"Good morning Raphael." Donatello spoke curtly.

It had been whole week since Donatello spoke to Raphael after their fight. April had scolded both of them for acting like five year olds but she really didn't understand why the brothers were at ends with each other.

"Yeah-" Raph responded. He brushed the whole event off as another one of Donatello's mood swings and smacked the hanging dummy around.

"That's all you've-?" Donatello stopped himself and sighed "Nevermind."

Leo was reading one of Mikey's comics on the couch and he didn't even look up when he spoke "At least you are talking again."

"Yeah, we've got that." Raph said.

"You should apologize." Leo flipped to the next page.

"FOR WHAT?" Raphael snapped and nailed the dummy in the gut with all his strength.

It spun franticly on the chain. The clatter of metal links was the only sound in The Lair.

"First to me, for yelling, and second to Donnie. He told me what you said." Leo's voice was neutral "You know how sensitive he is."

"And how insensitive I am." Raphael mocked Leo than asked. "And so we have to baby him?"

The dummy twisted and spun so Raphael steadied it.

"No, but we just can't be flat out cruel." Leo sharpened his tone "at least when dealing with April!"

"He's gotta learn she isn't interested at some point." His punches were a little more forceful as he focused on a tangible, although artificial, problem.

"And you have to be the messenger?" Leo watched Raph take his anger out on the hanging dummy.

"No one else is stepping up." Raph was terse.

"If he accepts that, will make it easier for you?" Leo asked.

There was nothing harsh in Leo's tone but Raphael felt attacked and spun to face his brother "Easier to do what exactly Leo?"

His brother's eyes widened, he knew he was treading in fragile territory but his posture was otherwise calm "Donnie told me everything."

"Donni is an obsessed," Raph faced the dummy "naïve…"

he punched the dummy.

"Possessive"

Punch

"Diluted"

Punch

"Clingy"

Raphael's fist trembled as held back from throwing another punch. He groaned and rubbed his eyes under his mask.

"Look Raph" Leonardo started.

"I don't want to talk about it Leo." Raphael sighed.

Much to Raphael's surprise (and with a twang of disappointment) Leo returned to reading the comic book. He wasn't going to dwell on this when he had a dummy to punch. He worked on the dummy for longer than he realized, because it was long after Leo's passing comments of "whoa take it easy on the poor guy" had ended that Raph noticed he was alone.

"Raphael, what is wrong?" or so he thought.

"HOLY SHI-iiii…." Raph trailed off when he saw the souring expression on his Sensei's face. He snapped to attention when he at last spoke "Good evening Master Splinter."

"You've been punching this bag for hours. Your brother Leonardo is worried about you." Splinter made a sweeping gesture to the battered practice dummy.

"Of course Leo told Splinter." Raphael muttered under his breath.

"Yes he did." Splinter nodded.

"So I guess you know everything too?" Raphael tested, maybe there were something his Master wasn't aware off and he could escape the impending 'heart to heart'.

"I don't know, tell me what you mean by everything. It's a very vague word." Splinter was hard to read.

"Donnie and I are fighting."

"I could be blind and deaf and on the other side of the world yet even than I would still be able to feel the animosity between you. Also you would have to think me stupid for not noticing the fight you had." Splinter said with the slightest huff of annoyance as he thought back to Donatello swearing to the high seas at his brother "I want to know why you are still holding this against each other."

"Donnie was acting weird again." Raph said briefly.

"And?"

"I teased him."

"And?"

Raph rolled his eyes when Splinter closed his while listening "And I was insensitive."

"Don't roll your eyes at me"

"How'd?" Raph looked at Splinter.

His master tapped his ear and by the corner of his eye.

Blind and Deaf, fine I get it Raphael had to consciously try not to roll his eyes a second time.

"And what else?" Splinter asked.

"Nothing." Raphael shrugged.

Splinter paused before saying "We both know that there is more to this than simply brotherly teasing that got out of hand."

"Well clearly since we both know what it is, there is no reason to repeat ourselves!" Raph gritted his teeth waiting for a rebuttal.

Instead, they sat in the commons together, the hum of traffic lightly vibrated the air and water flowed heavily somewhere deep in the sewers draining the water from rain earlier that day. The rat actually looked away from Raph and toward the rushing water.

"You know, water is very powerful. Given time, it can cut through anything. Form valleys and move even the toughest of rock. All water does is find the easiest path. Yet, we have learned to dam water, trap it. When it gathers, it forms great lakes." Splinter listened with his eyes closed to the distant roar.

"I know how dams work Sensei." Raph crossed his arms.

"Let me finish." Splinter struck the back of Raphael's head with lighting speed. It was honestly a little frightening. "Yet dams need constant supervision and like all man made things can break. When that happens, the force is unstoppable and destructive."

"I feel like I am supposed to pull a meaning from this." Raphael was done talking but he couldn't flat out say it.

"You should." Splinter put a caring hand on his son's shoulder "Humans can trap water, but that doesn't mean they control it."

"You know the vague wisdom story really isn't clicking with me. Maybe that's the why Leo does it but I'm not Leo!" Raph wanted to recede into his shell this is so stupid!

"I'm telling you to stop bottling your emotions and let them flow naturally." Splinter broke, he was irritated.

"I already let my rage flow freely."

"What? That's not what I am talking about Raphael." Splinter took a literal step back from the conversation.

"Then I don't understand." Raphael had found his out.

Splinter took a cleansing breath in and his nose twitched "You have to recognize your feelings my son, or you will drown in them before you even have a chance to realize what is happening."

"Yes Sensei." Raph bowed respectfully, but he wasn't heeding his Master's advice.

And Splinter noticed "Raphael this is a web you don't want to trap yourself in unwittingly."

"Webs? What happened to the water metaphor?" Raphael prodded at the last of Splinter's will to stay in this conversation.

"…"

Nothing, Splinter said nothing, and Raphael bowed once more and asked to be excused to his room. His Master went to meditate and Raphael flopped onto his bed in the dark of his room.

"Ha, oh the water is too powerful!... I don't need dam metaphors to tell me anything." Raphael grumbled to himself when his phone buzzed "…Its April."

5:04pm April: Hey ready for tomorrow?

Raphael didn't remember planning anything with April. She texted him again.

5:05pm April: Still sore but ready to go

She wanted to train with him again. His world shrunk until it was only him and his phone screen. Silver threads winding around and he felt claustrophobic suddenly.He didn't feel like facing her in a fight again so soon.

5:05pm Raph: Okay what time

Raph blinked. He didn't just text that to her.

5:06pm April: After school I'll text you

5:06pm April: ?

He could still come up with an excuse, or not respond.

5:07pm Raph: cool seeya tomorrow

He had never felt more betrayed by his fingers than he did just then.