A/N: I cannot take credit for this story. The idea for this story comes from my wonderful beta-reader, Amonraphoenix. I am merely trying to do justice to the brilliant idea. So, thanks to Amonraphoenix and Darkunderworld for beta-ing for me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Turtles, only OCs.

It was a cool, crisp evening in New York City. The chill in the air told the inhabitants that winter had yet to release its icy grip on them. However, the cool air was not enough to keep the city's four, silent protectors from patrolling the vast metropolis.

With April and Casey gone on vacation, and Splinter in Japan visiting the Ancient One, the four brothers had extra time on their hands; or at least they would have, if Leonardo had not pushed them to constantly practice their katas during the day, and run patrols during the evening. Of course these exercises gave them a chance to get their minds off of the events of the last few months. In fact, this was one of the main reasons why April and Casey had decided to go on vacation, to get Casey away from the city for a while.

It had taken a little over three months for the brothers to begin to relax. Raphael continued to assure them that there was no way the Grim Reaper was ever coming back; he made sure of it. So, life had finally returned to the way it had been; undisturbed and mostly uneventful.

The brothers slowed their quick pace during their patrol and took a few moments to survey the surrounding area.

Michelangelo took a deep breath, taking in the cool air. He glanced over at Leonardo and his contentment faded when he saw the pained expression on his eldest brother's face. Leonardo was still recovering from serious burns after jumping through the funeral pyre to save Michelangelo's life. Of course his older brother had no way of knowing that he was still alive, only a small movement giving Leonardo hope that he was not dead, and Leonardo was not going to stand back and watch Michelangelo slowly burn to death if he was alive. Michelangelo had forgiven his brothers for that incident; after all, they had thought he was dead at the time.

Donatello walked up to Leonardo and placed a hand gently on his brother's scarred shoulder. "You okay, Leo?" he asked in concern.

Leonardo nodded stiffly, trying to erase the pain from his expressions. "I'm fine," he replied curtly, his voice slightly strained.

"Liar," Raphael stated bluntly.

Leonardo cringed inwardly and closed his eyes. He sighed in semi-defeat and turned to look at Raphael. "Must you always do that?" he asked, his voice resigned.

Raphael simply shrugged. "Ya don't have to hide it, Leo. If you need a break, just say so," Raphael growled, crossing his arms over his chest in irritation.

Leonardo felt a stab lance directly through his pride. "I'm not weak," he pointed out angrily.

"Didn't say that you were," Raphael countered. "You jumped into a fire, Bro, don't forget that." Raphael pointed out reasonably.

"Raph's right, Leo," Donatello spoke up. "You're still healing. I'm surprised you've managed to stay alert and keep up for this long."

Leonardo felt another stab to his pride. "Okay, I get it." He snapped defensively.

Michelangelo grinned and walked over to his brother, throwing an arm carefully around Leonardo's shoulders, while being mindful of the still healing burns and tender new skin. "I don't care what they say, Leo, you'll always be my hero," he said, trying to diffuse the tense situation.

Leonardo couldn't help but grin broadly at that. "Hero, huh?" he thoughtfully asked.

Michelangelo nodded. "Forget Man of Steel, Dude, you're Turtle of Steel."

Raphael snorted. "Some Turtle of Steel," he commented, although a bit of light-hearted teasing could be heard in his voice.

Michelangelo stuck his tongue out at his red masked brother. "You're just jealous 'cause Leo was the one who saved yours truly and not you."

Raphael shook his head, but didn't say anything. Leonardo chuckled lightly and pushed Michelangelo's arm off his shoulder. He walked to the edge of the roof and looked down at the street far below. Everything was quiet, save for the roar of cars going back and forth on the roads. He turned around and wrapped an arm around his stomach as pain began to radiate across his abdomen and legs. He raised a hand when Donatello took a worried step towards him.

"I'm fine, Donny, really," Leonardo insisted. He took a deep, calming breath and slowly let it out. "Well, there's nothing going on tonight, we might as well call it a night and head home."

Raphael turned to face the leader. "We've only covered a few blocks," he protested.

Donatello cast a pointed, disapproving look at his sai wielding brother. "A few blocks are more than enough for Leo right now, Raph," he hissed.

"Oh, right, I keep forgetting," Raphael said, his anger suddenly skyrocketing. "Fearless can only do a few blocks at a time." Raphael's face fell into irritated lines. The last thing he wanted to do was go home and be bored to tears. He was itching for some action. "Fine, Leo can go home and get better, the rest of us can keep going."

Leonardo's body tensed, which sent renewed waves of pain shooting through every nerve in his body, but he never let his discomfort show on his face. "My health has little to do with us going home, Raphael. We're heading back because it is quiet, nothing is happening, and we have practice early tomorrow morning."

Raphael ground his teeth together, hating that his brother couldn't just admit that his injuries were bothering him. He stomped over to Leonardo and stopped mere inches from his brother's beak.

"That's if you can even manage to get out of bed tomorrow," he growled.

"What does that mean?" Leonardo asked, his eyes narrowing as his own anger flared slightly.

"Well, we wouldn't want poor Leonardo to hurt himself further, now would we?" Raphael taunted.

Michelangelo and Donatello looked at each other in confusion. "Raph, what's gotten into you?" Donatello hissed in worry.

"Yeah, Dude, you were fine a minute ago," Michelangelo put in.

"He just wants to stir up trouble, as usual," Leonardo answered, not taking his eyes off of his hot headed brother whose jaw was clenched tightly, his eyes narrowed dangerously into angry slits of golden fury.

Raphael shot out an angry breath through his nostrils. "You're just too weak to go any further," he snarled, his hands going to his sais.

"Nothing is happening," Leonardo repeated in a stern voice, but one hand twitched towards his swords. "Now, back off before I make you," he threatened.

Raphael laughed darkly. "I'd like to see you try, Fearless Leader," he taunted mockingly.

"Don't make me, hot-head," Leonardo spat back, taking a defensive position and unsheathing one of his katana blades.

Raphael pulled out his sais and gave a derisive snort. "I'll go through you if I have to."

"Raph, stop it," Donatello ordered.

"Come on, Leo, just walk away," Michelangelo instructed. "It's not worth it."

Leonardo slowly dropped his guard and made his way over to where Donatello and Michelangelo were. There was a thud as metal hit the hard keratin of his carapace. Leonardo swung around, his eyes narrowed with dangerous anger.

"Go on, start a fight," he snarled, his voice low. "I dare you."

"No doubt, of whom the winner will be," Raphael mocked again.

Michelangelo hurried forward and grabbed Leonardo's arm. "Come on, Leo, leave him," he urged. "Let's go home and play a few rounds of Battle Ravage before going to bed," he coaxed hopefully.

Leonardo pulled his arm out of his baby brother's grip, and turned to face Raphael. "No, Mikey. Raph needs to learn the respect lesson… yet again."

Raphael scoffed and readied himself for a fight. "You have to show respect to get respect, Fearless."

"That's rich, coming from you," Leonardo snapped.

There was suddenly a flash of red, and the clash of metal against metal.

Michelangelo yelped and fell back as Leonardo and Raphael clashed blades. Raphael's eyes were filled with murderous fury. Though it should be beneath him, Leonardo had a knack for knowing just what words to say to set Raphael off.

Michelangelo and Donatello took cover behind an air conditioning unit as they watched in trepidation as their brothers fought. Leonardo moved fluidly, despite his injuries; however, he didn't move quite fast enough and Raphael took advantage of an opening, slashing at his brother's wrist and arm.

Leonardo cried out in pain as the sai cut deeply into his flesh. He dropped his sword and stumbled back, holding a hand to the bleeding wound. Michelangelo and Donatello ran over and separated their siblings.

Donatello examined the wound and frowned with worry when he saw how deep the laceration was. The slash was nearly to the bone, and dangerously close to Leonardo's tendons and a major artery. The purple masked turtle shot a disgusted look at Raphael.

"What's wrong with you, Raph?" he snarled, as he dug a bandage out from within the confines of a first aid kit he pulled from within his duffel bag. He wrapped the wound as best as he could to try to stop the heavy bleeding.

Raphael put his sais in his belt and walked away. "Whatever," he muttered. "Take care of poor, defenceless Leonardo."

"Raphael, get back here!" Leonardo demanded.

Raphael ignored the demand and jumped down to the alley below. Leonardo sighed in resigned irritation, bending down to pick up his fallen weapon. He placed it back in its sheath, and headed back towards the lair with Donatello and Michelangelo following close behind him. As he walked, Leonardo's eyes kept glancing down at the blood that seeped though the white bandage wrapped around his lower arm.

A disturbing thought suddenly passed through his mind.

Why do I get the feeling that someday Raph's going to be the death of me? he thought grimly to himself.

It was nearly dawn by the time Raphael crept back into the lair. The underground dwelling was eerily silent and Raphael assumed that everyone had long since gone to bed for the night. He had hoped that Leonardo hadn't stayed up just to lecture him and reprimand him for not only picking the fight -which had led to Leonardo being injured- but also for staying out so late. Raphael regretted his actions towards his older brother, but Leonardo had to learn when to just admit that he was not perfect and couldn't do everything.

Raphael's eyes swept across the lair and did not notice his older brother ready to pounce, so he quietly made his way up the stairs and into his room. He was thankful and a bit confused that no one had come out to chastise him for the earlier fight, but at the same time he was slightly confused by this unusual occurrence.

Shrugging off his sudden unease, Raphael climbed into his hammock and closed his eyes. After a while, sleep finally overtook him and he drifted off into a dreamless slumber; unsure of the severity of the lecture he was going to receive in the morning.

Let me know what you think. Reviews are welcome, flames are not.