*Hello again, friends! This story began as a gift-fic for a good friend because of her birthday. She's not only a constant companion on both Facebook and Fanfiction, but she has an outspoken love for my pairing of Raphael and Karina. Or mostly Raphael. I'm not sure which it is. ;)
In any case, as I was considering the scene I would write, the thought occurred to me...why stop here? This set of drabbles will be dedicated to ALL the pairings from my canon. It will be updated with more chapters as I have both time and the inspiration to write them. The scenes could come from any point of time in their existence, so it'll be important for you to read my author notes before every chapter to help understand what's going on.
The time-frame for this chapter falls within "The Chosen", a couple of days after the boys arrived home at Lotus Salvus. The song is "The World I knew", by Jordin Sparks. You've probably never heard it, but it totally set the mood I was trying to convey.
This was all for you, Tonya, so I hope you enjoy it. Happy birthday, babe. I do not own the TMNT.
Raphael had a hard time repressing a smile as he crept down the dark hallway on the first floor of Lotus Salvus. Despite the early hour and lack of noise from any of the nearby bedrooms, his nose told him that Victoria was already hard at work. He slipped through the Great Room and wandered into the connecting kitchen.
"Good Morning!" The auburn-haired woman's chipper tone resounded off the walls, making Raphael feel a little more comfortable with taking "advantage" of her skills.
The red-masked turtle cleared his throat self-consciously. "Good morning. It uh…it smells great in here. I hope you didn't go to too much trouble."
Victoria laughed. "What trouble? You've been away from your lovely wife for months. I'm not going to let you serve her toast and cereal."
Raphael chuckled. "Kari probably won't care what we eat."
"Maybe not, but I wanted this to be special for you two. We have to make up for some lost ground, after all. I've heard enough comments about the awful food on Zuhur."
The turtle made a face. "It shouldn't be called food."
Victoria glanced at the clock on the oven. "The mini frittatas have about five more minutes, and then I'll finish packing your basket."
Raphael peered around the woman as she fussed with a pan on the stove, and he quickly snagged one of the fresh cinnamon doughnut holes cooling on parchment paper before she would see.
"You ought to go wake up Karina if you want to make it before the sun rises. The doughnuts will still be waiting for you," Victoria teased.
He reddened slightly. "Thanks for everything."
"You're welcome, Raph. I'll have everything ready in another ten minutes."
Excited energy pulsed through Raphael's muscles as he hurried back to the bedroom he shared with Karina. He left the door ajar to provide a bit of light for the space, and crouched down by his wife's side of the bed. He paused at the vision of the bronze-haired woman sleeping peacefully, but his surprise was definitely worth waking her.
The turtle carefully brushed a palm over her cheek. "Kari." He intentionally kept his voice low, hoping not to disturb the three-year-old Olivia who'd slept between them the night before.
Karina stirred with a soft murmur and turned her head in his direction. "Raph?"
"Shh," he warned. "Let's not wake the kid."
The woman glanced at Olivia, then back at Raphael. "Is something wrong?"
"Nah. I just need you to come somewhere with me."
"What?" She sounded like she was still half-asleep.
"I want you to see something, but you've got to get dressed."
Her delicate brow creased. "Right now? Where are we going?"
"It's only a short hike. I promise it'll be worth it. Victoria's already up, and she's gonna listen in case Liv comes around."
Karina separated from the blanket slowly. "This sounds mysterious. What are you up to, Tortuga?"
"You gotta come with me to find out."
The woman needed no further urging. Karina felt her way through a couple of dresser drawers, locating clothes so she could get dressed. "What time is it, Raph?"
"Early, but I can't help it. The sun waits for no one," he cracked.
Raphael caught the woman's shadowed grin as her head appeared from underneath her shirt. "I suppose you've left me enough time to make your breakfast."
He shook his head. "Nope. You're not lifting a finger. I got this covered."
Karina rested both hands on her hips. "Covered how? Don't tell me you tried to cook."
"Are you crazy? I want you to be able to enjoy it, so I got an expert. We gotta get moving though."
The woman stifled a chuckled as she exited the room. "If you'd given me some warning, I wouldn't be holding us up." She ran her fingers through her hair while she continued into the hall, sweeping it up into a quick pony-tail. "As it is, it'll take another twenty minutes for me to be presentable."
Raphael suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, stopping the woman in her tracks. "You don't need any more time to be beautiful, Chica."
She leaned against his chest, and her lips found his with more eagerness than a normal morning. The red-masked turtle was almost content not to let go of her, but he wasn't about to waste the work Victoria had already put into this date.
"C'mon," he told her, tracing her shoulder with one arm to guide her to the kitchen.
Karina's light green eyes roved the room curiously, looking a little confused over the picnic basket on the center island.
Victoria smiled triumphantly as she carried over two thermoses to add to the pack. "That should have you covered caffeine-wise. You take your time out there, and don't worry about Olivia."
The bronze-haired woman half-chuckled. "Okay…well, thanks, Victoria."
The older woman winked at Raphael. "Have fun."
The turtle grabbed the basket, and motioned toward the door. He sensed Karina wanted to ask questions, but the woman silently followed him as he headed for the basement steps. The rest of his gear was already waiting in the rec room, and Karina laughed when he hefted another bag over his shoulder.
"Are we going on an extended trip?"
He flashed her a grin. "Nope. We just need things."
"I could carry something," she pointed out.
"I thought of that. You wanna get the door first?"
Karina went ahead of him through the back door of the walk-out basement, and he nudged her toward the patio table. Last night he'd gone in search of wildflowers she'd dutifully made him learn the year before; yellow Coreopsis and violet Bellflowers were interwoven as a single unit in another basket. He was no florist, but he figured Karina would still like them.
The woman beamed as she turned around to face him. "You do listen to me."
"Aw, sure, Kari. You tell me enough junk, and some of it's got to get through."
Karina punched his shoulder and scooped up the basket with her free hand. "Are you leading this caravan or not?"
He smirked. "Think you can keep up?"
"You're not the only one who works out y'know. Who do you think kept your daughter in shape while you were off saving two worlds?"
Raphael winced. Karina's tone was playful, but the thought of what his family had gone through in his absence still made him feel a little sick to his stomach.
"Maybe it could be like a family affair now," she went on.
"I always did like warming up with you, Kari. 'Course some of the stuff we couldn't let Liv watch."
Karina's laugh rang out freely. "We don't need to scar her for life. So where are we going?"
"I told you, it ain't far," he replied maddeningly.
The red-masked turtle was grateful that the pre-dawn sky was perfectly clear. He kept a steady pace which he knew Karina could match, traveling up a well-worn path that he and his brothers often ran in the course of exercise around Lotus Salvus. While he'd taken the woman to the overlook with him before, he was fairly sure she'd never watched the sunrise from the ridge. Karina was usually too consumed with looking after their daughter or feeding their entire clan to take a morning off.
The sound of the birds calling back and forth to each other from branches laden with green leaves and needles put an extra spring in Raphael's step, and made him feel like picking up speed. It was only a few days before that his wife and little girl, his entire world had been nothing but a dream slipping through his fingers. Being home with everyone safe and sound brought an overwhelming sense of relief and joy that was bursting to come out of him.
Their quiet climb to the overlook lasted less than fifteen minutes. Raphael had gotten Leonardo's help in shifting a cluster of rocks to a better position the day before, now prepared to give them a front row seat to nature's splendor. The turtle carefully put down his bag instead of flinging it to the ground, knowing better than to be rough with his brother's iPod dock in tow.
"Is this where we're pitching the tent?" Karina teased.
"No tent this time." He dug out the music player from the top of the bag, followed by a couple of blankets.
Karina bumped into his side, leaning against his shoulder. "You put some thought into this."
"Eh, it's not that big a deal. You hungry?"
"I think that could wait a little while. I'd rather take everything in first."
Raphael set aside the rest of the gear and chose a perch on the largest rock facing the east. He held out an arm to Karina, and the woman sank beside him. The mist billowing around the lower mountain peaks made the hills seem like islands in the middle of a great white sea. The pair waited quietly as the sun began to break on the horizon; the brilliant red and orange hues standing out even more against the shadows still covering the peaks.
The view was spectacular, even for the red-masked turtle who'd seen it many times before. Raphael glanced at Karina, and saw a tear trailing down her cheek. "You okay?"
"Better than okay," she whispered. "I wish I could explain this feeling, Raph. A week ago, I was hardly clinging to hope that you were alive. In a way, this is still a dream. It's too good to be true."
"I get it, Karina…I'm kinda in the same place." Raphael paused for a long moment. "All sorts of things came to my mind when I was back there, wondering if I'd see you again. The regret was the hardest."
"You don't have to regret anything as far as Liv and I are concerned, Raph."
"But I did," he said softly. "I could have spent more time just listening to you…playing with Olivia. I never even danced with you."
Karina gave him a cocky grin. "Not everyone is a dancer, Raph. Some of us are just born with it."
"But you always wanted me to."
She nodded. "I did, Raph, but that isn't something I'd hold against you."
The turtle slowly separated from her grasp. "It's nothing for me to screw around with the guys, but I never wanted to dance in front of you. You're amazing, and I figured I'd just be stupid and clumsy trying it your way. But when I was on Zuhur, I promised myself if I saw you again, I wouldn't be so stubborn." He reached for Donny's iPod dock. "I want you to pick something."
Karina's gaze was coy. "Really? You sure you're ready for this?"
"I'm sure I'll look like an idiot, but I don't care anymore."
Karina selected a song to play on the device and kicked off her sandals, ignoring the dampness of the morning grass. She shook out her ponytail and crossed her arms over her chest. "I've told you a thousand times that you won't look stupid to me. You don't have to know my steps. Just listen, feel, and follow. You can watch me first, if that makes it easier."
Raphael nodded wordlessly, listening to the strains of the unfamiliar music starting.
"I don't know where this world's going to lead me
But I'm hoping that with you I can make it through
I've had enough of this life to lead me
Right up to the edge of the world I knew."
Karina reached long arms to their fullest extent, stretching them to the sky as if she was commanding the sunlight building in the atmosphere above them. Her face was briefly hidden by flailing bronze hair as she turned in time to the rhythm of the music. Raphael couldn't fathom the perfectly controlled pirouette at the speed she was traveling.
"I can't wait just to see another day
If it means it's one more day that I'm with you
Down this road we'll look back at all we've known
Found a love that can't grow old
Just passing through
In the world I knew."
The turtle's heart beat faster as she broke free from the maneuver with a bounding leap that carried her back to where she'd started with him. The woman grasped his fingers reassuringly, drawing him to his feet with a magnetic pull stronger than any natural force in the universe. She smiled as she arranged one of his arms on her waist and continued holding his other hand.
"I've never seen a sunrise like this one
It's like the whole world's waking up for us
They say tomorrow can't promise us anything
So I'll take every moment and make it enough."
There was awkwardness in his frame even as she led him into the first turn, and Raphael stumbled as he tried to look down at Karina's feet.
"Feel," she ordered.
Raphael sighed inwardly, but forced himself to relinquish to her control. He worried that he wouldn't know what was supposed to come next, but quickly discovered that Karina's physical signals were simpler to follow than he'd anticipated.
"I can't wait just to see another day
If it means it's one more day that I'm with you
Down this road we'll look back at all we've known
Found a love that can't grow old
Just passing through
In the world I knew."
Giving in to the woman had the effect of loosening him up, and making every movement feel more fluid. A smile emerged as he relaxed into the comfortable motion, without wondering what he was supposed to look like. He was fully caught up in the beautiful partner leading him, and the spark of elation in her eyes made joy seize his heart stronger.
Impulsively he lifted Karina, spinning her through the air effortlessly. The woman didn't seem the least surprised by his deviation, embracing the sensation of flying with glorious laughter. She curled up in a ball and both her arms came around his neck as he lowered her back to the ground.
"Time won't stop
Wish that we could turn back the clock.
"I can't wait just to see another day
If it means it's one more day that I'm with you
Down this road we'll look back at all we've known
Found a love that can't grow old
Just passing through
In the world I knew."
Green eyes irresistibly called to Raphael and he kissed the woman deeply. Karina's passion easily matched him as they descended toward the grass. Despite the gravity pinning both of them to the earth, he felt like he was flying.