Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Ninjas Don't Wear Bracelets

"Raph! Raph! Check this out!"

Raphael groaned. All he had wanted was a little peace and quiet for once. Donnie had locked himself up in his lab and Leo was probably off perfecting their latest kata, as per usual, but for once, Mikey had been no where to be found. Usually he was playing video games, watching TV, or laughing out loud at the comic books he'd already read a thousand times, but today the lair was inexplicably silent. He had jumped at the chance for a relaxing afternoon, grabbing Spike and a magazine and plopping himself down in the common area, his feet propped up on the beanbag.

But upon hearing his youngest brother's voice shouting his name, his hopes were dashed. Mikey wasn't just yelling out randomly, he was calling him specifically. That was never a good sign, and there would be no avoiding him. Even if he tried to quickly sneak off to his bedroom, his baby brother would be sure to track him down, pounding on his door until he relented and allowed him in.

With a heavy sigh, Raph lowered his magazine and turned his head to find Mikey excitedly jogging over to him. He had something clasped tightly in his right hand, but it was too small for him to figure out what it was. Probably just another prank.

"Whaddya want, Mikey?" asked Raph, a look of complete disinterest plastered all over his face.

"Here!" Mikey held out his right fist. "I've been working on it for like a week now, but I finally got it just right. I had trouble with it at first - turtle fingers, ya know? - but I made it just for you and - "

"Look," said Raph as he held up a hand to stop his brother's ramblings, "I know better than to take anything you made 'just for me'. There's always a catch or a trick or somethin'."

"But - "

"Whatever it is, you can keep it."

The look of genuine hurt that filled Mikey's baby blue eyes sent a stab of guilt straight through Raph's heart. Oops. For once it seemed that his instincts were wrong, and as his dejected sibling slowly opened his fist, the feelings of guilt only increased. Laying on the outstretched palm was a completely harmless, colorful length of woven thread.

Raph wasn't sure what it was supposed to be, but even he could tell how much time and effort his brother must have put into it. The knots were all perfectly even and so tiny he couldn't imagine trying to tie them all with their large, often clumsy, hands. There was a V-shaped pattern running down it, each V alternating between bright red, neon green, dark green, silver, and black. The thread must have come from April, but Mikey had clearly been very specific about the colors. They matched him perfectly.

"It's a friendship bracelet."

Tearing his eyes away from the gift, Raph looked up into Mikey's face as he spoke.

"April told me about them," he continued as he attempted to mask the disappointment on his face with a forced smile, "I saw her wearing one, and when she told me an old friend of her's had made it, I wanted to give it a shot. So she brought over the thread and showed me how to do it a couple of weeks ago. It was fun so I thought I'd try making one for everyone."

Raph's heart sank even more, if that were at all possible.

"April was so cool about it. She even went out and bought all the colors I needed if she didn't have them already. See this one?" Mikey pointed to the bracelet, but with his large fingers Raph had no idea which one he was referring to. "That one's called 'Firebird'. I could have picked just 'Red', but it seemed kinda perfect for you, ya know? What with your explosive temper 'n all." The laugh that followed the playful quip was lacking Mikey's usual enthusiasm.

Closing his fist around the bracelet, Mikey pulled his hand back and looked down at it thoughtfully. Raising his head to meet Raph's gaze, he continued to wear that fake smile of his, the one he always wore when he was pretending to not be upset.

"But that's ok," he said with as much cheerfulness as he could muster, "I mean, it's pretty lame, right? Ninjas don't wear bracelets. And these are supposed to be made for friends, anyway, and we're brother's so that's just weird. And - "

Before his little brother could babble on further, Raph jumped from his seat, stood directly in front of him, and grabbed his right hand. Prying the fingers open, he snatched up the homemade bracelet.

"Raph! What're - "

"Help me put this thing on."

Holding out his wrist, Raph held the bracelet back out to his brother, waiting for him to strap it on. Mikey looked back at him cautiously as if he wasn't sure if it would be better to do as he was told or take the bracelet and run.

"Really, it's fine. You don't have to - "

"I said, help me put this thing on."

Mikey meekly did as he was told, reaching out to take the strap and wrap it around his brother's wrist. Once it was securely in place, Raph drew his arm up to his face, studying the bracelet closely.

"You really made this?" he said as he glanced back at Mikey who was squirming under his gaze.

"Yeah."

Raph looked back down at his wrist, staring at all of the tiny, perfect rows of knots.

"You're right," he said at last, earning a curious look from his younger brother. With a smirk, he looked him in the eye. "'Firebird' really does seem kinda perfect for me."

The brightness that shone from Mikey's freckled face could have lit up the entire room. His sad smile grew into a proud grin, and his eyes twinkled with sheer joy. Raph let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

"I know, right?" replied Mikey with a chuckle, "I can't believe April found it for me. She's the best! Oh man, I should make her one too. Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

"You made one for me before you even thought to make one for the person who showed you how to do it and bought you all the stuff?" teased Raph as he placed his hands on his hips and cocked an eyeridge.

"Well, yeah."

The answer was so matter-of-fact that Raph had no idea how to respond. He did his best to hide the embarrassment that threatened to surface at the knowledge that his baby brother had made him his top bracelet-making priority. He glanced away awkwardly, but he could feel a proud smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"So, uh, who's are you making next?" he asked, wanting to divert the conversation away from himself.

"Oh yeah! I was gonna work on Leo's next," said Mikey as he turned around and hurried back toward his bedroom. "I'd better get started - these things take a long time!"

Raph watched as his baby brother excitedly bound into his room and shut the door behind him. When he was alone again, he slowly returned to his seat, gave Spike a little pat on his shell, and picked up his magazine, looking for where he'd left off. His gaze drifted to his wrist, however, and he couldn't help but smile at the bright colors that stared back at him.

A/N: I was going to try and do a series of short drabbles in order to keep me writing despite a diminishing drive to do so, but this grew longer than it was intended to be. Hope you've got a sweet tooth because this was way fluffier than originally intended.

As always, critics and grammar police appreciated!