Somethin' To Prove

The conversation had taken a sudden turn for the gutter, Don decided.

He bought himself some time by taking a sip of his beer, enjoying the pungent taste of hops on the back of his palate. It wasn't often he drank, but now and then he indulged a beer or two. Nights like tonight when Splinter & Leo weren't around to keep an eye on everyone were rare. The taste of freedom had them all eager to relax, and the League of Little Brothers had all contributed to the occasion. Raph had bought beers through Casey. Mikey had conned April into purchasing snacks on his behalf and Don had put forth the venue and reassured Leo when he called that everyone was indoors and 'behaving'.

Raphael and Mikey were watching him with interest. The former was sitting on a reversed chair, forearms crossed comfortably over the top, a light grin and a gleam of good humour in his eyes that Don suspected came from one too many beers. The latter had sprawled comfortably on Don's bed, his chin propped in his hand, a smile of contentment on his face.

Don finally let out a slow breath and shook his head. 'I don't think so.'

Raphael eyed him with blatant disbelief.

'What, you're sayin' you wouldn't have a girl down here if you could?'

'I'm saying its an unrealistic idea and I'd rather not entertain something that's never going to happen.' Don shrugged and leaned back in his computer chair.

'But if you could?' Mike pressed.

Don eyed his little brother dubiously. 'If I could what, exactly? This conversation is getting a little low brow for me, I think.'

Raphael snorted. 'Nobody's saying you couldn't romance her a little, Donnie. It's just one of yer hypotheticals.'

Don folded his arms. 'What would you know about romance?'

Raphael shrugged lightly. 'Hey, I read. I watch movies.'

Michelangelo grinned. 'Yeah dude. Flowers and chocolates and all that.'

Don snorted and shook his head. 'Right. The pinnacle of quality reference materials, I'm sure. I doubt either of you have a romantic bone in your entire bodies.'

'Geez, Donnie. Harsh.' Mike stuck out his tongue, unable to take the topic seriously anyway.

Raphael studied the beer in his hand, swirling the contents before looking up and staring at Don silently for a long moment.

'I don't got a romantic bone in me, huh?' He asked quietly.

Feeling like he'd crossed some kind of line, Don glanced at Mike to escape the brooding amber gaze.

Back me up?

Mike made a face. Don't look at me, bro.

Don scowled. Gee, thanks.

A minor salute. Anytime.

Don looked back to find his brother watching him.

'Exactly what's that supposed to mean, Don?' Raph asked finally, setting his beer down on the desk with a solid clink. 'Because I don't read as many books as you I couldn't know what someone wants? You think I ain't capable of being gentle or considerate? I don't appreciate classical music and Shakespeare so I'm incapable of knowin' what romance means?'

Don stared at him, nonplussed by the serious edge to his brother's voice.

'I'm sorry if I offended you, Raph. I just … I don't know, its hard to imagine you in that role I guess. Either of you.'

Mike tossed a pillow that Don caught easily.

'Hey! I know about romance. Flowers and poetry, right? Singing in the moonlight and candlelight dinners. I could do romantic.' The youngest insisted.

Don flung the pillow back, gratified by the solid thwap it made connecting with his little brother's face.

'You singing by moonlight? Now that is something I'd like to see. And record. And youtube.' he grinned as Mike flipped him off casually.

A glance back at Raphael killed the light mood. The hard focus in his brother's eyes hadn't faded and though he was still sitting casually, Don could tell he was tense.

'And what exactly brought ya to this conclusion genius?' he demanded, gaze unwavering. 'Where's yer proof?'

Don shifted uncomfortably and behind Raph, Mike made a few exaggerated slashed-throat gestures.

Essentially, Kill the conversation before he kills you, dude.

Yeah, thanks Mikey. Very helpful.

Another salute.

Don cleared his throat. Raph was waiting patiently for him to finish his little exchange, but it was clear from the growing tension in the room that he was getting ticked off.

'I only meant that most of the time you act pretty macho. Macho is egotism and the self. Romance is about sensuality and your partner.'

'You think I'm macho?' he demanded with narrowed eyes.

Mike snickered and Raph shot him a hard look.

Don almost laughed as Mike waved his hands submissively at his larger brother.

'Muscle-bound. Using intimidation to get your way. Your constant rivalry with Leo. Always itching for a fight?' Raph if that isn't macho I'll eat my motherboard. I'm not trying to criticize you, its just not generally an attitude that encompasses a softer, romantic side.'

Raphael glared at him. 'I act tough because I have to be. Someone's gotta watch your ass in battle while you're doing your mental gymnastics. What's that got to do with treating someone right?'

Don rubbed his face in exasperation. 'We were talking about romance, Raph. That's a bit different from 'treating someone right'. How did we get onto this subject anyway?'

Raphael scowled and pointed at Don. 'I'm not stupid Donnie. You mighta been saying it indirectly, but you were still implyin' that I wouldn't be capable. How the hell would you know anyway? You're more likely to get off with something mechanical than something biological.'

Don flushed as Mike howled with laughter, but Raphael's eyes remained dark and challenging. He was genuinely offended, Don realised.

At this point he could try and direct things down a lighter road, or answer seriously. In an effort to regain the light banter from earlier, he tried humour first.

'At least I'll save on flowers and chocolates.' he said with a smile. Mike roared with laughter again and Raph shot him an irritated look.

'Don't change the subject. I wanna know why you've decided this about me. It's not like we've dated Don. You're my brother, not a potential partner. What reason have I had to show a softer side to you or anyone else? Yet somehow you've got me all measured up and comin' up short.'

Don had to concede the point. 'That's true. I'm sorry, Raph. Can't we just let it go? You're making a mountain out of a molehill.'

Raph reached up and pulled his bandanna off and Don was struck by the contrast. His brother's eyes seemed all the more expressive in their amber intensity without the mask.

'I ain't done with this. How would you measure it?'

Don blinked. 'Measure it?'

'Yeah. You're always measuring and testing things. So, how would you measure it, here and now?' Raph demanded.

'Dudes, it's obvious.' Mike piped up. They both looked at him. 'Duuuh. A kiss.'

'What? How do you figure that?' Don demanded, feeling the first niggle of impending trouble.

Mike sat up. 'Wellll … to be good at romance you'd at least have to be a good kisser right? I mean, if you're a bad kisser it must be because you aren't doing it right - like you can't read your partner right or figure out what they like.'

Raphael's smirk had a sadistic edge to it. 'Fine. You're into experiments, Don. We're gonna use Mikeys' little test and you can judge with the evidence whether I'm a walkin' cleche.'

Don didn't like the challenging look on his face as his brother stood with purpose.

'What? Raph that's ridiculous. It wouldn't prove anything. Besides, there's noone here for you to kiss.'

Mike shook his head. 'Uh, wrong again dude. Since a kiss is a subjective test of sensitivity, and you're the one needing proof, that kinda makes you the best person to test it on and to judge it, right?'

Mike grinned at Don's baffled expression. 'See? Sometimes I listen when you're speakin' geek.'

Raph stared down at him expectantly. 'Well?'

Don frowned. 'You're kidding me. You want to prove it to me that badly?'

Raphael shrugged as if he didn't care but his eyes retained their angry glint.

Don set his drink down. Fine, I'll call that bluff.

'Alright then.' he announced. His sarcastic smirk faded when Raphael began moving towards him boldly and it occurred to him that his brother might not actually be bluffing.

Behind them Mike giggled nervously.

'Shut up, Mikey.' Raph growled without turning.

Don sat transfixed as Raphael filled his vision, a warm, firm hand slipping around the back of his neck to tilt his face up slightly. The touch sent a shiver down his spine, the skin tingling and hyper sensitive to the pressure of each finger, the thumb urging his jaw to move with gentle pressure. For a moment he almost shoved his brother back … but then it was too late.

And there was no going back.

In moments Don had forgotten who they were, where they were.

Husky warmth pressed against his lips, the kiss soft and gently coaxing. Instinctively, Don opened his mouth to the sensations and his breath caught at the flicker of warm tongue against his own. It's not supposed to feel this good, he thought in despair. Raphael's hand came up to curve his jaw gently, leading the kiss deeper, his mouth more demanding as his boldness grew. Tasting, feeding, igniting a haze of deeper longing Don had never felt before. For a few timeless moments he was lost in confusion and the searing, leading pleasure of the mouth against his own. His heart thundered in his chest, stumbling on a surge of adrenaline ...

It ended all too suddenly. Raph pressed his mouth against Don's for one final moment, sweeping his tongue a little deeper and then pulled away.

Don avoided his gaze, face flushed with confusion and embarrassment, aware that he was breathing more rapidly and humiliated that it had affected him so overtly.

Mike was staring at them, his mouth hanging open slightly, a faint blush on his cheeks.

'Damn guys. I almost want a turn.'

Raph smirked at his little brother and then crossed his arms and considered Don's flushed face. 'Well?'

Don stared at him, bemused, heat thundering through his blood. How could he be so unruffled after that?

Mike poked him. 'C'mon Donnie. Even I could tell it wasn't a bad kiss. You look like a half-ripe tomato.'

Don licked his lips carefully. 'It was .. ok I guess.'

Raphael finished his beer with a faint smile, his golden eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

'I think I made my point.'

'I think the only thing we proved is that alcohol induces obscene behaviour.' Don muttered uncomfortably.

Raphael's eyes narrowed and then he looked away with an agitated shrug of his broad shoulders.

'Whateva'. I'm goin' to bed.' He tossed his empty bottle into the bin next to Don's desk and left.

Michelangelo groaned after him. 'Dude, already? It's only ten o'clock!' He threw an accusing look at Don who shrugged impatiently.

'Fun's over, Mikey.'

The youngest bounced from Don's bed with a grumble but turned at the doorway.

'Fess up, Donnie. You were wrong about Raph, right?'

Donatello felt his face burn even hotter and kept his gaze firmly fixed on his blank computer monitor.

'Goodnight, Mikey.'

'Partypooper.'

Don waited until he heard the door shut before flipping off the light and crawling into bed.

He hoped to high hell that Mikey knew enough to keep his trap shut about their little experiment.

Holy hells, he'd kissed his own brother … !

Technically, Raph had been the one to kiss him ... but what difference did it make if Splinter found out … or Leo! That didn't even bear thinking about.

Why had he let it happen in the first place?

What was wrong with him?

And more to the point, what the hell was wrong with Raph? What had he expected him to say after that?

A number of things jumped to mind and none of them were remotely acceptable. How many beers had Raph had anyway? At least three or four, but not enough to explain away the evening.

Don shook his head violently and slammed the pillow over his face with an embarrassed groan.

Sleep. Sleep would dull these humiliating experiences and maybe tomorrow he'd still be able to look Raphael in the eye.

Closing his eyes turned out to be a bad move.

His body remembered soft fingers on his skin, tempered heat in his mouth and a shameful ache between his legs that still lingered.

Realisation made his eyes snap open and he grit his teeth against his own rapid breathing.

Was he really lying here with a hard-on for his own brother?

Impossible. Inconceivable.

What had it proved anyway?

Ok, Raph wasn't all bicep but Don had already known that. It was unspoken fact that their hot-tempered sibling was more sensative than he chose to appear. You just had to know him well enough to see it and understand how he expressed it.

As a brother Don didn't need to know about this other side.

He wasn't supposed to know ... that the same fiery intensity Raph carried into battle could somehow translate through a simple kiss.

That a familiar smirk could be transformed into something moist and searing that stole your breath ... somehow soft and demanding at the same time.

Overt strength and raw personality oddly gentled, tempered into something intimate that defied all previous experience or expectation.

Don swallowed the lingering taste of confusion, cursing softly at the ceiling and his body's biology.

He wasn't supposed to know that his brother tasted pleasantly tangy when he'd been drinking a beer.

And he shouldn't be lying there wondering what it might feel like to do more, his body clearly interested in obtaining more data.

'You're my brother, not a potential partner.'

Don frowned and flung an arm over his forehead. The trouble with that was ... the likelihood of them being true blood relations was incredibly low, not that it made much difference. Brothers were brothers, right?

Right.

Why was he even agonising over it? It was just another stupid thing among siblings, not something serious to dissect.

It didn't prove anything. He thought firmly.

His eyes drifted shut.

A moment later they snapped back open, his body aching.

The cracks on the ceiling beckoned.

It was going to be a long night.