Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Takes place a few weeks after "The Good, the Bad, and Casey Jones".

One is Silver and the Other's Gold

Finally. No more training. No more listening to Mikey's annoying giggling while reading his comic book. No more being stuck down in the dark, musty sewers, cracking his knuckles, antsy with anticipation. It was time for Raphael to head up and out into the cool air of dusk, and he couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Unfortunately, that was precisely the moment he received the text, the ding of the incoming message echoing forebodingly in the large common area.

"Aw, seriously?" His excited grin from a moment earlier twisted into a frown as he read the message.

Quieting his giggles, Mikey looked up from his comic. "What's up, bro?"

With a huff, the older turtle put his T-phone away and crossed his arms over his chest. "Casey just bailed on me. Says he has to hang out with his sister," he replied bitterly, adding in a mumble, "not like he doesn't see her every day..."

"So, you're staying here?" The freckled face lit up as the young turtle immediately jumped to his feet, quickly tossing his comic book to the side. "Sweet! April got us this new video game, and I've been dying to play it with somebody, so maybe we could - "

But Raph was already heading for the exit. "Forget it," he said, interrupting his baby brother, "Just because Casey ditched me to play with dolls or whatever doesn't mean I'm staying down here. In fact, that's pretty much the last thing I wanna do."

"But - "

Sharply turning back to his sibling, Raph again cut him off. "Look, you play all the games you want. I'm going up to teach whatever no good punks I find a lesson they won't soon forget, with or without a partner." Feeling he'd made his intentions perfectly clear, he whirled around, his back to his brother once more, and stomped up the stairs. He was just about to jump the turnstiles and take off down the dark tunnel when Mikey's voice called out to him.

"I could be your partner."

The older turtle raised an eyeridge and looked back. "You?"

Mikey placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "Yeah, dude. I am a trained ninja, in case you forgot." Pulling out his nunchucks, he expertly began swinging them around as if to prove his point. "Just think, it could be just the two of us, back to back, taking down the lowlifes and criminals as only two bros can! With your strength and my speed, they'd never know what hit'em!"

Suppressing a groan, Raph watched as his little brother continued to show off his skills before finally bounding up the stairs and landing in front of him. He wanted to shoot him down, tell him to stay home and just wait for their family patrol later that night, but as if he knew exactly what his older brother was planning, Mikey fixed him with his most hopeful and innocent stare. Raph could feel those big, blue eyes working their magic, and even though he had a feeling he'd regret it, his shoulders slumped and he sighed loudly.

"Fine."

"Alright!" Pumping his fists in the air, the excited turtle instantly began dancing in place.

Before he could get too carried away, Raph held up a finger. "On one condition."

Mikey froze mid step and fixed him with a mildly panicked stare, much to his older brother's satisfaction.

"I'm the boss," he said firmly, "You do what I tell you to. None of this messing around like an idiot stuff. If I tell you to shut up or stop fidgeting or whatever, you do it. Got it?"

For a brief moment, he almost thought his brother would back out, but finally Mikey scrunched up his face into an oddly serious expression and stood up straight, bringing his hand up to his forehead in a salute.

"Aye aye, Captain!"

Raph rolled his eyes, groaning as he jumped over the turnstiles and headed into the sewer tunnel, Mikey at his heels. It was going to be a long night.

That was what he'd thought, anyway.

Despite fearing he'd be constantly berating his youngest sibling on their spontaneous outing, the two of them had been out for over an hour and he hadn't had to deal with any of the energetic turtle's usual antics. He'd been stealthy, focused, and, strangest of all, quiet. It was bizarre. Sure it was what he'd wanted, but he didn't think he'd actually get it.

A cold shiver traveled up his shell. An obedient Michelangelo was almost scarier than Shredder himself.

"Alright, what's goin' on?" asked Raph suddenly as the man he'd ambushed crumpled to the ground in an ungraceful heap.

"Huh?" The young turtle looked at his brother curiously as he flung his own defeated opponent onto the hard street of the narrow alleyway with a thud.

His green eyes narrowed dangerously. "You know what I'm talking about," he accused, "You're acting weird, and whenever you act weird, it means you're up to something. Is this part of some big joke? Did you tell Casey to ditch me so you could pull some kind of prank on me? Because if you did, so help me - "

"What? No!" Giving a swift kick to the still groaning criminal at his feet, Mikey hurried over to the other turtle, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. "I just wanted to hang out with my big bro! Is that so wrong?"

Raph snorted. "It is when you're actually listening for a change. Now, are you gonna tell me what's really goin' on, or am I gonna have to force you to?"

"Nothing's going on, I swear!" he insisted, taking a step back as he eyed his brother's balled up fists. "It's just, well, you're always out with Casey, ya know, and I feel like I don't see you anymore."

What? That left Raphael completely baffled.

"But I see you every day," he said slowly, "We live together. We go on patrol almost every night."

"But when was the last time it was just the two of us?"

He blinked, his eyes widening as understanding finally dawned on his face. Of all things he would have thought that Mikey would be jealous of him, his grumpy, older brother who somehow managed to find the one thing the youngest had dreamed about since they were kids, a human friend. But that wasn't the case. He wasn't upset that Casey had chosen Raph over him, he was upset because Raph had chosen Casey, accidentally neglecting the once close relationship the two brothers had shared.

The loneliness the older turtle now realized must have been growing for weeks showed plain on his baby brother's face. How could he have not noticed?

"I get it," Mikey continued, trying and failing to keep his tone light, "I mean, Casey's really cool, why wouldn't you want to hang out with him? But you never want to play video games or go skateboarding with me anymore. Even today when Casey's busy - you'd rather be up here alone than back in the lair with your 'baby brother'."

The truth behind the words stung. He hadn't consciously been trying to push the younger turtle away, but after finding a kindred spirit in a fellow brawler like Casey, everything else had been put on hold. Hanging out with the cocky human was exciting in it's newness, to the point where everything else had seemed mundane by comparison, even the always unpredictable brother he'd never outwardly admit he had a soft spot for.

"I guess I thought that if I did everything you wanted, maybe you'd think I was cool enough to hang out with again."

As Mikey at last fell silent, his gaze redirected at the ground, Raph felt his heart plummet. There was no denying that the youngest member of their family could be hyperactive and annoying sometimes, but he'd never, ever meant to hurt him. He was going to fix this. He had to. But how?

The smaller turtle sighed before turning away, his eyes spying a manhole cover partially hidden by the men they'd knocked unconscious. "Look, whatever, dude," he said, trying to inject some of his usual carefree attitude back into his words, "I'm just gonna head back. Maybe if I hurry I'll still have time to check out that game before we all head out tonight. Don't get into too much trouble without me!"

No! Raph's mind raced as he watched his brother shove the downed criminal out of the way. He couldn't let him leave, not like this. Opening his mouth only to shut it again as he struggled with what to say - he always felt so uncomfortable in these sorts of situations - the guilt lay heavily down on him before he suddenly realized where they were. An idea struck him, spreading a confident smirk across his face.

"That's too bad," he said casually, glancing at Mikey to make sure his words had their desired effect.

The young turtle paused, his grip still on the manhole cover, and shot him a confused look. "Huh?"

Perfect. "Ya see, there's this twenty-four hour movie theater that plays old monster movies and horror flicks. Casey told me about it; it's only a block away. I thought maybe the two of us could check it out."

Mikey had never been very good at hiding his emotions, and now was no exception. It was clear he was at war with himself, still upset at Raph for ignoring him for weeks but hopeful and eager to believe his brother's words nonetheless.

"Wouldn't you rather go with Casey?" he said at last.

The sincerity in the young turtle's voice was almost worse than if the words had come out a bitter taunt. Not wanting to acknowledge how deeply his actions the past few weeks had effected his baby brother, Raph looked away with a shrug. "I'm sure he's been there hundreds of times. Besides," he glanced back with a smirk, "I see that loser every night."

The smile he got in return finally alleviated at least some of his guilt. Reaching down, he grabbed one of the fedoras the crooks had been wearing and plopped it on his head before removing the man's trench coat and throwing it on.

"So whaddya say to the two of us skipping out on patrol tonight to watch some mindless action while eating probably stale popcorn?"

The grin that lit up the young turtle's face was like a breath of fresh air, and for the first time all day, Raph felt truly relaxed. He watched with a smile as Mikey scrambled to follow suit, throwing on the simple disguise. It wasn't much, but who would notice in a dark movie theater? His little brother was positively beaming with excitement as he flipped the hat onto his head and looked at him expectantly.

"I say what are we waiting for, bro? Let's go!"

A/N: This was supposed to be half this length, but it got away from me. Can't help it - I love these guys, as you've probably noticed if you've read practically anything else I've written.

As always, critics and grammar police appreciated!