnest,
"What do you think I am, some kinda naïve idiot?"
"No!" he exclaimed, Tau practically ignoring him,
"I'd be more surprised if you told me there wasn't someone wanting to do my Dad in!" her voice became tainted with light sarcasm as she continued "And as I recall, though you were incredibly subtle about it, I couldn't fail to get the impression you weren't my Dads' biggest fan right from the start. If I had a problem with people hating my Dad, we wouldn't be friends! Sheesh, I'd have thought you'd be more worried that someone else would get 'im before you did!" she laughed.

Her smile evaporated as she realised Raph wasn't joining in, choosing to inspect a patch of ground off to the side instead.
"Oh…" she breathed, leaning over to try to read his eyes she asked quietly "Is that it?" She took his silence and the way he evaded her look as a 'yes'. Gently she gripped his shoulder to stop him turning away.
"Hey. You've told me dozens of times before just how you wanna… 'get' my Dad. Why couldn't ya tell me this time?" she coaxed softly. Raph shrugged, muttering,
"I dunno. I didn't know he was your Dad back then… and I didn't want ya to think I was… a jerk or nuthin'…"

A small smile tugged on the corner of Taus' lips.
"I don't think you're a jerk." she assured; waiting for him to meet her eyes to tease gently "An idiot, maybe…"
"Hey!" he scowled, his annoyance disappearing as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. Uncertainly he returned her embrace, relaxing after a moment with a sigh of relief. Against his neck she murmured,
"I'm just glad it wasn't cos…"
"Ahem!"

Both their heads shot up to see the ghost that had interrupted stood beside them, arms crossed and foot tapping. Behind him stood two others, one resignedly putting up with being nudged by the others' elbow.
"Are you planning on re-joining us anytime this evening?" the first asked irately. Refusing to give up the first hug he'd had in a week Raph made a point of pulling Tau closer, returning his brothers' glare.
"Leo, fu…" A short, shrill scream drowned out his explicit directive, making them all jump.
"April!" gasped Don, sprinting away before the word had finished leaving his mouth; the rest of the group only a split-second behind him.