The low murmur of a newscast long forgotten dashed about in varying decibels and pitches as its dancing light illuminated a softly snoring turtle. His mask draped around his neck in loose, red folds. No other sounds penetrated the sheen of the early morning silence, save for the barely audible scuffles of a 'sneaking' turtle in orange. Of course, stealth was leagues away from the small turtle's mind as he made his way to the kitchen; his sole goal composed simply of soothing tea to comfort him for just a moment. Glancing to his left he noticed the exhausted form of his red-banded brother strewn lazily along the couch.

Raph had taken to snoozing on the couch ever since Michelangelo's accident after he noticed the unhealthy habit of insomnia overshadowing the younger blue orbs. Of course, Raphael knew to make light of it, or at least to act as such. Sixteen years of living with his brother had taught him the meaning of a 'white lie'. He had his 'cover stories', his reasons to stay up late at night, each ranging from excuse to flimsy excuse. However it seemed the truth of the situation was of mutual knowledge.

And so, with a more silent step, Michelangelo continued past; his thoughts taking over once more. However, his legs betrayed his motives as they unconsciously moved a step too close to the couch causing what little was left of his arm to bump into the offending furniture, eliciting a pained hiss as an annoyingly painful numbness shot waves of pain through the tired muscles yet to heal.

Raph, of course, was on his feet in an instant, his sand-crusted eyes scanning the room with bleary alarm. His eyes quickly caught sight of Michelangelo who rolled his eyes and gestured indignantly toward the sofa between them. Raph froze for merely a moment, his brain putting two and two together to create a whole scene, his gaze softening as realization set in.

"At ease, bro." Mike said with a chuckle, continuing his journey towards the kitchen, "Just midnight snacking it."

Seeing straight through his little brother's facade, he trailed Mike to the kitchen. Deciding to play it off as nonchalant, Mike quickly grabbed two glasses. Raph's eyes traced his brother's every move as he searched the pantry, a look of confusion adorning his face. Mike, taking note of this, grinned as he let out a happy hum, snatching a blue package with his good hand and tossing it onto the table in the same fluid motion.

With his smile on the verge of one-hundred watt, Mike walked over to the refrigerator revealing a carton of milk. Cerulean eyes met hazel all but imploring the elder to join.

When thirty seconds had passed and still Raph hadn't taken a seat, Mike grabbed the package with his good arm. Gripping the lip of the seal, he tugged as hard as he could. The resulting crash jarring the red-clad turtle from his astute concentration. A pitiful groan emanated from the younger turtle as he quickly stood to retrieve the previously air-borne package. "Guess that's another thing to work on." he mumbled in a miserable whisper, his eyes downcast as he handed his brother the airtight burden.

Timidly, Raph grabbed hold of the package, opening it with an impossibly loud crinkle.

"Takes two hands, I guess." Mike said, tittering nervously as he melted into the worn seat.

The sudden guilt that rushed over Raphael left him speechless, his eyes boring into the navy wrap.

"Oreos, Raphie-boy. Nothing to be afraid of. Now sit." Mike said, completely ignoring the elephant sat dead-center within the room. Raph, far too exhausted to fight the sudden change of topic, logged the comment away for another time.

"Ya realize I hate that nickname, Michelangelo." Raph sneered as he reluctantly sat down.

"Oh, we're playing that game, huh, Raphael." Mikey said with a triumphant grin.

"Jus' pass the package ovah here, kay, doofus?"

A comfortable silence engulfed the small kitchen as the two brothers devoured their snack, each lost in their own thoughts. The only sound being the quiet dunk of a drowning Oreo as Mikey inhaled one of the three sleeves.

"Ya don't eat 'em right." Raph grunted as Mike, once again, plopped two cookies in the glass of milk, thoroughly saturating them with the nourishing drink.

"Whaddaya mean?" the younger replied, a mock innocence to his tone.

"I mean," Raph admonished whilst grabbing another cookie, "Yer s'posed 'ta twist both sides like so. Then ya lick off all the icing, plop in the gross cookie part for extra flavor and enjoy." finishing his lesson with an example.

When silence once again pervaded the room, Raphael knew something was amiss. After all, Hamato Michelangelo never gave up an opportunity to razz his second-eldest brother.

"So what's eatin', ya, Mike?"

Silence. When his eyes finally arose they were red-rimmed and couldn't quite hold the older turtle's gaze. An audible gulp was heard before the smaller turtle finally mustered up enough courage to speak. "Uh...its jus'..." he trailed off, his voice laden with uncertainty. The silence stretched farther and farther until finally the tension snapped with a small sniffle followed by the hitched-breath of a quickly crumbling turtle.

A sudden need of motion washed over the red-banded turtle as he stood from the kitchen chair. Tea, he thought, that always helps him when he gets like this.

Years of comforting his most imaginative brother allowed Raph a deeper understanding as to how to treat his youngest brother. Grudgingly, Raph's mind traveled three years back to a rather dark time in the turtles' past. The images appearing in painful flashes as feelings and memories combined into a swirling whirl-pool of shattered despair. His hazel eyes slammed tightly shut as his he summoned every ounce of will-power to slam the flood-gates of his despondent anguish firmly sealed, buried safely beneath the comforting pulse of unadulterated fury.

The shrill screech of the teapot elicited an animated jump from both turtles. Quickly massaging his eyes with both hands, Raph grabbed two of their largest mugs as he poured each of them a generous amount of the soothing liquid.

The mug was gently placed in front of his little brother, a small thud amongst the static nothingness that engulfed the room. A small shuffling sound followed until finally Raphael's voice shattered the morose silence, the closeness of this startling the downtrodden turtle; his head snapping up to meet the amber gaze of his older brother.

"Mike. I wan' you to listen closely, capiche?"

A subtle nod.

"When have we evah let ya down?"

His face contorted into confusion as he broke the level gaze of his steadfast brother.

"N-never." He answered shakily.

"I didn't quite hear that, when have we evah let ya down?"

"Never, Raph."

"Exactly. You're not alone, Mike. You've got all of us here backin' ya up. Leo, Don, Casey, April- everyone, Mike. And we won't give up on ya. We've stuck with ya for this long, it'd be damn stupid to leave ya hangin' now. You got that, Michelangelo?"

There was brief lull in his response- a small sniffle interrupting the sudden silence quickly followed by a sincere, "Yeah, Raph. Thanks."

"I mean it, Mike. Whatever ya need, jus' ask."

A few tender ticks of a clock floated past as the moment's meaning sank. After a quiet sip of his tea, Raph chuckled to himself, the deep vibrato reverberating throughout the kitchen further coating the night's proceedings in a warm, caramel coating.

A broad and curious smirk grew upon Michelangelo's face as his interest was instantly piqued. Michelangelo placed his chin atop his right arm, his left nub barely resting atop the table, as he asked, "Care to share with the class, Raphie-boy?"

A reminiscent smile adorned Raph's face, the expression a warm contrast from the scowl typical of the temperamental turtle.

"Have I ever tol' you the story 'bout Casey gettin' the snot handed to him by an ol' blind lady?"

"No, actually, I think I'd remember that one."

"Well, it all started when April tol' Case to pick up a jar of peanut butter..."

A/N: Heh. Fluffy. I'd really appreciate reviews! This chapter was a little different from the first two, so I'd love to hear some feedback on this! Let me know what you thought about it, after all, you're already here so why not throw a comment my way?