Disclaimer: Oh trust me, if I owned TMNT, the show would be too inappropriate to show to little children *wink*. Nah, I'm just playing; I'm not that perverted! But really, I don't own anything in here- please don't sue me.

Warning: Okay, I know you guys already know this, but for the people who don't; this story has SLASH, meaning boyxboy love. On top of it, they're buff green turtles. Oh yes. If you're easily offended by this, then please, for your own sake, don't read it. And don't leave meaningless flames, either, 'else I'll smack you with my sodding pimp cane.

A/N: Um… Please don't kill me! [Laughs nervously] I don't know why it took me so long to write this chapter, but here it is! Special thanks to:

Morfanerina Sorry for the long wait; I couldn't update soon, since I'm a terrible procrastinator, and yes, your name is very different- it's got a nice ring to it~

RavynandRika yami's lovers Haha, I'm glad you love it! And about that dream; sorry for being such a tease *wink*. I've noticed that Raph has numerous fan girls, so I felt like doing a special shout out for him! [Cackles]

stuff This is hilarious? Wow, thank you so much; it feels good to know that at least one person appreciates my sucky humor!

Ick Hmm… Not to sound like a clueless person or anything, but I'm getting a very strong hint of 'flame' in your review (ya know, judging by the 'Ick'). I'll try to take it as constructive criticism, because I'm the bigger person and I already know that different people like different things, and you shouldn't really say something senselessly offensive to them in order to prove a point or state an opinion… unless you're one of those internet trolls. If you are, then disregard what I've just said… xD

AnimeDreama Yay, thank you very much for the kind words! I'll try my best to make it as consistently funny as I can~

Love-LeoxRaph-Rage Aw shucks, thank you; again! I welcome you for thanking me for thanking you (haha, confusing play on words)! I'll try to make Leo manlier, but since I fail at acting 'manly' as well, it'll certainly prove to be quite a challenge! Sorry for the long wait!

Jamocha101 Jammy! Oh my gosh, I had no idea you would review this story; I know how you don't fancy slash and all, and I appreciate the fact that you read it anyway! [Sniffle] My whole response to your review will probably be too long at this point, so I shall include more in our Mammoth PMs!

Reenie Bleenie Oh good God, thank you very much for this review! It really lifted my spirits up, so yeah! :D And I pissed myself like a sodding idiot when I read your parting quote- it's just so awesome with its subtle irony x)

Okay, I heard that responding to reviews is against the rules, but I'm having a hard time figuring out if that is a rumor or if it really is true, so maybe you guys know? If it is, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to erase my responses, but if it's not…

Well, anyway, I've already taken up enough space for the Author's Note and what-not, so without further ado, please enjoy (or at least try to enjoy) Chapter Five!

Chapter Five: A Peek Into the Mind of a Hot-Head

Raph was far from stupid.

Sure, he could be kind of (kind of?) reckless and… hot-headed… and stubborn as a mule, but that didn't necessarily mean that he couldn't stand back and take a minute to observe his surroundings.

Usually, when these rare, epiphany-laden moments happened, he starts noticing things that he never noticed before.

Mikey could be an idiot, but he's a lovable idiot, and that no matter how many stupid remarks he made, he could be pretty damn perceptive when you least expected him to be. He was just one of those people, who seem goofy all the time, but on the inside, he had some sort of evil genius in there waiting to come out… or maybe Raph was just over-thinking things.

Most of the time, Donny was a human (mutant turtle) dictionary, but sometimes, he was really stupid (… if you slipped a couple drops of strong vodka into his morning coffee. Yes, even a couple drops could make him dead shit-wasted, because really, Donny had always been a lightweight… That fact alone has provided Raph with countless hours of cheap entertainment before said braniac passed out from the sheer lack of thinking). Juvenile mischief aside, Donny wasn't a genius all the time; he sometimes slipped up and made mistakes, just like everybody else.

And maybe Leo was an insufferable pain in the ass that had the annoying habit of sounding like a combination of an old hag and a noble super hero at the same time, but other than that, there were times when he could be pretty straight (no pun intended) and actually, dare he say it… fun.

Well, Raph wouldn't be saying that again anytime soon. But, I digress.

So yes, he realized a lot of things when his mind was clear, and much more than his brothers' many hidden quirks, too. Sometimes, the things he pondered had the tendency to inadvertently save his green ass, but unfortunately, his mind was far from clear at the moment.

Despite his earlier re-assurances, he still couldn't let go of the fact that things were quite iffy around the lair. Suspicion and Raph did not mix well; it gnawed insistently at him whenever it came up, and oftentimes, curiosity became too much for him and he would explode, as he usually did when he was faced with something he couldn't quite understand.

Raph was an impatient person (as if that wasn't obvious enough). He couldn't stand waiting for anything; whenever he had his sights set on something, he set out to retrieve it like a hungry bloodhound that had just picked up a whiff of raw sausage.

In this case, he wanted to know just what the hell was going on around here. Whenever all four of them were in the same room, there was a new, uncomfortable silence permeating the air. Once or twice, Raph could've sworn that both Mikey and Leo were staring rather intensely at him, but when he turned around, they quickly turn their heads in the opposite direction.

And Donny, don't even get him started with Donny. Most days, said genius would have his head bowed down, reading a book or tinkering with some gadget, and he would refuse to look up for any reason whatsoever, not even when Mikey cracked a retarded joke. Donny may have been a recluse most of the time, but usually, he would at least make an effort to get involved whenever all of them were spending time together.

Their weird behavior was both confusing and frustrating at the same time, and that combination did nothing to help Raph's impatience complex. Though he would never admit it out loud, he kind of missed everyone being at ease with each other; it's been days since he's seen Don and Mikey having a snarky conversation with each other, and it's been even longer since he's seen Leo make some reprimanding comment about how hot-headed Raph was.

The fucked up thing about it was that Raph was actually starting to miss Leo and his constant 'holier-than-thou' attitude. It was funny: before, he would've gladly settled for the new, much quieter Leo, but now that he'd actually gone through it, he wanted the old Leo back.

That was probably the biggest reason why Raph was close to cracking. It unnerved him to admit missing the old Leo, because it just wasn't natural; the two of them had always been at each other's throats, the ones who personified the very concept of sibling rivalry itself. Any normal person would think that Raph would treasure Leo's new-found, quiet behavior, but in this case, Raph was not normal. He actually missed the fights, the brawls, the constant yelling, because... because, well, he didn't quite know the answer to that just yet. Hell, he didn't even know if he wanted to know, but at the same, there was still that damn curiosity that was gnawing at him…

So, one day, he decided to act on his suspicions once and for all.

"Okay, I give up- what the hell has been up with everyone lately?" Raph's caustic voice cut harshly into the thick atmosphere. Mikey flinched visibly, as if those words were a slap in the face. He shifted uncomfortably on the couch, choosing to remain silent, and pretends to be absorbed in the colorful, loud explosions of an overly-violent action movie that was currently blaring from their wide-screen television. The boisterous noises of booms and crashes were the only sounds that reverberated in the spacious living room.

"Well? Is anyone gonna answer ta that, or are you goin' ta leave me in suspense?" Still silence. He could see that Donny and Leo were starting to look a bit nervous, by the way their postures stiffened slightly. Donny pulls a book out from God-knows-where and flips to a dog-eared page, putting on a good show of being totally engrossed in whatever intricate literature he was reading, for he couldn't bear to even pretend to be absorbed in the Jason Statham movie like Mikey was.

Meanwhile, Leo was staring straight ahead, at the TV screen. At first glance, he appeared to be fully engrossed in the movie, but if you looked closer, he really wasn't; a glazed, far-off look seemed to be set permanently into his deep brown eyes, as if he was staring out into space. Plus, Raph found it unlikely that Leo would be paying that much attention to the rivulets of sweat that were dripping off of some nameless body-builder's broad, muscular chest (besides, Leo had his own impressive set of muscles to look at, so why would he… wait, why was Raph even thinking about that?!).

For lack of a better word, Raph was so irritated right now that his fist twitched with the urge to sock Mikey in the gut for no good reason other than the fact that he was pissed. Why the hell were they all ignoring him? For the first time in a long time, the red-masked turtle felt the nasty, solitary feeling of being the odd one out. In his younger years, Raph dealt with something that every child had to learn the hard way: discipline.

Of course, he had experienced it more than his brothers ever did, due to his naturally short temper and harsh disposition. If Raph had a penny for every time Master Splinter had punished him for bad behavior, he would've had enough money to buy Donny the laboratory of his wet dreams.

Every disapproving look, every sharp word of retribution that came out of his adopted father's mouth should have taught Raph the grueling lesson of self-discipline, but instead, it only served to frustrate him even further and push him deeper and deeper into a mind filled with confused, angry feelings that struggled to come out of him like a wild animal trying desperately to break free from a cage.

Raph told himself time and time again that he would try to keep his temper in check, let the hurtful words die in his throat before he could let them out, but no matter how hard he tried, the wrathful feelings would bottle up inside him until he eventually lost it. Even worse was the time after his big, nasty blow-up: for the rest of the day, Leo, Mikey, and not even Donny would look him in the eye. They would all give him furtive glances, and every time they opened their mouths to speak to him, the words just didn't come out because they didn't know what to say.

Kind of like how it was right now.

Raph could literally feel his hands shaking, and a burning feeling erupts in his stomach so passionately that it almost scares him. He knows that he's mad right now; mad at the fact that they were all keeping something from them and mad at the fact that it was affecting him so much. Jesus, why couldn't they just come out and say it? They all knew more than anyone, even Casey and Master Splinter, that his temper was as short and combustible as a midget with a flamethrower, so why intentionally provoke him like this? Why?

And just as he's about to explode, Mikey breaks the silence in a low, meek tone that is unbecoming of him and says, "Raph… Trust me when I say that you really don't wanna know what's going on." This statement was accompanied by a widening of baby blue eyes, followed by the slight frown/pout of dejection that made up Mikey's infamous begging face.

Suffice to say, Raph is so shocked by this sudden action that his anger fades away completely, like a distant memory that had been grasped too many times to be grasped again. For one, Mikey never spoke up whenever Raph was about to go into another one of his livid temper tantrums. It was always Leo or even Donny who tried to re-assess the situation before it got out of hand, but never Mikey. Plus, the serious, desperate tone in the youngest turtle's voice was something that didn't come from him often.

A cold, dreadful silence envelops the room again, and Raph fucking hates it. He would rather be thrashing around, yelling hurtful words and empty threats and breaking things than go through this awkward absence of sound that seemed to be a common occurrence nowadays. He tries to open his mouth to say something, anything that would probably be labeled as rude, or pointlessly harsh, but absolutely nothing comes out.

Raph doesn't know whether to be frustrated or relieved as he quickly walks out of the room.

A/N: Ooh, an angsty turn for the worse? For those of you who have been waiting forever for this update, I'm terribly sorry: I know that what little humor that was in here was mediocre at best, and the angst was poorly done, but it was the best that I could do at the moment.

I've spent weeks, months procrastinating on this story, and for that, I apologize to the readers. I felt like I had to throw a bit of angst and serious bits into this story so that it wouldn't be flat-out humor and good feelings, because, well, I don't think life quite works that way, and I would very much like to implement some sort of conflict or trouble in this story aside from the usual banter and jokes.

As always, feedback and constructive criticism are very much appreciated; for the latter, feel free to be as harsh as you possibly can. Thank you for reading this, hope you stick around for the next chapter, which I will be working hard on!