Apologies and Accidents

The flashing red and blue lights on top of the police vehicles reflected on the buildings that surrounded the crime scene. There were six men tied up in pairs of two. They were looking quite light-headed and moaning slightly from the beating they had taken. It was supposed to be an easy bust. After all, it was just some thugs trying to steal some really expensive jewelry; but there had been some difficulties in this small task.

The police had just started taking out their handcuffs and untying the ropes as the four ninjas dashed away from the roof's edge and jumped to another building.

After they had gone a few buildings away was when Leonardo started in on Raphael.

"What were you thinking?!" He exclaimed at him, smacking him on the back of the head.

Raphael rubbed he back of his head and growled. "I was thinking that I was going to stop some thugs from robbing a jewelry store, that's what!"

Leonardo glared at him and said, "How many times are we going to go over this? I'm the leader. I say when we attack and don't attack! Master Splinter chose me as-"

"Well maybe you're a little late at ordering us to attack!" Raphael shouted.

"Maybe you should tell me when you see something sketchy so I can order it!"

"If you're the leader then shouldn't you already know when something sketchy is going on in the streets?"

Michelangelo was sitting on the edge of the roof, swinging his legs and watching the two argue while Donatello was standing and leaning his shell against the wall. His eyes were narrowed at his two brothers, feeling as though this was the hundredth fight they'd had in a week. Michelangelo appeared to be trying to occupy his mind away from the fact that his two older brothers were shouting at each other.

Finally having enough of the fight, Donatello rolled his eyes and said, "Come on guys! That's enough! Can you two stop this ridiculous shouting and try to talk to each other in a civilized fashion?"

"Shut up Donnie!" Raphael shouted, pointing a warning finger at him.

"Don't you shout at me!" Donatello shouted back, pushing up off the wall and returning the finger-point.

"Well maybe you shouldn't get involved!"

"Can we not change the subject away from our argument we were having two seconds ago?!" Leonardo shouted, interrupting the side-argument.

"Oh yeah…where were we?" Raphael said, putting a finger to his chin in mock thought. "Oh yeah, I remember! You were getting mad at me for doing my job!"

"I'm not getting mad at you for that Raph! I'm getting mad at you for not following orders!"

Donatello was once again a bystander to the argument, forgotten by Raphael completely. He sighed, put a hand to his face and shook his head.

"Well maybe you should get better at giving orders!" Raphael shouted at him.

"Maybe you should listen to the orders I do give!"

"Well maybe you suck at being leader!" Raphael shouted.

Leonardo fell silent and Michelangelo and Donatello gasped and stared with wide eyes, awaiting for whatever would come next.

"Take. That. Back," Leonardo said through gritted teeth.

"Why should I?" Raphael argued. "We're all thinking it!"

Michelangelo lifted a hand and said, "I'm not."

"Shut up Mikey!" Raphael shouted at him.

"I said, take it back!" Leonardo said, louder this time and stepping forward so his face was so close to Raphael's they were almost touching.

Raphael didn't back down though as he glared at his brother.

"No," he said solidly.

Leonardo turned away angrily, ran to the edge of the roof, and jumped to another building.

…

When the four were back home in the sewers, Raphael went into the training room immediately. Since Leonardo had arrived back a few seconds before them, they hadn't seen where he went. They just hoped he wasn't in the training room so another fight wouldn't break out.

Donatello had gone into his room to work on a new weapon and Michelangelo had joined him for a little to watch before leaving. As he passed by the training room, he could hear grunts and shouts of anger coming from inside.

Peering inside, he could see Raphael punching at a custom-made punching bag.

Walking quietly into the room, Michelangelo stood behind his brother and said, "Um…Raph?"

Raphael stopped punching and stood, breathing hard with his fists clenched.

"What Mikey?" he asked angrily.

"Have you and Leo made up yet?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

"No," he snapped, and began punching the bag again.

"Well…are you going to?"

Raphael continued punching the bag, and with each hit he said angry words, "I'm. Not. Apologizing. To. That. Bonehead."

Michelangelo shuffled his feet and didn't say anything. He continued standing silently and staring at the floor until Raphael stopped punching the bag.

Raphael turned his head slightly, though still keeping his back to his younger brother and said, "You think I should apologize don't you?"

Michelangelo looked up at him sheepishly. "Well…um…yeah, kinda."

"Why?" Raphael snapped, turning around fully to face him.

"Well, what you said was pretty harsh and-"

"So?"

"So, you shouldn't have said that."

Raphael growled and went over to a shelf that held spiky brass knuckles. He then went over to a thick, wooden board behind the punching bag, slipped on the knuckles and began punching the board violently.

The wood splintered with each blow and Michelangelo continued standing in the same spot. Raphael must have realized this because he stopped punching and whipped around, "What Mikey? You want me to apologize when I didn't do anything wrong? I didn't do anything wrong! I stopped a burglary! I stopped crime! Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?"

Raphael had been walking toward Michelangelo during his rant and was now standing in front of him.

"Well, yeah. But what you said to Leo was really harsh and-"

"Tough shit!" Raphael shouted loudly. "He deserved it!"

"You don't need to yell at me Raph," Michelangelo said in a quiet voice.

"Well then stop telling me to apologize! You don't know anything Mikey!" Raphael shouted at him and then whipped around to continue with his angry punching until Michelangelo said something that made him furious.

Donatello was walking toward the training room, carrying a box of scrap metal when he heard Raphael's shouting. His first thought was that he was arguing with Leonardo again, but that thought quickly changed when he heard Michelangelo's angry shouts.

He put the box down quickly and hurried over to the room and looked inside from the doorway.

"Just because Master Splinter chose Leo as the leader doesn't mean you have to be a complete jerk!" Michelangelo shouted at him with clenched fists. "I think Leo's a way better leader then you could ever be!"

Raphael whipped around and his fist met with the side of Michelangelo's face. Luckily, the spikes didn't go completely into his skin, but they still scraped it deeply.

Michelangelo stumbled backward with his hand to his face. He removed his hand and saw an alarmingly amount of blood on it. He could also feel the warm liquid dripping down his face and he gasped as he placed his hand to the wound again. He could hear footsteps coming toward him from behind and felt warm hands on his shoulders.

"Mikey! Are you alright?" Donatello was looking at him with concern.

Michelangelo didn't answer, only whimpered as he felt warm tears begin to spring into his eyes.

Raphael had hit him. It wasn't a hit that he normally got whenever he was being silly or acting dumb. It felt like it was filled with genuine hatred and great anger.

Raphael's face fell as soon as he realized what he had done. He slipped the knuckles off his hand instantly and rushed forward.

"Mikey! I-I didn't mean to I-I got angry and-" but Michelangelo backed away out of Donatello's grip and his lip quivered.

Raphael's hand that was being held out fell. Michelangelo was staring at him with eyes filled with tears, pain, sadness, confusion, and fear. Blood was starting to seep between his fingers and drip down the back of his hand.

"Mikey-" Raphael breathed out, desperate for his younger brother to come toward him.

Michelangelo ran out of the room just as he let out a sob.

"Mikey!" Raphael called out but then felt Donatello's glare.

"What's the matter with you?!" he shouted at him and then ran out of the room after Michelangelo, leaving Raphael alone.

…

Michelangelo sniffed as he Donatello finished cleaning up the wound on the side of his face and began stitching it up.

"Hey, don't worry about it Mikey," Donatello comforted him, his smile showing the gap in his teeth even more. "Raphael's just really angry with Leo at the moment. Give him some time and he'll get over it."

Michelangelo didn't respond, but instead continued staring at the floor. He looked deeply saddened by what had taken place and Donatello was concerned. He hated seeing his little brother like this.

"Listen Mikey, you didn't do anything wrong. Okay?"

Michelangelo didn't respond and Donatello sighed. He finished up stitching the wound just as there was a knock on the door. Donatello walked over and opened it to see Raphael.

"Is-is he okay?" he asked.

"He's fine," Donatello said coldly as he closed the door behind him. "Still pretty shook up that his brother basically stab-punched him."

"Look-I didn't mean to-"

"That doesn't matter Raph!" Donatello said rather loudly. "How could you have done something like that to him? He trusts you! You've probably ruined that trust now!"

"I know…" Raphael said in a low tone. "That's why I need to speak to him."

"Well you can't at the moment," Donatello said. "I don't think he feels very up to seeing you at the moment."

"Please Donnie?"

"No! You've seriously upset him Raph! Give him some time! That's the least you could do," Donatello added the last part rather coldly.

Raphael said no more and Donatello opened the door and walked back inside. As soon as he shut it, Splinter and Leonardo walked into the room from meditating.

"Raphael?" Splinter asked. "What are you doing?"

"Uh…nothing," he answered and leaned against the wall beside the door.

"Are you…waiting for someone?" Leonardo asked, obviously having calmed down about the fight from his meditation.

"Uh…yeah," Raphael answered.

The two could easily tell that something was deeply troubling him and they stepped forward.

"What is wrong my son?" Splinter asked with concern.

Raphael lowered his head and said in a voice that sounded as though he were pained, "I-I hurt Mikey."

"What? How? Why?" Leonardo asked.

"He was telling me that I should apologize to you and I got angry with him and he got angry with me and I-I-punched him…while wearing the spiked brass knuckles."

"You what?!" Leonardo cried.

"I didn't mean to!" Raphael said in a pleading voice. "I was angry and-"

"Is he okay?!"

"Yeah, Donatello just said he's upset," Raphael answered, forlornly. "But his face was bleeding so much and…the-the spikes cut his face so deep and-and…oh man I messed up so bad…"

Raphael fell to the floor on his knees with his face in his hands. Leonardo bent down in front of Raphael and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Raph…it's alright," he comforted. "You know Mikey, he'll be back to his old self in no time at all."

"You don't get it Leo," Raphael said in stressfully, his voice muffled a bit by his hands. "You didn't see the way he looked at me. He looked so confused and scared and-He's going to hate me forever."

"No he won't," Donatello said as he stepped through the door and closed it. "His heart is too big for that."

Raphael looked up at Donatello and asked, "How is he?"

"He's better. I just had to calm him down a bit before stitching him up," he replied. "I was coming out to tell you that you could go inside and talk to him now."

"Alright," Raphael said, standing up. He was about to go inside until he turned back around and said, "And, uh, Leo?"

"Yeah Raph?" he questioned.

"I'm sorry for earlier. You're a great leader, and I shouldn't have said that."

Leonardo smiled and said, "Apology accepted Raph. Maybe we should try and work on not arguing as much?"

"And maybe I should try and uh…I guess…work on my anger a bit?" Raphael suggested and Leonardo and Donatello grinned and nodded. He was about to go into the room when he stopped again, "What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he thinks I'm some sort of…monster now or something?"

This was when Splinter stepped forward and placed a hand on Raphael's shoulder.

"My son, your brother could never think such a horrid thing of you," he told him. "He knows that that violence you placed on him was not who you are."

"But that's the thing Sensei…I can't help but think that my anger issues are who I am," Raphael explained forlornly. "And they caused me to hurt Mikey."

Splinter did not agree with this at all and said, "Raphael, it is not the mistakes that define someone unless they choose to have it define them."

…

Michelangelo sat in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall. He was fingering the newly sewn stitches on the side of his face and thinking about what had happened when he heard the door open.

When the footsteps stopped beside him, he looked up at Raphael and said in a quiet voice, "I'm sorry if I-"

"No Mikey," Raphael said softly as he bent down next to his younger brother. "You didn't do anything wrong. It was me. I got angry and lashed out and…I'm sorry."

Michelangelo stared at him with his eyes still bloodshot from crying and could see the deeply troubled look that came over his face as his eyes fell on the stitches. Raphael felt pained as he saw the wound that he had caused on his little brother's face. The way that Michelangelo looked at him with sadness made him appear so much younger than he was and it reminded him of when they were little kids and Raphael would always look after Michelangelo, making sure he wasn't getting hurt; and he was still doing that now. Or at least…he was supposed to be.

"Oh Mikey, I'm so sorry…" Raphael apologized again. "I understand if you never trust me again or never want to talk to me again. I deserve it. I'm an awful big brother. A terrible, terrible-"

He was interrupted by arms wrapping around his neck in a tight hug. Raphael froze for a moment before returning the hug around the smaller turtle.

"It's okay Raph. I forgive you," Michelangelo said, smiling, and Raphael smiled as well.

The troubles they'd been through that day had brought them closer together; and they could feel it as they sat on the floor embracing each other tightly.

…

…

NO THIS WAS NOT T-CEST. If you think it was then shame on you! This was merely brotherly love! Anyway, don't forget to review!