Here's another one, everybody! (I'm feeling a little insecure and afraid it's a little too melodramatic, so let me know what you think please)

———————————

"Raph, what is your problem?!"

"Back off, Leo! I'm not the only one with issues! You have no right to single me out!" Raph retorted, angrily shoving Leo backwards.

The leader growled in response and used his superior height to his advantage. "Then the same goes for you then, Raph! You're always blaming me when something goes wrong!"

"Well there's a reason for that, dumbbell! You're the goddamn leader! Whenever something goes wrong it's your responsibility!"

"Maybe it is, but I'm not going to allow myself to be blamed for your inadequacies, Raph! You are arrogant, self-centered, and impossible to work with! I don't even know why I waste my time trying with you anymore!" Leo yelled throwing his arm over his face in exasperation.

"Oh, so I'm the arrogant one? Huh, Fearless? Mr. Fucking-Perfect leader?!" Raph shouted, getting up into his brother's face. They were inches away from each other, their eyes on fire.

Leo's right hand reached back to his katana. But suddenly they were both being shoved backwards. They glared at Donatello fiercely, but the brainiac didn't even flinch. "Stop it, both of you! Arguing is not going to get us anywhere. Leo, stop blaming Raph!" Raph smirked victoriously until Donnie turned to him with a scowl. "You're no better, Raph! Lay off!"

"Of course you side with Leo!"

"I'm not siding with anyone!" Don retorted.

Suddenly, Leo could feel his anger draining and he found himself in a very unfamiliar position. He was usually the one who fought with Raph, not Donnie. Something about this felt strange. A weird discomfort filled his chest. He didn't like this. He didn't like seeing his brothers fight. There was only one way to stop this and that was by keeping Raph's anger directed at him. "Back off, Raph!" He growled, stepping in front of Donnie and warningly poking his brother in the chest.

Raphael glared at his brothers. He wasn't going to win this fight. Damn. He turned and stormed towards the door. Leo blocked him.

"Not now, Raph. Remember we're going out to bash Footbots tonight!"

"How do we even know they'll be there? We got that intel last Friday, Leo, and we haven't heard anything to confirm it."

Fearless put his hands on his hips in the way that annoyed Raph even more and the hothead growled.

Donatello rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sometimes, Raph, I think you're more dog than turtle." That crack only earned the brainiac an additional growl. "Leo's right, Raph. Even though the intel hasn't been confirmed, we need to go check it out just to be sure." Don said plainly.

The hothead was certainly not pleased. "You always side with Leo."

"And you always act like a child when you don't get your way!" Donatello had lost his patience and he brought is bō down from his back.

Raph brandished his sais and lunged at his brainiac brother with a loud yell of frustration. Leo came between them and held both of them back. "Stop it, both of you! Fighting isn't getting us anywhere! Raph just stay in, alright?! We'll be leaving in two hours."

"Fine."

It was a long, tiring patrol. They repeatedly circled the area where the Foot were supposedly going to have some big operation, but there was no sign of them. Of course, Raphael was the first to launch a complaint.

"I told you guys that this whole thing was bogus. But did you listen to me? NO!" He blew up.

Donatello's lip curled. "Can it, Raph!"

Raph drew up to his full height, even though that meant he still had to look up to meet Donnie's eyes. "Seriously, what crawled up your shell, huh, Donnie?" He asked, his voice sounding a little tired.

Leo blinked in confusion. It wasn't like Raph to let something like tiredness slip through his angry mask. He drew away from the edge of the building where he had been looking down into the alley below and approached his bickering siblings. Donnie looked really mad.

"You did, Raphael! You're always blowing up at everyone, including me, and acting like an ungrateful brat all the time! You're seventeen years old, Raphael, GROW UP!"

Leo and Mikey both went rigid. There was a tenuous moment of silence and murderous anger flashed in Raphael's eyes. Leo's hands reached up to grip his katanas, ready to jump in the middle if need be. Surprisingly, Raphael's reply was not as loud as Leo had expected, in fact it was about the volume of Raph's average speaking voice, just with an angrier edge.

"Oh, I'm the one who's not grown up?! You're mad because you were wrong and I was right!"

"What?!" Donnie was seeing red. "No I'm not."

"Yes you are! You can't stand it when your answer for everything isn't the right one, huh, Donnie? You just hate the idea of anyone outsmarting you!"

Don's eyes narrowed and he grabbed his bō tightly in his hands. "Shut up!"

"No, I don't think I will. You just can't take it, can you, Donnie? You were wrong! Our intel wasn't good! It was bogus! It was unconfirmed! And yet you—"

"I said shut up!" Donnie said, gritting his teeth and gripping his staff so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"It hurts, doesn't it, Don? It hurts to have people yelling at you for being—"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Donatello shouted as he leapt forward. Raphael had seen it coming. He knew that it would happen. But he also knew that Donnie needed to get all the rage out of his system. So instead of avoiding the blow, he braced himself. But he underestimated the brainiac's strength.

Donnie hit Raphael with everything he had. With a pained noise that was part gasp, part grunt, the hothead hit the roof.

To Leo and Mikey, everything had happened too fast. Mikey had been watching, worriedly as Raph had gone on and on and on. And when Donnie had moved, the brainiac was little more than a purple blur.

Leonardo's world had slowed the second that Donnie shouted and jumped towards Raph. He had wanted to intervene, yet his mind seemed unable to command his feet and he had simply stared in shock. Leo, however, had seen something that Mikey and Donnie had not. He had seen Raph's balance shift. He alone had seen that Raphael, the hothead of destruction, had decided to let Donnie hit him. Shaking his head, Leo focused in on the present situation. His heart stopped.

Donnie was still enraged. He was going to try and hit Raph again.

The hothead was down, but he groaned and looked up as Don approached and raised the bō staff high over his head. Raph stared up into his immediate younger brother's eyes with a calm that could rival that of Leonardo in the midst of meditation. "Don't be like me, little brother. You're better than that, Don. I know you are." Raph whispered.

Leo and Mikey were too far away to hear Raph's words, but as Donnie brought the staff down, they yelled, "Donnie, no!"

Raphael smiled as the brainiac cast the staff off to the side. Leo and Mikey reached them and immediately the eldest turtle dropped to his knees at Raph's side. His forest-green hands gripped his emerald green sibling tightly, frantically looking him over. Raph gently pushed Leo's hands away. The eldest sighed in relief and then turned upon Donnie, angrily.

"Donnie, what the shell were you doing?! You could have seriously hurt him!" A hand landing on Leo's shoulder made him look back at his red-masked brother.

"Don't yell at him, Leo. Anyone you should be yelling at, it's me."

"Raph..." Donnie began, looking both apologetic and saddened. "It was my fault, you didn't—"

"I made you mad. I didn't stop even when you warned me to. I was asking for it." He stretched a little, already feeling the pain of a couple bruised ribs. He winced and grunted.

Leo, the mother-hen that he was, was back at Raph's side in seconds, trying to help the hothead to his feet. "What's wrong, where does it hurt?"

"Didn't ask for nurse!" Raph objected, shoving his big brother away and reaching out for Donatello. The smart turtle pulled back. "Donnie, if you make me wait much longer I'm gonna lose my balance and falling would not feel good right now." He said, holding out his arm towards the purple-masked turtle.

Donnie grabbed it slowly, tentatively. He frowned darkly when he wrapped Raph's arm over his shoulder and the hothead hissed in pain. Leo and Mikey came closer, but Raph looked at them sternly. "You two go on and do one more loop of the perimeter. Donnie will take me home."

Mikey rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He looked at Don. "That cool with you bro? I can take him if you want."

"No." Raph said, not giving Donnie a chance to answer. "Either Donnie takes me or I'm staying here." He stated stubbornly.

Leo sighed. Raphael was as stubborn as a boulder. And right now, said boulder didn't want to moved by anyone but their purple-masked brother. Though Leo was still a little bit worried, he could see that Donnnie was back to being his old self, and that reassured him a little.

"Alright. Call us when you get there, that way we know you're alright."

Raphael rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom."

Leo glared and crossed his arms over his chest. Raph just smirked. Leo sighed. "We'll probably be home in another forty-five minutes or so. Try not to kill each other, okay?" He asked, completely serious.

Raph scoffed at Leo's face. "Shut up, Fearless. Donnie and I will be fine."

The two middle turtles walked side-by-side, one supporting the other. They walked for the most part, in silence, until pain shot up Raph's side and he hissed. Don stared blankly at his older sibling and muttered, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I-I-I didn't realize what I was doing."

"It's alright."

"No, Raph, it's not alright!" Don objected, tugging his big brother closer to him. "I love you, bro. I shouldn't have—"

"It's all good, Donnie. Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

"I can tell when you're lying, Raphael."

A smirk lit Raphael's face. "Wise-ass." He muttered, though it was said with a soft hint of affection that Raph knew only Donnie would pick up.

Donnie grinned for the first time that night, though he soon frowned again. "Raph...We all lose control every once in a while. Just because it's happened to you more than it's happened to us doesn't mean that I'm better than you."

Raph shook his head. "No. But you were able to stop yourself before you went too far. That's what makes you stronger."

"I've seen you stop yourself, Raph. You are in control." The smart turtle added in a whisper, "You're the strongest person I know."

Raph grinned. "You haven't seen all the times I've been unable to stop. Like Sensei always says anger is a dangerous ally. It's dangerous because it's not only an ally, but also your worst enemy." Raphael smiled as his younger brother's arms wrapped around his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "Aw don't worry, little brother. You controlled it, ya did good."

"Only after hurting you." Don said, his voice muffled as his head was currently bent down and pressing into Raph's shoulder.

"But before hurting me even more. Donnie, ya gotta appreciate the fact that it's okay. I'm here, you're here. Our brothers are—" Raph looked back over their shoulders. "Out there somewhere. But it's the four of us. Well, five with Master Splinter, though he's not up here, but I think you get what I—"

"I get it." Don replied with a soft smile. He hugged his big brother tighter. "You're an awesome brother, Raphael."

"You, too, brainiac. You too."

——————————

How was it?

P.S. So, I know that you guys have been asking me for sequels on a lot of these, so far including: Replaced, Home and Picky Portals. (I am already working on the sequel to Replaced and I am considering starting a sequel to Home and Picky Portals) So, yes, no? Maybe? Let me know! :)

Till next chapter!