Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews, I love reading each and every one. Here's a short fluffy chapter to make you (hopefully) giggle before we dive into the dark arc i have planned for the letter E.

As always, if you have recommendations or requests for a chapter, feel free to write them in a review or send them to me via private messenger.

Enjoy!

"Fourteen letters…to violently throw someone or something out a window…." Leo pursed his lips, eyes narrowing as he considered the answer.

Raphael and Mikey bustled around the kitchen, it was early Friday morning and the hothead was brewing coffee while the youngest prepared the meal. Michelangelo had decided on getting fancy, probably because he was streaming an episode of Master Chef, and was attempting eggs Benedict. The ham sizzled cheerfully on a pan, but the orange clad ninja had sharp eyes watching the pot he was poaching his eggs in.

Donatello yawned as he shuffled into the kitchen, a weary gaze taking a lazy glance at the crossword puzzle Leo was working on. "You need help, aniki?"

Leonardo just smirked at his younger brother, eyes smug as he penciled in the answer, "Defenestration,"

Donatello smiled, giving his leader a congratulatory pat on the shoulder before plopping down at the table. The blue turtle cocked an eyebrow at his genius brother, a breathy laugh bubbling up as the purple ninja's head fell to rest on the wooden table top. Softly shaking his head, Leo returned to his morning puzzle. Their exchange had not gone unnoticed, however, as the youngest brother turned to face his leader.

"D-whatta-who?" Mikey asked, sparing a quick second to show his confusion before returning to his eggs.

"Fourteen across," Leo replied absently, already working the next puzzle, "the clue was to violently throw something or someone out a window…ergo, defenestration."

"I can name a few people I'd like ta defenestration," Raphael chuckled darkly.

"Defenestrate," Donny supplied, voice muffled by the table, "defenestration is the past tense of the word, or even possibly future tense I guess if we're actively plotting to throw someone out a window. However, the present tense of the word is defenestrate."

"A'right, there's a few people I'd like ta defenestrate," Raph revised, giving his brother a fond roll of his eyes as he placed a mug of green tea on the table, "sheesh, I'm surrounded by nerds. Who else but you two know crazy words like that?"

The blue turtle grasped the tea mug, taking a sip and humming appreciatively, "Your vocabulary is bigger than you give yourself credit for, Raphie," he soothed with a happy grin, "I bet if they had a crossword about motorcycles you'd be running circles around me, although probably not Donny."

Raphael sat down with his coffee, sliding a similar mug of Java over to Donatello before taking a swig, "Ya never know," the hothead smirked, his competitive nature burning behind amber eyes, "I might give the egg head a run fer his money."

The genius turtle gave an amused snort that echoed in the coffee cup he was drinking from, "Absolutely not," Donatello stated with a smug grin, "I'm still reigning champion in scrabble for a reason."

"The turtle's got a point!" Mikey tossed in, carefully scooping out the eggs from the pot and placing them on English muffins.

Donny snickered, eyes gleaming in satisfaction, "I mean, I don't think anyone has ever come close to winning when I'm playing. Not even April."

"Ah," Raphael jumped in, determined to prove his know-it-all sibling wrong for once, "don't ferget that time Leo almost beat ya, he was only two points away!"

Don rolled his eyes with a groan, unhappy with the reminder. "Only because he somehow had the tiles for the word 'wyvern'. That's not even a proper word!"

"It is too," Leo defended, "it comes from the Latin word vipera which is the original root for viper. The word Wyvern also originated in the English language during the 17th century, making it a very proper word. Just because I don't use strictly science based terminology doesn't make it any less viable, and it's in the dictionary which means it's fair game in scrabble."

"Yeah," Raphael snickered as Leo stuck his tongue out at Donny and blew a boisterous raspberry, making the genius growl into his coffee cup, "especially when ya were able ta get the W on a triple letter and the E on a triple word, giving ya 90 points with one word."

"I still call foul!" Donny bit.

Leo shook his head, tapping the table with an authoritative finger, "Family scrabble rules state that if it's found in the dictionary, it counts, Donny!"

"Even if it counts as a word," the genius spluttered, "what are the odds that you were able to have the tiles to do Wyvern? They're astronomical to say the least!"

"I didn't cheat if that's what you're insinuating," the leader demurred, navy eyes glinting at the unspoken challenge, "and last I checked our very existence is astronomically against statistical probability, so why can't I have the tiles that almost beat you at a game of scrabble?"

"Because it doesn't make sense!" Donny exclaimed, "You can't tell me that with how long you take grabbing new tiles out of the bag, that you haven't somehow learned how to tell them apart?"

Leo's jaw dropped as the accusation went from being insinuated to blatantly stated, "I do not cheat!" He scowled, even though his eyes were twinkling in amusement.

"Actually, Donny brings up an interestin' point," Raphael murmured, turning gleeful amber eyes to his leader, "ya do take yer time in choosin' tiles, bro. Somethin' ya want ta tell us?"

"No!" The blue ninja squawked, "Because I don't cheat! You guys know me better than that!"

Raphael and Don paused, each sharing an amused glance before bursting into laughter. Leo huffed, crossing his arms, but turning his head so his brothers wouldn't see how close he was to laughing himself. "You guys are jerks," he grumbled, though without any real heat.

"I'm only teasing, aniki," Donatello chuckled, "if it were anyone else, I'd disagree, but I know your honor wouldn't stand for cheating."

"Good, because I was this close to giving you a personal lesson in defenestration." The leader growled.

"Oh please," Donatello giggled, "like you'd ever throw any of us out a window. You're only the biggest mother hen in the history of ever!"

The leader went back to drinking his tea with a soft harrumph, Raphael shook his head, his chuckles dying down, "Ya know, yer only provin' my point that yer a couple of nerds."

"What's wrong with nerds?" Don scoffed.

Leo, however, shook his head at Raphael, "I'm a geek with nerd tendencies, there's a difference."

"Good point," the genius murmured, "Leo doesn't quite fall into the nerd category."

"What difference?" The hothead asked, perfectly happy that he was purposefully instigating yet another debate. "Ain't they the same thing?"

"Nope," the blue ninja shot back, popping the p as he cast a playful glare at his younger brother, "geeks tend to be associated with books and video games. Nerds are technologically smart with the inclination towards science fiction. Completely different."

Donatello nodded sagely in agreement, taking a deep draft of coffee from his mug, "Completely," he intoned, voice echoing once again in the mug.

"Who cares?" Raphael huffed, "A geek or a nerd, either way, ya both know too much about weird stuff."

"Just because you don't know about it, or don't care to learn about it, doesn't automatically make it weird." Donatello stated.

"Yes, it does,"

"No, it doesn't," Don shot back to his hotheaded brother, "besides, if we're being technical, you're something of a nerd too!"

Raphael's jaw dropped at the accusation making Leonardo break into uproarious giggles. The red ninja recovered quickly though, shaking his head and growling, "Prove it!"

"Like our fearless leader said," the purple turtle said, his tone lofty, "nerds are technologically smart. While you may not enjoy science in the same capacity that I do, I can admit that your skill with mechanics on the battle shell and your motorcycle does exhibit nerdiness."

"I ain't a nerd, Donny."

"Maybe not in the traditional sense, but Don is right," Leo chuckled, "you kinda have taken over the garage. Don does the accessories and weapons systems, but the turtle who keeps the engines running lately has been you. Therefore, you are in a sense a nerd."

"I change my mind," Raph grumped, "there's only one person I wanna defenestrate, and he's sitting right across from me."

"Oh, I'm so scared," Don scoffed.

"Be careful Donny," the blue ninja laughed, "out of all of us, Raphie is the one most likely to actually throw someone out a window."

"It's not my fault he's repressing his nerd side," Donatello sniffed, "he should feel honored to be considered for such a prestigious group."

Leo melted into another round of giggles at the look of pure murder radiating off Raphael. The group was interrupted by their baby brother, however, before the discussion broke out into a physical fight. "Well, I'm definitely more of a geek than anything else," Mikey stated, striding over to set the table with his latest creation, "but all that aside, I for one can say I definitely know three turtles who wouldn't last a week without my cooking skills."

All banter died as blue, red and purple fell into a contemplative silence, breathing in the scent of the steaming eggs Benedict that sat on the table. It was true. The small mutant family had come to depend on the youngest's prowess in cuisine. Leo opened his mouth and heaved a sigh, "I hate to say it, but he's right."

Donny sighed, shoulders drooping in defeat, even as his stomach growled at the tantalizing smell, "I don't know, I mean, we'd survive….just not well."

"I could definitely make it without Mikey's cookin'."

Raphael's confident statement was met with scoffs and rolled eyes, "What, you're going to survive on omelettes?" Leo teased, "Because, last I checked, that's the only meal in your repertoire."

"There ya go with the big words again," the hothead groaned, "is it so hard ta say that's the only meal I know how ta cook?"

"Because as the family strategist, I prefer efficiency," Leo grinned, "it's easier to say repertoire."

Raph rolled his eyes, taking a swig of his coffee, "Nerd,"

"Geek," Leo corrected.

"Whatevah,"

Have a great weekend everyone!