Disclaimer: My piggy bank has fifteen cents in it now... oh! and I have more lint. But no, no turtles.

A/N: A million apologies for my utter lack of updates, my muse has been a jumpy little bugger lately, plus I'm not very good at juggling multiple stories. Ironically, here's a new one to add to the mix! XD

There's a element in 'Nothing is Unbreakable' that I wanted to expand on, but couldn't without screwing up the whole plot. Since obsessions don't hang lightly on me, the idea wouldn't die. Thus, 'The Last Thread of Sanity' was born! It should be about 13—short—chapters long; and a ton of fun to write! At least my muse is having a blast. ^_^

Word count: 1211

Chapter one: Numb

Too many people complained about the rain; about the wet puddles that splashed their shoes and the fat drops that soaked their hair and clothes. Raphael couldn't understand why—he loved it. He could sit for hours and watch the water wash the filth from the streets. Listen to it ding off metal railings and pelt the ground, to it rush down the drainage pipes and off rooftops.

To him, the rain was a reprieve, something that could drown out thoughts. It offered him a chance to forget... and he wished he could forget a lot. Remember, too.

Raphael pulled a knee up to his chest, watching as the other dangled over the ledge of the building. Several stories below was concrete, and somewhere beneath all that: his home, his family. But he couldn't think about them, not tonight.

Tonight he was numb. Tonight he was so tired that sleep even sounded good... if only he could. If only he could close his eyes without seeing it. The fragments of some nightmare that was there, slowly driving him mad... but not whole. No, just shards. Just enough to make his insides scream.

Remembering might be better—No, Raphael knew remembering would be better. Knowing is half the battle, Splinter always told him. Know your opponents to overcome them.

But this, whatever it was... was as if Raphael was grappling with a ghost.

Amber eyes slid over the cloud choked skyline, half-lidded and unobservant. Rills of rainwater washed down his cheeks, off his fingertips and over his numb skin. His breath shuddered out in a puff of milky white, only to be sliced away by the downpour.

But it was okay, he told himself. This kind of numb was different, was good. Not at all like that first time...

"There you are." a voice rose above the shower. But Raphael didn't turn to greet his brother, didn't remove his eyes from the dark sky.

Feet splashed in growing puddles and a scarred hand landed lightly on an emerald shoulder. "Hey, why don't we get out of this rain, bro?"

When he got no response, the turtle shifted, ever so slowly, to sit in front of Raphael. The blank stare solidified with the disturbance, meeting the coal eyes of Leonardo. He looked angry, or like he very much wanted to be.

Still, his voice stayed soft. "You shouldn't be out here."

The younger lifted a palm, as if to say, I like the rain, but the words never followed.

Leo took it otherwise, with an unsuppressed frown he looked to the sky and caught some drops of his own. "It's been pouring for hours."

"Didn't mean it as a question, Fearless." the words were lost in a roll of thunder. They weren't worth repeating.

So his gaze returned to the streets below, slowly, as if this reality would break with too fast a blink. Too reckless a thought. Right now Raphael had no reason to doubt it wouldn't—it took less than that last time.

"Mikey made soup," Leo tried, mimicking the younger's precarious perch.

How easy it would be... In this onslaught of glistening shards scattering around them like a shattered glass ceiling—To slip. Just one wrong move...

His throat tightened. "So?"

"You hate soup."

"Yeah," he scoffed, shifting away. "Ain't ya nosy..."

"Observant, Raph," Leo clarified, lightly. "I'm observant."

The blue-clad turtle drew a new meaning to 'walking on eggshells'. He was too afraid to pull the leader card after what happened; or to repeat the orders that still rung in Raph's head. In fact, there wasn't an argument in the hothead's arsenal to pull in defense of his actions tonight. At this point, he wouldn't even bother.

Leo smiled, his teeth bright in the dimness and his stoic eyes as expressive as they once were years ago. Worry shimmered at the surface. "And I think we've both spent more than enough sick days sipping broth to know why—"

"I shouldn't be out here! Dammit, Fearless, why don't ya just tell me ta get my ass home already?" Raph growled, throwing his other leg over the ledge with a fleeting fierceness.

Leo's hand was on him in a flash. "Easy!"

"I think I can handle not fallin' off a roof." emerald fingers fisted, restless now. "You're the one who should be careful."

His brother retracted with raised brows. "How's that?"

Raphael forced a chuckle. "Ya gotta admit, bro, you've fallen off more buildin's than me."

"Off buildings," Leo repeated. Nothing else needed to be said.

They both knew the mere act of standing was a whole different story. Irrationality ran rampant through Raphael's head; such a simple thing twisted into a key and rattled before a monster that couldn't get free again. Never again. The sentiment was too serious to laugh at... and too embarrassing to admit. So it sat there, unspoken in the wet air.

Not even the rain would wash it away.

Leonardo kept a measured distance between him and his brother. Independence thrived in those few feet, perhaps the most precious thing to Raphael right now; and still, if that failed, Leo was there to catch him.

The brothers shared a silent look. And the younger deflated like a squashed toad.

"Look, if anything 's gonna kill me, it's all this freakin' attention. I ain't dying. What happened was a one time deal. I'm fine now."

"Twice," the elder said, not hiding the irritation this time.

"Still doesn't mean I'm dyin' here." lightning sparked a fire in amber eyes. It flickered out just as quick.

"No one said it did."

"Right," he snorted, "Ya always jus' act bat shit crazy then."

"You know what, Raph, you're right." he inclined his head in a mock surrender, still not as explosive as he should be. "We're all overreacting. I'm sorry. Now let's go home."

"If I stay cooped up down there any longer, I'll go crazy."

Even as he said it, he slid cautiously from his seat, a hand lingering on the ledge for as long as it could, and strode to a fire escape. But something stopped him cold before the first step of descent. For a trembling second, Raphael thought it was happening again. Here, on a slick ladder strung up seven stories high.

And maybe Leo did too, because his fingers were a steel vise around his brother's arm. Thankfully, that's all it was - another's touch.

"We can't help you if you don't let us."

I don't think anyone can help me...

His tongue shriveled up, though the words wanted out. "Ya ever think I..." just don't want your help? He shook his head and met his brother's stare. "I don't need ya repeatin' things a million times ta get it?"

Leonardo didn't waver. "Just promise me you will."

"Tell ya what, Fearless, if ya lay off the mother hen bit, I'll deal." the railing rattled beneath them as Raph leaned back and offered a binding hand. It shook before Leo grasped it in his own; luck had it that their gaze never broke.

"All right." Leo nodded the next moment. "Now get your shell back to the lair."

A smile, wry and taut as a wire, stretched across Raphael's face. "Close enough."

A/N: I'd love to hear what y'all think. ^_^

Also, Watch Me Burn, co-written by ThisCatalyst'sPen, The ThirdAetas and myself is now up! Check it out and let us know what you think.

Thanks for reading! and...

Cheers! your Red Writing Rebel.