Snapshots of Time VI
A Family Trait
"Okay we lost 'em," Raph said. "Let's see how bad this is."
He tightened his hold on Leo and partially lifted his brother out of the drainage water. Raph eased him over to a wall so that Leo could lean against it. Once his carapace was braced on the concrete, Leo pulled his arm from Raph's shoulder.
They were both breathing hard and took a minute to draw in oxygen before doing anything else. The only sounds that they heard were the trickle of water and low scratching noises made by tunnel mice.
Raph squatted in front of his brother and examined his ankle. It was noticeably swollen and had already begun to show an ugly line of bruising on Leo's forest green skin.
"I'm fine, Raph," Leo said. "The cold tunnel water helped."
"Your ankle is telling me a different story," Raph said. "Might even be busted. Next time leave the mid-air acrobatics ta Mikey."
"I wouldn't have landed wrong if I hadn't twisted around to knock down those shuriken aimed at your stubborn head," Leo fumed. "When I order a retreat I mean it, Raph. You hung back long enough for them to get within striking distance."
"Oh, so this is my fault?" Raph stood up, his posture defiant. "The Foot came looking for a fight and I say we should have given it to 'em instead of running away."
"A fight is two of us against a dozen of them," Leo said, "not thirty. You do not wage war when your army is facing overwhelming odds."
Raph laughed sarcastically. "That another shining tidbit from the all-knowing Sun Tzu?"
"I'll tell you what, Raph, you find something somewhere that's been written by a successful military leader in any era who advocates your method of diving head first into every battle and I'll eat my words," Leo snapped, pulling his shell cell out of his belt.
"You're a damn smug bastard," Raph snarled.
Don answered immediately, his voice low and urgent, "Leo? Did you guys see that Foot patrol?"
"Yes, we saw them," Leo said, shooting a sharp glance at Raph. "Where are you?"
"Mikey and I dove back into the sewers at 51st and Canal," Don said. "I haven't seen that many of Karai's ninjas all bunched together in ages."
"They didn't see you?" Leo asked.
"No. Mikey spotted them first and we got the shell out of there. Are you two heading back to the lair?" Don asked.
"We're on our way," Leo said.
As he ended the call, he saw the sarcastic half smile on Raph's face.
"What?" Leo asked.
"I notice ya' didn't tell him ya' got hurt," Raph said.
"He'll find out soon enough," Leo told him, grimacing as he pushed away from the wall and started to limp towards their home.
When Leo was several feet away he stopped but didn't turn around. Raph stayed where he was, unmoving.
"Do you want me to change, Raph?" Leo asked in a low voice, not looking at his brother.
"What? No!" Raph exclaimed, surprised at the mood shift.
"Why not?" Leo remained perfectly still, staring straight in front of him. "You argue every decision I make, you mock my rules and you treat my leadership with disdain. This role is important to me; it's what I trained for my entire life. It means nothing to me if you hate me for it."
"Damn it, Leo," Raph growled, marching to where his brother stood and circling around in front of him. "First off, I don't hate you. Second, I ain't all that fond of being told what ta do, even if it's for my own good. Call me stubborn. Third, I question ya' so that you'll question yourself. The kind of war we're fighting ain't like the ones ya' study in those books of yours. Sure, use 'em as a guide, but don't follow 'em like they're some perfect map. Fourth . . . oh hell!"
He grabbed Leo's shoulders and stepped into him, pressing his lips roughly against his brother's. Leo's eyes widened in surprise; the move would have knocked him off his feet if Raph's grip wasn't so tight.
The kiss lasted long enough for Raph's tongue to penetrate his brother's mouth. Leo's eyes closed and he let Raph have possession of his tongue, pushing back with the same quick passion that had enveloped Raph.
Raph's head drew back finally and his gold eyes glittered when they reconnected with Leo's.
"Fourth is that," Raph said in a guttural voice. "I'm your brother, not a soldier. I got a difference of opinion, you're gonna hear about it. I ain't about ta change and I sure as shell don't want ya' ta change either. I'll try ta do a better job of following orders if ya' promise ta yell duck next time instead of forgettin' ya' can't fly."
Leo nodded and swallowed, taking a minute to get his voice back. Raph's kiss always had that effect on him.
"That sounds like a reasonable compromise," Leo said.
"Good," Raph said with a grin. "Now, ya' gonna ask for some help gettin' home or are ya' gonna keep bein' a stubborn asshole?"
"Takes one to know one," Leo responded, reaching for Raph's shoulder.
Guardians
"Face down?" Don asked, on his knees in front of his brother.
"Yeah and go slow dude," Mikey said. "If you wrinkle the paper we'll have to start all over."
Don placed his palms flat on the heavy paper that Mikey had laid out on the floor of his room and slowly lowered his upper body down until he was flat.
"Tell me again why I'm doing this?" Don asked.
"Because I'm your baby brother and you can't resist my charms," Mikey said with a grin.
"Because it's easier and faster than arguing with you," Don corrected.
"Put one of your hands up next to your shoulder like when you're explaining something to us," Mikey directed, ignoring Don's jibe.
Don carefully placed his hand as directed. "Like this?"
"Yeah, perfect. You can leave the other one next to your side, but you gotta pull your feet up so just your toes are resting on the paper," Mikey said.
Don rearranged himself per Mikey's instructions, trying to get as comfortable as possible.
"Awesome," Mikey said. "Now all I gotta do is trace you and then draw in your features and I'll have a life size replica of my brother Donatello."
"You're planning to get Raph and Leo to do this for you too?" Don asked before laughing. "Good luck with that."
"They'll do it," Mikey said with determination. "I had to move like a ton of boxes for April before she'd give me this roll of shipping paper. If I'd go through that for the paper, you'd better believe those two are gonna let me make outlines of them."
"Just so you can hang our likenesses on your wall? A picture of us isn't enough?" Don asked, squirming a little.
"Hey, don't move!" Mikey yelped. "And put your face down. I wanna trace you while you're looking forward."
"Just trace me fast, Mikey," Don said. "This is getting uncomfortable."
While Mikey made an outline of Don's form, he told his brother, "At first I was gonna line the back with cardboard and put them on a stand, but two things changed my mind. The first was that I don't have a lot of clear space in here . . . ."
"That's the understatement of the year," Don interrupted, his eyes swiveling to survey the mess Mikey had pushed aside to make room for this project.
". . . and the second is that Raph would probably be tempted to use Leo's likeness for punching practice," Mikey continued, as though Don hadn't spoken.
He had to pause while Don laughed, frowning in case Don shifted enough to mess up the lines he'd already chalked. Don was smart enough to know that he didn't want to make Mikey start over, so he held his position.
"So now they're going on the wall?" Don asked.
"Yep," Mikey answered, tracing the outline of Don's hips and then along the outside of both legs. "I can use a lighter weight card stock for the backing so they don't curl and use that tacky adhesive stuff to keep them up."
"No mask, no gear," Don said. "Just us in all our glory?"
"That's the way I like you best," Mikey said, taking the opportunity to pat Don's rear end.
"Don't get fresh," Don admonished him. "It's hard enough to be still as it is."
"Well then you better hold your breath, 'cause I'm going in between your legs and I gotta hold your tail so I can get an outline of it too," Mikey told him.
Don groaned at the impending torture and then gasped when he felt Mikey's warm hand on his tail. The ultra-sensitive appendage was trying desperately to wriggle against Mikey's tight hold, overly excited by the orange banded ninja's touch.
When Mikey finally released Don's tail, it flipped up of its own accord, offering Mikey an unobstructed view of everything underneath. Don was literally holding his breath as Mikey had suggested, and when he heard Mikey's exhale, he realized that Mikey was holding his also.
Embarrassed, Don tried to lower his tail, but it was overly stimulated and refused to budge.
"You know Donny," Mike's voice was lower and held a gentle caress, "I want those replicas of you guys on my wall 'cause I always sleep well when you're all watching over me."
Don tried to form a coherent answer, but it only came out as a shameful moan.
"Do you know what makes me sleep the best?" Mikey asked, leaning down to tweak Don's tail.
"N. . . no," Don answered.
"Let me help you get up from there and I'll show you," Mikey said.
Bella Luna
"Donny, we've been driving for better than an hour, how about ya' clue us in on where you're taking us," Raph asked from his spot in the passenger seat of the Battle Shell.
"You've been patient this long, I think you can hold on a few more minutes," Don said, maneuvering the vehicle along a rutted dirt path outside of the city.
Mikey looked out a side window and said, "There's nothing out here, dude. We're out in the boondocks."
Leo remained silent, watching the dark scenery pass by. Truth be told, he was the only one truly being patient. A half hour into the ride to see Don's 'secret', both Raph and Mikey had started up a campaign to get Donatello to spill his guts. So far nothing had made the genius give them so much as a clue.
Their vehicle started to climb, passing between a thick stand of trees and then clearing them before finally topping out on a hill. Once there, Don put the Battle Shell into park and cut the motor.
Near silence enveloped them, the only thing breaking it was the popping of a warm engine and the night songs of insects.
Turning off the headlights did not sink them into darkness however. Bright light shone through their windows and illuminated the area all around them.
Don was grinning madly when he turned in the driver's seat. "End of the road, everybody out."
Raph was muttering something under his breath that sounded like, " . . . finally gone insane," as he climbed out through the passenger door.
Leo and Mikey went out through one of the back doors and came around to the front of the vehicle where Don stood waiting for them. Instead of looking at them though, Don's head was turned up towards the sky.
Overhead was the biggest, brightest moon any of them had ever seen.
"It's called a perigee moon," Don said in a slightly breathless voice. "It happens when the moon's orbit brings it the closest to the earth."
"Damn," Raph said, exhaling hugely.
"I wanted to see it without the interference of the city's lights," Don explained, turning to reach inside the vehicle. He brought out a stack of blankets and proceeded to climb atop the Battle Shell.
Leo pulled his eyes away, saw where Don was headed, and followed him.
Mikey lifted a hand towards the sky. "It seems like the moon's close enough for me to reach out and touch it."
"Look at it from up here," Leo called down to Mikey and Raph.
A second later all four brothers were seated on blankets on top of the Battle Shell. Don was leaning back on his elbows, his gaze fixed in wonder on the moon above them.
"Bella Luna," Don said quietly. "Beautiful moon."
"It sure is," Raph agreed. "Thanks Donny."
"You're welcome, bro'," Don said. "I knew the only thing that could make this sight more awesome was to share it with you guys. It enhances the experience to have all of you here with me."
"That's kinda poetic, Donny," Mikey said.
"Seeing the moon like that makes me feel pretty small," Leo said. "But it also makes me feel powerful as well. Does that make sense?"
"I think so," Don said. "I could quote a whole lot of science to explain that feeling, but I think I'll skip it. A moon like that makes me want to float sort of mindlessly."
"It makes me imagine things," Mikey said excitedly. "See that dark spot on the upper left? It looks like a castle."
They all laughed at his observation and Don said, "Looking at a moon like that is so awe inspiring it just does something to me. How does it make you feel, Raph?"
Raph turned around, one corner of his mouth lifted in a hungry grin.
"It does something ta me too, Donny," Raph said, his eyes raking Don's prone form.
"Uh, uh," Don said immediately. "You are not going to make me stop looking at that moon."
Raph crawled across the top of the Battle Shell and straddled Don. "Don't worry about a thing, Don," he said, his hands snaking along Don's sides. "Ya' don't even have ta change position; just keep staring up."
Mikey caught Leo's eye and a smile nearly as bright as the moon blossomed across his face.
"I think Raph has a great idea," Mikey said as he swarmed over Leo. "You guys describe what we're missing."
At some point Leo's voice gave out and Don closed his eyes. That was okay though, the Bella Luna still had them under its spell.