Brotherly Blunders

Protectors

"Hey Leo, have you seen Raph?"

"He went out with Casey, Mikey." Leo replied from his spot on the couch.

"Dude, seriously again? That's like the third time this week. Not that I mind Raph blowing off steam with Casey, but I feel like I haven't even seen him in ages."

Leonardo stared at the youngest in confusion. "What are you talking about Mikey? You see Raph every day."

Michelangelo shrugged. "Well yeah, but we haven't been doing any of the stuff we used to do together you know? Nowadays Raph's way too tired all the time."

Leo just gave his little brother a questioning glance. 

Mikey sighed. "Think about it Leo. Raph does daily training with us, plus his daily workout, then nighttime patrol with us and nighttime patrol with Casey. He's exhausted dude. He's been working himself too hard, for too long. Now as soon as he gets home he just falls right into his bed and falls asleep. Doesn't even take his gear off or anything." Michelangelo's bright blue eyes shone with concern. "I don't want to muscle in on his time with Casey, because they're best friends, you know? But at the same time I hate seeing Raph like this."

The blue-masked turtle stared at his little brother in astonishment; Mikey can be so insightful sometimes, he thought before giving his little brother a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, Mikey. Raph knows his limits; he can take care of himself. You know how he is, he'll spend a week playing vigilante with Casey and get whatever he needs out of his system and then he'll be fine. You'll see."

There was a short silence before Mikey turned back to his eldest brother, "Ever wonder what they do up there all night?"

"All the time." Leo stated clearly enunciating each word.

The youngest turtle nodded in agreement. "Me too."

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Raph and Casey jumped across the rooftops to the place that they had affectionately dubbed 'the rest stop' situated on the roof of an old apartment building. The two teenagers lay on their backs and stared up at the stars. They had found nothing out on patrol tonight, so they had opted to come here.

"Dude, it's past eleven thirty, shouldn't you be getting back to the lair?" Casey asked, turning his head towards his friend.

"Naw, it doesn't matter. They're probably having a great time without me there anyway. Donnie's always complainin' about how I'm too loud and he needs his quiet time."

"But I thought you're supposed to be home by twelve."

"Since when do I operate by Fearless' standards? I'll stay out as long as I want, end of story." Casey went quiet for a moment and the friends sat in silence. Finally Raph turned to his friend and gave him what Casey Jones had internally dubbed 'the face.' It was the face Raphael always made when he was about to get something off his chest. "Hey Case," the human turned to his friend who had his gaze locked on the sky above them. "You ever wonder what we're here for?"

The dark-haired teen stared at his friend with surprise and confusion. Well, that's definitely not what I was expecting. 

Raphael ignored his friend's silence and continued. "I mean, I know that Earth needs us and that we saved the world, but is that all that we'll ever be good for? Saving the planet?"

"Of course not, Raph." The turtle met his gaze silently imploring him to elaborate. "See, the way I see is that we're the protectors. We'll protect this planet, this city and its people because it's in our blood, in our hearts, because it's what we live for. And we'll always be here for them, through thick and thin, for the ones that need us."

Raphael remained silent a long while, turning back to the sky above them as he internalized everything his friend had said. The two of them lay on the rooftop in quiet contemplation, staring at the stars until Raph broke the silence once more. "Hey Case?"

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

Casey Jones pulled out his phone to check. "11:45."

"Awesome, just enough time to make it home." The turtle jumped up and headed to the end of the rooftop. "Later!" he called out as he jumped to the next roof over.

"Later man!" Casey yelled back. For a hard-headed turtle Raph sure can be profound when he wants to be. He thought, replaying the night's conversation in his head.

Raphael stepped as quietly as he could into the lair, resisting the urge to face-palm when Leo immediately looked up from his seat on the couch. "Wow, Raph, you're actually back before curfew."

"Yeah. Was a good run."

"Anything interesting?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Streets are so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Casey and I gave up after the second patrol and just talked."

Leonardo seemed interested in that and he waved his brother over to the couch. "So what'd you talk about."

"I don't know, the usual, like which one of my brothers is the most annoying-"

"Raph." Leo said sternly.

"Okay okay. We were talking about life. There. You happy now?"

"What about life?" The blue masked turtle leaned toward his brother and canted his head.

Raphael sighed and dropped his shoulders, "We were talking about our purpose."

Leo raised an eye-ridge. "Your purpose."

"Yeah, ya know, like what we're here for, why we're here that sort of thing."

Leo looked at his brother in wonder and shock. When had Raph become such a profound thinker? Could it be that he'd always been that way, and we never noticed? Perhaps that's why he doesn't like talking to us. He thinks we won't understand why he wonders about these types of things. "And what was your conclusion?"

"Goddammit Leo! Why do you have to be so nosy?"

Leonardo remained calm and put a hand on his brother's shoulder, which Raph surprisingly didn't shrug off. "You don't have to tell me, Raph. I was just making conversation. Look Raph...about you and Casey," Raph sent Leo a warning glare, "Master Splinter's training plus our training, plus our patrol and Casey...just make sure you're not overworking yourself. Mikey's getting—concerned."

The hot-head's eyes went wide with surprise. Mikey and concerned? Those two words definitely don't belong in the same sentence. "I'll talk to him in the morning."

"Good, I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

Raphael got up and headed toward the hall and his bedroom, before pausing at near the end of the couch. "Protectors."

"Huh?" Leo asked, not knowing what Raph was talking about.

"We're the protectors. We'll always be here protecting them as long as we live. Because it's what we live for." Then he added in a quieter tone. "It's what I live for." Raph looked down at the floor and continued down the hall saying, "That was the conclusion."

Leo watched his younger brother go in complete astonishment. Raphael sounded so certain, so determined to live up to what he had deemed his purpose, his place in life. The leader went over his brother's words in his head before nodding. Yes indeed. Protecting their family, protecting others; it's what they live for.