"Figures," he muttered. Even on this quasi vacation, his big brother couldn't help getting up too damn early.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he yawned as he gathered his sais, mask and belt, gearing up in preparation for a fight. Everything they did revolved around fighting, giving up control and taking it away, and he didn't expect any less today. Since he didn't smell anything cooking, he figured Leonardo had skipped breakfast in favor of practice.

Hoping his brother hadn't gone for a run in the woods, he walked outside and shivered on the porch for a moment. The sun hadn't even risen yet, and the pale light turned the sky a cold gray. Of course such an early hour meant that no one but the birds were awake, singing invisibly in the trees, but that didn't make him any more comfortable.

Quietly stealing into the barn, he caught Leonardo in the middle of a open-hand kata. Even better, his brother hadn't noticed him. Edging along the wall and sitting down in a corner, he watched his brother perform feints, counter feints and vicious kicks that would have ended a fight fast.

Despite himself, he had to admit that his brother's technique was immaculate. Leonardo moved almost too fast to follow, whirled through tight turns without stumbling, and moved with an exactness that reminded Raphael of a scalpel's precision. No wonder his sibling preferred swords.

Leonardo came to the last move, a low sweep that brought him back up again in a ready stance. Breathing hard, he took a moment to catch his breath before standing straight.

"Not bad," Raphael said.

Turning in surprise, Leonardo fell into position again before realizing his brother had spoken.

"Ha, gotcha," Raphael smirked.

Ruefully smiling, Leonardo relaxed and headed for his swords, which he'd leaned against the wall.

"Wait." Easing into a more comfortable position, Raphael motioned for him to take a few steps back to where he'd been before. "Do it again."

"What?"

"The kata. Run through it again." He tilted his head back and let his smile widen in a way he knew bugged his brother. "Now."

Leonardo hesitated. Not sure if he would or not, Raphael felt a shiver run through him when his brother slowly turned and faced the back wall, giving him a profile view. Head lowered, Leonardo breathed out, then eased into the kata, raising his arms in a block that moved into a low jab, slid back into a crouch, then moved through a backflip with a kick that would nearly take off a human's head.

Raphael eased one knee up and rested his hand there, swallowing once. Lethal, calculating and unbelievably swift, yet obediently following Raphael's command. He had a brief image of his brother as a sai following every flip and twist of his fingers, the subtle turn of his wrist changing the course of each cut. The image faded as he tried to imagine a stabbing thrust and found himself watching his brother in another sweep.

As the kata went on, Raphael narrowed his eyes in thought. Yes, subtlety matched his brother best. Not that Leonardo couldn't be strong, but watching him now made his speed and skill stand out so much more. All his practice showed, the long hours and painful repetition obvious in every move. Even with his swords, Leonardo rarely used strength moves like Raphael did, preferring debilitating cuts over thrusts that could potentially leave his sword stuck.

Halfway through the kata, Raphael stood and pulled out his sais. Leonardo paused, wondering what he was doing and growing even more confused when his brother set his weapons down by his swords.

"How long you been practicing?" Raphael asked, coming closer.

"Almost half an hour." Leonardo forced himself not to take a step back, but his brother's eyes gleamed dangerously. "Why?"

"Just curious. Looks like you're pretty winded now."

Without warning Raphael lunged forward, his hands just barely missing his brother as Leonardo dodged to one side. Raphael rolled and turned as he came up, grinning at Leonardo's wary stance.

"That's a dirty trick," Leonardo said.

"You taught it to me," Raphael chuckled. "'Best to wear the enemy down before you attack'."

"You were listening?" Leonardo asked. "Can you blame me for being surprised?"

Raphael gave a self-deprecating snort. "Guess not. Think you can win?"

No answer. They both knew that in a fight against each other, with both holding back lethal or debilitating blows, the outcome was already decided. But Leonardo didn't make any move to surrender, the unspoken meaning obvious. Raphael would win, but he would have to drag the victory out of him.

Which suited Raphael just fine.

"Winner calls the shots for a day," Raphael said, his smile growing as Leonardo glared. "I've already got so many things I wanna do to ya. A month is such a long time."

"You're not going to win every day," Leonardo warned him.

"True," Raphael agreed, starting to circle his brother. "What I mean is that for the first couple of weeks, any bruises or cuts, anything like that? They're gonna heal up just fine before we get home."

No marks. They both knew that the risk of their family finding out was the only reason that they had restrained themselves so much. Without that self-imposed limitation--Leonardo swallowed once in anticipation, his eyes flicking away as he couldn't help imagining a few things of his own.

His brother's distraction was the opening Raphael needed. He lunged again, his hand scraping against Leonardo's shell as he turned, bruising his knuckles. As he landed, he turned and found his brother several steps away.

"You're hoping I'll wear myself down," Raphael said. Not a bad strategy, he thought. If he kept lunging like this, the fight might turn even. He couldn't let that happen. "Okay, new tactic."

Leonardo's eyes widened as his brother stood straight and simply started walking towards him, closing the distance faster than he expected. He darted left, Raphael followed. He moved right, Raphael followed, slowly boxing him into a corner. An open fight was the last thing he wanted, but there was no way he could get to the barn door and open it before his brother caught him.

Ducking low to the ground for leverage, he surprised his brother with a hard kick to the plastron that made Raphael grunt and fall back a few steps. When Raphael stood straight again, one hand rubbing the sore spot, he stayed down.

"You seem to like that move," Raphael grumbled.

"Whatever works," Leonardo answered.

Expecting another kick, Raphael came forward again, hands ready to grab his brother's ankle. Instead he found himself landing on his shell as Leonardo swept his legs out from under him. Refusing to give up, he ignored the shock and turned on his side, pushing himself up enough to try his own sweep. Fortunately for him, his brother was still slowed down by his earlier practice and while the sweep didn't entirely connect, it was enough to unbalance him and send him to the ground. He managed to land on his knees rather than ending up sprawled like his brother, but before he could stand, Raphael tackled him from behind.

They landed on their sides on the dusty floor. Leonardo struck his brother's wrist but Raphael didn't let go. After a moment of struggling, Raphael managed to throw his leg over his brother's waist and drag himself on top of him. His weight and his brother's past exertion made the rest easy. He grabbed Leonardo's hands and pulled them down far enough that he could pin them under his knee, then leaned forward on his hands, breathing hard. Even tired, his brother managed to give him a fight.

During the fall, the stray ends of Leonardo's mask had fallen over his face. As he breathed hard and gave one more futile struggle, Raphael smiled and pushed the ends off.

"I win," he whispered.

Leonardo closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded once, relaxing with a sigh.

For a moment neither moved. Raphael took the moment to look over his prize, savoring his victory. Tomorrow's fight would not be sure, and no doubt Leonardo would fight with extra determination after what Raphael would do today. But today was his, and he planned on enjoying himself.

"I'll be right back," he said, nuzzling his brother's exposed throat before nipping hard enough to make his brother wince. As he started to get up, he frowned and looked back at his sibling. "You won't run, right?"

Leonardo glared at him from the corner of his eye. "Of course not."

"Just making sure." Raphael eased off, letting his brother sit up with a groan, then stood and went outside, heading for the back shed.

During their fight, the sun had started to break over the horizon, warming the air slightly. The shed doors creaked as he forced them open, sending spiders and bugs scattering into the corners. Carefully picking over half-rusted broken farm tools, he spotted what he wanted sitting on one of the shelves.

When he came back, Leonardo still sat in the spot on the floor, one leg bent as he waited. He raised his head, squinting in the light. His gaze was drawn to his brother's hand and his breath quickened as Raphael unwound the long spool of rope.

tbc...