Played Like a Fiddle

Parting The Brotherly Sea (Part 1)

"No! Mikey! Hold still! Let me- UGH!

A stifled snicker drew Raph's attention, and he turned his head swiftly to glare at his older brother, who had taken the liberty to place himself behind Raph to watch his struggle. A low growl was sent in Leo's direction, and Mikey laughed at the sound, clapping happily and patting Raph's hands. At the moment, the two were sat on the couch, Raph trying desperately to put a diaper on the baby as the tiny terrapin giggled and squirmed as it were a game.

"Something tells me you didn't pay attention to the lessons Master Splinter gave us." Leo chuckled, walking up to his brothers with a smirk. In an instant, Leo plucked the diaper out of Raph's hands, kneeling down in front of Mikey and placing the diaper flat on the couch. It took a bit of encouragement, but Leo eventually managed to get Mikey to scoot up far enough to get the diaper on him, making sure it fit comfortably, yet was tight enough to keep from falling off. "See? If you would have been listening, you would have gotten this done just as fast."

"Shut up, Fearless." Raph scoffed, standing up and stretching. Mikey squealed in excitement, reaching up and smiling widely.

"Up! Up!" Mikey cheered, bouncing on his backside and almost falling off the couch; luckily, Leo was quick enough to keep that from happening. "Tank oo Mommy!"

"You're quite welcome." Leo replied, kissing Mikey's cheek and standing up to face Raph. "Donnie and I are going to go patrol, and we've decided that it would be best that you stay here and watch the baby."

"What?! Why do I have to watch the little menace?!" Raph shouted, grunting as a pillow just barely hit his foot.

I'm right here, ya know!

"Am here, Waphie!" Mikey huffed, leaning forward and pouting in an adorable manner. "Mean Waphie..."

"Uh-oh, looks like Waphie is losing some Big Brother points." Leo hummed, not at all surprised by the sudden tackle he earned.

"First of all, never call me that again. Secondly, I have lost nothing." Raph hissed, raising a fist to punch Leo. He was stopped, however, by Mikey's sudden wail.

"Mommy! Waphie no hurt Mommy!" Leo gave a smug smirk, the look only growing as Raph sneered and stood up, crossing his arms to glare at Mikey. Again, despite the look, Mikey repeated his cry, "Waphie no hurt Mommy!"

"Ah, hush. I wasn't gonna hurt 'im." Raph waved Mikey off, though it was clear that Raph was lying. The intent to punch Leo- out of what was most certainly not jealousy -was there, and Raph would be struck down again and again if he claimed that he didn't because Mikey was present.

"Do not... bee-leave oo, Waphie." Mikey muttered, a smile appearing on his face in response to being picked up by his typically hotheaded big brother. With a giggle, Mikey placed a tiny hand on Raph's snout, his eyes sparkling in a way that only the most innocent beings could pull off.

"You're lucky that you're a tiny, helpless squirt." Raph poked Mikey's snout, not bothered one bit by the sneeze he received - one that ended up getting spit on his face, mind you. "Bless you."

"See? You're getting along already!" Leo chimed, glancing towards the Tv briefly and humming. "I should really get Donnie to filter the channels on our Tv sometime this week."

"Is that kind of stuff all you think about?" Raph asked, raising a brow ridge when Leo didn't respond. "I'm assuming so. In that case, I think I'm starting to be get used to the idea of being left behind. Probably better than being forced to listen to you worry every five seconds about the baby getting his head stuck in the toilet."

"WHAT?!" Leo turned to look at Raph so fast that it was a miracle that the blue banded turtle's neck didn't break. With an eye roll and a condescending chuckle, Raph said nothing in response, bouncing Mikey and smiling when the baby laughed loudly. "Ugh, sometimes, I swear..."

"Ya seem pretty close ta havin' an aneurysm there, Fearless. How about you go out and worry about saving New York rather than worrying about our sweet and innocent angel who is barely capable of taking care of himself without falling over and crying!" Leo's face contorted into one of horror as Raph continued talking, and he wasted no time in tearing Mikey away from Raph.

"On second thought, maybe it would be best if we let Sensei watch over Mikey! He's dealt with the four of us already, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind watching the baby for one patrol!" Leo squished Mikey close, eyes filled with dread at the mere though of leaving Mikey with their aggressive brother.

"Oh Leo, you make it sound like you don't trust me!" Raph joked, watching Leo shudder and whisper to Mikey.

"I won't let the meanie look after you. Your mommy is better than that." Leo cooed, kissing Mikey's cheek repeatedly. "Mommy won't let anyone hurt you."

"Of all the overprotective mother hens..." Raph muttered, walking past Leo quickly. "I'm gunna tell Masta Splinta that we're goin' out on patrol. Think you can have Mike calm and asleep by then?"

Leo replied with a challenging scowl.

"I'll take that as a yes."

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*So... when I said that the next chapter would take as long as the last one... I honestly didn't think it would end up coming out longer than it. Trust me, I'm pretty upset with the infrequent updates, but I hope you guys don't mind as much. I do, however, promise times 3 that I will get the next chapter posted today (It's past 12:00 am here, so... yeah). Hope you have great days!