Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT.
"No!!"
Michelangelo bolted upright in his bed, his body covered in sweat. His hands shook as he untangled himself from his blankets. Echoes of his nightmare replayed in his head, making him clasp one of his blankets so hard his hands ached. The blanket followed him as he stood up and staggered out of the room. After waking from one of his more severe nightmares he had a habit of reverting back to behavior he had dropped by age 10. This particular nightmare was so horrible that Mikey didn't care who might see him in such a childish state. He stumbled, half asleep half frightened, to his oldest brother's room.
Mike's dream had involved the capture and torture of him and his brother's at the hands of the most despicable, vile, cruel, and evil beings in the world….vampires. Mike shuddered at the memory. He could still feel the fear that had radiated in his dream as he watched his brother's succumb to the vampires one by one. He could feel the teeth sinking deep into his throat as he was forced to join the vampire's legion of undead….
Mike was disappointed to find Leonardo's bed empty. Whenever he had one of these disturbing nightmares he would go to vent his fears to Leo. His older brother never brought these visits up in the light of day and never sent his frightened little brother away, no matter how late the hour. Leo would listen calmly, assure Mikey that the dream had only been a dream and then send him back to his own bed. Michelangelo always felt better after speaking with his brother. Now he felt his anxiety mount as irrational fears for Leo's absence entered his mind. What if it wasn't a dream, he thought in panic staggering out the door and moving towards Donatello's bedroom. He tried to assure himself that Leo was only getting a late night snack or had felt the need to do some meditating in the dojo and continued toward Donnie's room. If Leo wasn't available, maybe Don would be willing to put up with Mikey's distress. Mike immediately ruled out Raphael, knowing his hot headed brother would snap at him for being a baby and kick him out, probably literally, for interrupting his beauty sleep.
Mike froze outside Don's door, his thoughts broken by strange whispers and soft noises. Mikey slipped silently into his brother's room, still trailing his blanket. The strange gadgets and machines formed suspicious shapes in the darkness making him clutch his blanket tighter. His eyes went to the bed, expecting to find Don tossing from a nightmare of his own but instead found Don sitting up with his shell against the wall, cradling another form against him who had its head buried in his shoulder. Mikey squinted, inching closer as his brain tried to register what he was seeing. Did Leo have a bad dream and go to Don for comfort? Don's eyes were half closed, his mouth hanging slightly open as he breathed unevenly and occasionally let out a soft …purr?
…or was Don being comforted cuz of a nightmare? Mikey found himself increasingly confused as he moved nearer. Finally he was close enough to see what Leo was doing and what he saw sent a chill down his spine. Leo was biting Don's neck!
The scream tore out of Mike before the thought to scream had even registered in his mind. Don's eyes snapped open and he let out a yelp of pain as Mike ran from the room. He unsteadily made his way to Raph's bedroom, a scream still tearing from his lungs as he lunged onto Raph's hammock.
"What the hell?!"
Raph's groggy exclamation was followed by the hammock swinging over from Mike's momentum, dumping them both to the floor. Mike couldn't help but cling to his brother as Raph tried to free himself from his brother's grip and the blankets that had twined around them as they fell.
"Get offa me," Raph growled. He was wide awake now and he roughly pushed Mikey away, trying to disengage his brother's hands from his arm. Mikey's hands were clutching him so tight Raph could feel his circulation being cut off.
"L-l-leo!" Mike whimpered, finally letting Raph go. Raph scrambled to his feet and glared down at his little brother. Forcefully, he dragged Mikey to his feet and Mike flinched.
"You better have a damn good reason for waking me up or I swear Mikey I'm going to-"
"Leo's a vampire!!!" Mikey blurted, grabbing Raph's shoulders and shaking him hard.
"Leo's a vampire and I just saw him biting Don's throat so he could force him to join his legion of darkness!! His legion of undead!! His legion of doooooom!!!"
Mike took a deep breath.
"They've become Ninja Vampires!"
Raph's head was ringing from Mike's shrill voice and the shaking wasn't helping. Collecting himself, Raph pushed Mike away and advanced on him with a raised fist.
"What are ya talking about you idiot?!"
Before Mike could answer there was a sudden shuffling in the room and both turtles turned to see Leo and Don standing nervously together. Raph blinked, confused by the uneasy looks on his brother's faces. Don looked particularly flushed and stood slightly behind Leo. Mikey let out a meep of fear and quickly hid behind Raph. Raph narrowed his eyes at his other siblings and folded his arms.
"If someone doesn't start explaining why Mikey thinks Leo-"
"It's not what you think!" Leo interrupted. The plea for understanding in Leo's eyes confused Raph even more. Does everyone have to interrupt me at this god damn hour of the night? Raph thought angrily.
He was brought back to the present by Michelangelo shaking violently behind him as he clung to Raph's shell. Mike pointed an accusing finger at Leo, his eyes wide with fear.
"I know what I saw Leo! You were biting Don's neck!"
Leo opened his mouth to reply but Mike continued, his voice going up an octave.
"You were forcing him to join your legion of undead!"
Raph watched as Leo and Don exchanged a glance, obviously baffled by Mikey's accusation.
"What are you talking about Mikey?" Don asked quietly, looking worriedly at his cowering brother.
Mikey's eyes narrowed at Don then returned to look accusingly at Leo's perplexed face. He continued to point a shaky finger at the older turtle.
"You. Are. A. Vampire!"
The words hung in the air and were followed by an awkward silence. The others weren't sure if they should laugh or keep silent. If Raph had it his way he would laugh, but the looks on his accused brother's faces stopped him. They kept looking at each other in that secret sort of way Raph remembered them all sharing when they were kids. They used that look when they had some secret they didn't want Master Splinter or their other siblings to discover.
Raph found himself wondering what on earth was going on. Was Mikey right? Weird things seemed to happen to them all the time so…why not vampires? I'm losing my bloody mind, Raph thought as he looked back at Mikey who now stood straighter behind Raph with a knowing look plastered on his face. He was still gripping Raph's shell so hard his knuckles were white. Raph could feel him trying to control his shivers of fear.
Raph shifted uncomfortably, giving his two brothers an uncertain look.
"So…" he started, spreading his hands before him, "Leo, are you a uh…vampire?"
The question snapped Leo out of his thoughts and he gave Raph an exasperated look.
"No, Raph, I'm not a vampire. That's just ridiculous."
"Then why were your teeth attached to Don's neck?" Mikey squeaked.
Raph watched as Leo's face flushed. Raph turned his gaze to Don, searching for any sign of a bite on his neck and discovered that Don was turned slightly behind Leo so that one side of his neck wasn't visible. Raph felt suspicion and, though he would never admit it, a little fear creep into his gut.
"Why don'tcha show us your neck, Donnie, and clear this whole mess up. I want to go back to catching my Zs," he said gruffly, watching his brother's reactions.
"This is crazy," Don stated taking a step back, "Leo is NOT a vampire. We were just talking with our heads together so that we wouldn't wake anyone up and Mikey walked in and saw something that wasn't there."
"I know what I saw!" Mikey cried, "You're just protecting him because now you're a vampire too! We have to get out of here, Raph, and wake Master Splinter before--"
"You'll do no such thing!" Leo stepped forward, his voice low and threatening, his fists clenched at his sides. Don put a restraining hand on Leo's shoulder.
Interesting, Raph thought as Mikey shrunk back behind him. Raph stepped forward and met Leo's gaze evenly.
"Watch your tone, Leo," he growled, "or I'll put the stake in your heart myself."
The tension crackled in the air and Don sighed in frustration.
"Leo, Raph that's enough," Don stepped between them, putting a hand on both their plastrons and pushing them back until they stood straight. Raph took the opportunity to look at Don's neck and felt his jaw drop. On Don's neck teeth marks could definitely be seen, blood droplets bright red against his green skin.
Raph jumped back, reaching automatically for his sais only to remember he wasn't wearing any of his gear. Don's eyes widened and his hand shot to his neck to cover the mark.
"He wasn't hurting me, Raph," Don said in a soothing but shaky voice, "take it easy."
"Mikey," Raph stood in front of his youngest brother protectively, staring wide eyed at his other siblings, "explain to me exactly what happened. Detail for detail."
Leo stepped forward and was about to speak but Don stopped him with a look. Leo froze and seemed to deflate, his once threatening posture now slouched in defeat. Raph watched another mysterious look pass between the two. Don stepped closer to Leo and then took a deep breath.
"Yea Mikey, why don't you explain what happened?" he said quietly.
Mikey wrung his hands nervously as he began to talk. He explained how he had awakened from his vampire nightmare and trekked to his brother's rooms in search for comfort. When he explained the position in which he had found his two brothers and the soft noises Don was making Raph felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. He felt a strange unreality settle over him and began to laugh. Mike stopped talking and everyone's eyes turned to focus on Raph.
"Leo ain't a vampire you numbskull," Raph managed to get out between his hoots of laughter, "Leo was doing something to Don's neck but it wasn't forcing him to join his legion of undead! Don was enjoying what Leo was doing!"
Another strange silence fell on the group as Raph's laughter died down and the implication of his words settled in. Leo and Don both had frightened looks on their faces and Raph didn't miss the movement of Don's hand shooting back to grab Leo's tightly.
"Enjoying?" Mikey asked in confusion, "I-I don't understand."
"They were fooling around Mikey," Raph answered solemnly, trying to remember what had been so funny a moment ago. This was so…wrong.
A look of understanding was quickly followed by one of horror on Mikey's face and he took a step backwards. Leo seemed to flinch at this and Don began to walk towards Mikey slowly, a sad look in his eyes.
"Don't be scared, Mikey, please. We didn't mean for you to find out like this…you either, Raph. We just….weren't ready to tell anyone that we were….well…"
"Lovers," Raph stated bluntly.
Don paused next to Raph as Mike took another step back.
"Yea," Don exhaled, "lovers."
Mikey let out a small surprised cry, his eyes widening in shock.
"Bloodsucking lovers?" he whispered.
Raph glanced sideways at Don and saw the teeth marks again. What if Donatello hadn't been enjoying it after all, he wondered, maybe Leo had been forcing himself on Don. Anger welled inside him as he tried to make sense of what his two brothers had just confessed. Suddenly he lunged at Leo, tackling his brother to the floor. Leo let out a grunt as he hit the ground and instantly began blocking the rain of punches Raph was throwing at him.
"You've been touching my brother you disgusting freak!" Raph bellowed, "You been hurting him?! Well if you like the taste of blood, Leo, soon you can taste your own!"
"Raph, no!" Don rushed to pull Raph off of Leo but was shoved roughly to the side.
"You idiot!" Leo sputtered, "Just let me explain!"
A loud crack filled the room and pain erupted in Leo's jaw.
"Oh, you want to explain why you've been having your way with our brother? Fine. You can explain to Splinter!"
The threat was more effective at reaching Leo than any of the punches Raph had thrown. Soon he was fighting Raph with just as much ferocity. After a minute they were able to scramble away from each other and stand. Don jumped in-between his brother's again, ignoring Mikey as he moved to Raph's side.
Raph's attention was so focused on Leo that he didn't see the slap coming before it hit him. Raph snapped his gaze to Don's fuming face, putting a hand to his burning cheek.
"Don't you ever accuse Leo of forcing himself on me again, Raphael," Don's voice was low and cold, "What do you think I am? Am I weak? Defenseless? How dare you…"
Raph shook his head, utterly lost as to what to say besides:
"I have no idea what is going on here…" he mumbled, feeling his lower lip start to swell from a well placed punch from Leo.
"Then you should let us explain," Don admonished. Sighing, he turned to Leo who instantly came to his side. To Raph's satisfaction a number of bruises were blossoming on Leo's face and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Again they held hands and Raph felt a low growl emanate from his throat.
"Mike, Raph," Leo started slowly, "Donnie and I….we are um…"
"An item," Don grinned. Leo blushed at this and looked anywhere but at his brother's faces.
"No one's being forced into anything," Don continued, "We're two consenting adults. We're doing nothing wrong."
Mike took a step forward, glancing uncertainly at Don's neck and the blood trickling from Leo's mouth.
"So…you're not vampires?"
Don chuckled and Leo smiled slightly, wiping the blood away.
"No Mikey, we're not vampires. That was just a nightmare, I promise," Leo assured him.
"So, you're not bloodsucking lovers, just lovers. But Don, why did Leo bite your neck like that?" Mikey asked, tapping his chin as if this was some everyday puzzle he could solve if he thought about it hard enough.
"Yea, what's that all about?" Raph added.
Leo met Raph's challenging gaze and cleared his throat.
"Well, Donnie likes it when--"
Leo was interrupted by Don jabbing his elbow into his side, giving him a playful glare.
"Let's not go into too many details, Fearless One."
Leo flushed and nodded.
"Er, sorry. Anyway, I didn't mean to bite him so hard. Mike's scream just scared us and I clenched my teeth without thinking," he turned to Don with a sorry grin, "sorry bout that Donnie."
Don returned the grin and moved closer, nuzzling Leo's neck.
"You're forgiven," he muttered.
Raph watched the scene as if it was some wacky movie he didn't quite understand. The implications of what they had been saying just couldn't be true. Leo and Don as lovers? Leo's teeth on Don's neck? "Don likes it when I--?!"
This has got to be one fucked up dream, he thought. Mike was smiling stupidly as he watched the sweet moment between Leo and Don and Raph realized Mike was completely ok with what was happening before him now that it had been explained.
"We're supposed to just accept this?" Raph asked in a disbelieving voice, "I mean you're brothers…"
"We're pet shop turtles. The chances of us being biological brothers are slim to none, Raph," Don pointed out. He was leaning back against Leo who had wrapped his arms around Don's waist.
"Most importantly we care about each other," Leo added softly, "We're happy, Raph. I hope you can accept that and be happy for us too."
"Aw, you two are so not vampires!"
Raph rolled his eyes at Mikey's sweet tone. He was still unsure about what was going on.
"How can I not tell Splinter about this?" he asked weakly, "He'd never accept this ya know."
Raph watched the fear fleet onto their faces before vanishing. As Raph watched them, he discovered he really didn't want to tell Splinter. They just looked so happy and sure that what they were doing couldn't possibly be wrong. Who was he to ruin that?
"Please don't tell Splinter, not yet," Don pleaded.
"I swear we'll tell him ourselves, Raph," Leo stated confidently, "we just need more time."
Raph hesitated before nodding slowly.
"Alright," he sighed, "as long as you tell him."
"We will," Don answered with a beaming smile, obviously happy that they were accepting their relationship.
"There's one other condition," Raph warned.
His three brothers watched him silently, thoughts of blackmail running through their minds as they waited for Raph to state some unreasonable terms.
"If Mikey has another nightmare, he's got to be able to talk to Leo, cuz if he wakes me up about some crazy vampire dream I swear I'll give u two some serious trouble to think about."
Mike blushed and smiled sheepishly as his other brothers laughed.
"No problem, Raph" Leo chuckled, "Mikey, I'll always make time for you. Just, make sure we're not in the middle of anything…ah…too intense before entering one of our rooms. Knock next time. Ok?"
"Ok," Mike smiled, "Thanks, Leo bro. I'm real glad you're not a vampire. You too, Don."
Raph grunted, grabbing Mike's arm and pulling him towards the door.
"Alright, now that we've settled that, all of you get outta my room. After this, I need to sleep for a few days."
Mike stumbled out the door, his snort of annoyance covered by Raph throwing his blanket in his face. Mike grumbled as Leo and Don followed him out of the room. Raph settled into his hammock, knowing that tomorrow morning Splinter would comment on the amount of noise they had made tonight and how every good ninja needs a good night's sleep. He closed his eyes and sighed inwardly as Mikey's fading voice drifted back to him.
"I'm glad you guys aren't Ninja Vampires," the fading voice stated happily, "that just would have added a whole other level of complexity to the situation…"