Summary: June's curiosity really gets her this time as she ends up helping out what she thought was a man. Being just a normal girl, suddenly realizing that there's more to the city than what the eye meets, she struggles to figure out Raphael, but also deals with her own inner battles. Is it weird to like a mutant turtle? Is there something wrong with her?! Why does she even like the one turtle that seems to dislike her the most? No boys in her age is like him though, so she sets in to figure out Raphael. Will he ever give into her? Find out!
note: this story is based on the teenage mutant ninja turtle 2012, but slightly more uncensored and a few years ahead when they're older. Enjoy :)
Chapter 1
Music played as a background noise when I put my laptop on the bed. Noises from outside had disturbed my peaceful, late night, studying. Okay maybe I'd ben lost for a while on Facebook and youtube, but the weekend had just started. Plenty of time to do homework. I moved through the small house and to my backdoor to peep outside. There is nothing worse than going around in your own house and being scared! Frankly that was why I'd always liked to keep in shape. Not because I was a paranoid, frail girl, but because i liked the feeling of trusting my body, knowing that it can run long distances or lift me off the edge of cliff... Well, i guess that does sound a bit paranoid, but i prefer to think of it as being prepared. I'm not the cool, survivor kind of girl, although i did take karate lessons once or twice. It never really seemed to take me by storm, and also karate around these parts are too westernized! The only place you learn real karate is in Japan where it was invented and on top of that one should probably choose kung-fu where all the asian martial arts originated.
Moving on; I wondered about the noises outside, but couldn't see past the bushes around my garden. Looking to my left, i watched how my neighbor closed his curtains to the turmoil that was happening at the narrow path behind our gardens. Everything was covered in a thick layer of snow and heavy, feather-like snowflakes still fell from the sky. I guess my curiosity could sometimes cloud my judgement -unlike my neighbor; something i guess my mother had encouraged in me.
It seemed to quiet down outside after a while. I stood up slowly, trying warily to skim anything behind the bushes, but without luck. I then sprinted through the house, up the stairs while skipping a step with each leap I took and bolted in to my mothers bedroom, jumping on her empty bed and looking out the window. Excitement had filled me as a took in the much better view. At first i couldn't see anything due to the heavy snowing and i think the time was about 1 am or so. There were no streetlights behind the row of houses, except for the automated light in the backyard of my right-sided neighbor. The upstairs silence was slowly creeping in on me as my eyes made out a figure laying in the street. Seeping up around my body like a cold hand, the excitement turned into the unmistakable feeling panic and angst. I stared at the figure, hoping he or she would stand up and walk away as my heart began to pump faster. I knew there was no way around the fact that I would have to go out there eventually if no one did. I couldn't just close my curtains like my neighbor or this would haunt me for, who knows how long? Slumping down in the bed I tried to gather my courage. If my mother had been here she would've been out the door this instant.
Unfortunately she wasn't here and she wouldn't be for a time. As a military combat medic she was often away, moving around with mobile field hospitals, or "ambulances volantes". I shook my head and ran downstairs, trying not to think so much. I pulled on a pair of boots, a thick blue winter jacket and grabbed a warm hat on the way to the back door. I stumbled clumsily out the door with my thick layering of clothing, trying hard to suppress the building adrenalin kick. How on earth could I get so worked up? I'd seen much worse in movies and still my heart was beating over such a little thing! The snow cracked loudly under my feet as I went around the bushes and onto the snowy - once graveled - path. This was a quiet neighborhood so the person who lied there in the snow was completely out of place. I started to walk towards him but hesitated at the black figure, afraid that he was some kind of psychopath or serial killer!
My breath came out in short clouds as I assessed the situation, holding my jacket tights into my body, realizing how cold it actually was.
"Are you okay?" I shouted uncertain, tilting my head from the distance, realizing how stupid a question that was.
No answer came. I gave myself a mental nudge and walked forward hoping that my noisy boots would wake him up. I stopped close by him, suddenly feeling light headed and feeling a knew kick of adrenalin rush through me as my eyes tried to take in what it was in front of me. Green skin was the first I tried to comprehend. Yup, a rough green skinned man was laying in the snow, his chest slowly falling and rising. His facial features were humanoid but there was also something reptilian about it... Him? Some kind of chest plate, almost like the plastron on a turtles belly covered his front. A belt was wrapped around the plastron by his waist and he was wearing a red headband. His breathing was heavy and almost painful. That was when i noticed the blending of the white snow and red liquid, oozing out from his side. There I stood, stunned and judgmental even though he obviously was humanoid. If he'd looked like a human I'd been by his side at this very moment... I rushed to his side, mentally slapping myself for being so empty headed. I suppressed every instinct and logic telling me to leave him alone and just leave him to his fait.
"Shit! You're hurt pretty bad." I hissed kneeling down beside him while looking his wounds over quickly.
This seemed to wake him up, and he grabbed me by my collar, instinctively sitting up and throwing me to the ground. I yelped in the process, grabbing the hand holding my collar. His green eyes stared at me intensely, filled with rage and fire. I looked at him startled and shocked, feeling the snow soaking my sweatpants while silence lingered between us. His eyes softened the slightest when he'd looked my face over and then seemed to cringe in pain, falling back on his back once again. I scooted away quickly, darting to me feet, trying futilely to suppress my fears. He groaned, leaning his head backwards while trying to control his breathing.
"I'll call am ambulance." I said, confused by the whole situation, not even sure if he could understand me.
"No! No ambulance!" He bursted out.
"But you-" he cut me off before I could say more.
"Are you kidding me?! Look at me!" He spat, his eyes burning at me like I was the dumbest thing walking on this planet.
He sure was blunt about things, and the fact the he was able to talk made me all the more courageous. But I could see his point and dared to kneel slowly by his side once again. He didn't seem to have any strength and I could see how he fought with the dizziness constantly.
"I'll take you to my house. I can treat you there. My moms a combat medic, she taught me a thing or two." I said, putting on my serious face for once so I would seem convincing.
"You-" he cringed once again, taking in sharp breaths "you want to help me?" He laughed outright, stopped and coughed from the pain his laugh had coursed.
"Well... Yeah!" I said as a matter of fact furrowing my eyebrows at him. I was probably also trying to convince myself.
"I'll be fine. My brothers will come for me. Go home girly." He hissed.
"By that time you'll be dead." I touched his arm lightly and felt how cold he was "you'll freeze to death if not from your wounds."
He didn't flinch but I could see his pride in the frown he made.
"Stay awake." I told him when I saw his eyes flickered in dizziness and exhaustion again.
I could only guess that he couldn't get up on his own and frankly he looked pretty heavy. How on earth I was going to get him inside my house was still a question to me. Also I had surprised myself so much that I didn't even feel scared anymore. I went around him and tried to get my hands under his shoulders when I felt something hard attached to his back.
Time for questions later I thought, having completely disposed of all common sense at this point.
"I'm going to make you sit up, okay?" I said to him.
I assumed that his nod was a sign that he didn't have the strength to talk back and finally allowed me to help him. I pushed him up, ignoring the cry he gave out in the process. All his weight was against me now, and it was hard to come around to get his arm around my neck so I could support him in the walk.
"Can you get to your feet?" I asked, also trying to keep him awake and focused.
I looked at him, getting a better view of his side profile, all so many questions popping into my mind. Definitely resembles a reptilian, I thought as I watched him struggle to press some words out between those heavy forced breaths he took. I lifted him some more to help him up on his feet, and fought the pity I took in him when his legs shook violently by each attempt to get his legs under himself. I was glad that I'd taken on some boots for the snow, or his sheer weight would've made me look like Bambi on ice.
He finally got to his feet, when we heard voices from afar. Immediately he seemed more alert and he started walking right away, even though it was quite slow. I was already starting to get warm by supporting his weight. He looked determined as we walked forward and for a brief moment I admired his will-power. To push through so many wounds and cold weather was beyond my understanding but something told me that he was used to this. We made it to the door which I'd apparently forgotten to close as he spoke;
"You're out of your mind." He grunted as he took the extra step into my house.
I cocked a skeptical eyebrow at him before all his weight was on me again as he started to slip out of consciousness.
"Stay with me!" I said trying to keep the eye contact we'd had. He couldn't pass out now! Not when we were so close.
I could see how hard he was struggling just to put one foot in front of the other. We both knew that there was no easy way around this. His groggy look became determined again and we continued. My bedroom was the closest and therefore I guided him to my room. He basically collapsed on my bed, seeming to drift out of consciousness as soon as he hit the mattress. I helped his one leg up which dangled over the edge of the bed as my radio was playing an old Britney Spears song, pretty ironic considering the whole situation. I hurried out the room to close and lock my back door, kicking off my boots in the process. I darted through the house, throwing off my jacket and hat. I went to my mothers bedroom and searched her wardrobe frantically for her first aid kid.
Frequently I thought to myself; what the hell was I doing?! I was out of my mind to take in this strange reptile-man who'd been in some kind of fight, and who'd also smacked me to the ground. What on earth was wrong with me? But I guess that my curiosity was constantly kicking in too, telling me that I would be regretting this my whole life if I just dumped him outside again. Apparently I'd just been working out of pure instinct and now there was no turning back! He was downstairs in my bed, I had now found the first aid kid and was in my way downstairs.
I found him exactly where I'd left him. He laid sprawled out on the bed, seeming to breath more normal as he was probably unconscious. I ran to the kitchen to get some hot water, and ran back to him. I tried to stay calm even though, I guess, I was a bit in shock still. I put the kit on the floor and searched for a cloth, feeling clumsy as my hands were shaking the slightest. I took a few pieces and started to stop the bleeding from the gashes where blood was still seeping out. There was one on his right shoulder, one in between the small spaces in his plastron, which I by the way couldn't take off, and one on his thigh. The one behind his plastron was hard to treat, and the gash seemed deeper. I wondered if that was the wound that coursed him so much pain.
I had to constantly apply pressure to the three major wounds as I waited and preyed for them to stop bleeding. It took about 20 minutes for the wounds on the shoulder and leg to stop bleeding and 30 minutes for the bigger one by his plastron. In that time I'd calmed myself down enough to actually study him. First it had occurred to me that he was actually naked. I'd for some strange reason flushed red by the realization even though he didn't seem naked with that plastron attached to him. His feet were simply two thick toes. Likewise was his hands three-fingered. After noticing all the strangeness about him, I noticed how athletic build he was. I wasn't even sure if there was one gram of fat in him.
I redirected my thoughts when the bleeding had stopped, and started to rinse the wounds and scraps with the water. His shoulders were very pronounced and I started to wonder if he was some kind of superior human being. As I rinsed the wound in between the small space by his plastron I saw how the pieces bent and shaped to the muscles underneath. I found myself admiring his body, admiring whatever he was. I guess I was a bit fascinated when I traced my fingers along the plastron by his chest to feel the smooth but scratched up texture.
"You know, I can sense that." He said suddenly.
I snapped my hand away, feeling as if I'd been caught in doing something embarrassing.
"S-sorry. I was just curious." I admitted.
He looked at me out of one eye, laying perfectly still.
"Why're you helping me?" He asked, a frown showing itself. It wasn't an angry frown, but more like a confused one.
Once again he was being pretty blunt, and I actually liked it, even though it made me slightly uncomfortable to answer that question. I started working on the cut on his thigh as I thought about an answer.
"Are you gonna say something or what?" He sounded impatient for my answer, as if he was ready to leave out the door at any moment.
"Umm... Well I couldn't just leave you there!" I said, not sure if i sounded as convincing as I wanted to.
He grumbled dissatisfied, closing his eyes while taking in a deep breath. His lack of gratefulness seemed to get on my nerves. Even though he could've been laying out there in the cold it was like he would prefer that.
"For someone so helpless you sure are confident." I snapped.
I know I'd been the one to push him inside, it was my own choice to help him, and I shouldn't expect happy rainbows and flowers thrown at me for this.
"Touché." He commented.
"Sorry-" I swallowed my pride, moving to his upper body again to clean the smaller scratches -" I didn't mean it like that." I muttered.
I was suddenly glad that the radio was playing silently in the background, as started working on his arms, or the silence would've killed me. I sensed him study me with his eyes, and started to feel my cheeks heat up by his stare.
"Aren't you scared of me?" He asked bluntly after a long moment of silence and staring.
I was glad I could just work on his scratches, keeping myself busy and avoiding his green eyes. But the question caught me a bit off guard and I looked at him in wonder. Well, for someone like him I guess it was a common question.
"Should I be?" I asked, remembering how scared I'd actually been in the beginning. He chuckled briefly and I looked at him, suppressing a playful smirk.
"Stop that! You'll just reopen your wounds." I said, giving him a worried look.
He stopped, almost on command and continued to look at me. He seemed a lot better already. It didn't come as a surprise to me. Reptilians have excellent healing abilities.
"I'm a giant turtle. That should be the first warning in your head." He said.
Of course! He resembled a turtle. I don't know why I hadn't thought about that. It was a shield he had on his back! I squinted my eyes at him in realization. I had so many questions for him that I could barely answer him.
"I thought as much. Well I don't feel scared." I said and stopped cleaning a scrape.
"But I do think that we should take that headband off, it's all wet and cold." I said, reaching nonchalantly to his head.
He grabbed my wrist so fast that I jerked by the sudden pressure on my wrist, and looked to him astonished.
"No. Let it be." He snapped, leading my hand away, his gaze hard and stubborn once again.
I took my hand back, leaning back in place a bit confused. I didn't see the big deal, but apparently it was a touché subject.
"You know, I think I could recognize you even without it." I said. He was pretty easy to spot in a crowd after all.
"It's none of your concern." He said evasively, looking at the ceiling.
I shrugged it off and continued the cleaning. I listened to the song playing in the background, a train of thoughts and questions bombarding me, all the while I was trying to shut them out. I then noticed his smooth collarbones as I worked across them, and once again found myself admiring his physiology. His chest muscles were hard, disappearing beneath the smooth chest-plate. I must've been a sick person for sitting there, starting to fight the blush that crept to my cheeks. I couldn't believe I was actually finding his body attracting. I guess I'd never been around guys or turtle-guys with such a pronounced and fit body.
"I thought you were unconscious when I worked on your wounds. You must have a high threshold of pain." I said, trying futilely to keep my inappropriate thoughts at bay.
"I've tried worse. And you seem to know what you're doing. You're much more gentle and soft handed than my brother who always patches me up." He said nonchalantly, but with a thoughtful smile playing on his lips.
I could've sworn that, I was being a real teenager as the blush I'd been trying to keep away finally surfaced. The 'compliment' wasn't even a real compliment, but the thought of him actually feeling my fingers work on his athletic body was subconsciously doing something to me. I had to hide my blush somehow, it was beyond embarrassing to be blushing at a complete stranger who had been in some kind of cross species genetics experiment. Maybe I was just not as cool as I'd imagined myself to be.
"I uhh... Haven't done this much." I stuttered in my words, turning to the bucket of water and hiding my face behind my hair. I had to get away for a moment.
"I'll just get some more water." I said, grabbing the bucket.
He stopped me once again, this time grabbing my upper arm. I turned instinctively to him in question, a nervous feeling spreading in my body.
"What is it?" He asked, his eyes fierce and hard again. I was a bit unsure of what he meant, and frowned at him.
"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked, cursing myself for stuttering.
"Don't play dumb! I can see something is wrong, with that face you're pulling." He said, his liquid forest eyes penetrating me, trying futilely, I assumed, to lift the truth straight from my mind.
Frankly I found it quite annoying that he was being so pushy. Why'd he care anyway? He was spending so much time acting as if he didn't need me.
"What're you-" he cut me off bluntly. Apparently I didn't seem very convincing or he was just a tad more aware than what I'd anticipated.
"You are scared of me." He stated, scowling at me, a hint of disappointment flickering across his eyes.
At first I felt a little confused. He'd misread the situation completely! I chuckled at the silliness of the situation, taking my hand to my mouth to cover the muffled laugh. The harshness in his eyes disappeared, replacing it with a confused expression. Obviously he had no clue about my red cheeks and I didn't blame him for it. I removed his hand gently, unfolding the three fingers that was locked around my arm. I took his hand in both of mine and looked at its figure with a smile.
"No. I told you I'm not scared, even though you look different. Well, maybe I was a bit scared at first, but not now." I admitted, feeling the texture of his rough hand.
I looked to him to see his puzzled expression. Apparently I'd taken him a bit off guard too or maybe he was just uncomfortable with me touching his hand. I enjoyed that for moment before he spoke again.
"What is it then?" He pressed on cluelessly.
I sighed inwardly, starting to see no way around him without hurting his feelings. Not that he seemed to care much, but I thought that he perhaps needed some kind words from a stranger. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it again as that nervous feeling started to spread.
"Well, it was just because I... I thought for a moment that, you know-" I lifted my shoulders uncomfortably while trying to press the words out-" that you were quite athletic build and that you were quite fascinating."
I took a clean cloth and started to clean up some scrapes again, trying as much as I could to act unaffected. He was quiet for a moment and it started to make me nervous.
A roar of laughter exploded from him, his chest rising rhythmically.
"Stop laughing already!" I said as blood started to ooze out of the stomach wound.
I sighed, looking at him in that are-you-kidding-me-way and started gathering some cotton to stop the bleeding as he continued laughing.
"Definitely didn't see that one coming." He breathed in between his laughter.
"Guess not." I said, feeling a bit offended that he was laughing at me. He quieted down slowly, finally realizing that his wound was open again.
"Aw look what you make me do." He said, lifting his head to see me cover the wound once again.
"Sorry for throwing a compliment after you! Better not do that again." I muttered sarcastically.
He laid his head back on the bed, tilting it to watch me once again. The look he had, suggested that he was a bit baffled though, as if he couldn't figure out if I was joking.
"Well thanks I guess." He said half-hearted while chuckling too.
It wasn't a thanks I was looking for, and his attitude annoyed me a little bit. He had given me a compliment for my 'treatment' after all.
"You're not that bad yourself." He added reluctantly.
I looked at him, seeing that he was actually being genuine, although he didn't look at me anymore. Guess it was hard for him to be nice to a stranger... Or maybe just a girl. I smirked at his vulnerability;
"What you do know, you are capable of saying something nice." I said.
His eyes darted to mine, and when he saw my smirk his eyes got fiery. I didn't know him at all, but a hunch told me that it was his embarrassed look a saw right now.
"And what's that supposed to mean girly?!" He said, his voice edging towards anger.
"Exactly what it sounds like, greeny." I said, starting find some antibiotic in the first aid kid, avoiding the scowl he was sending my way.
I couldn't fight the smirk that played on my lips, and decided to change the subject before I got him too agitated. The last thing I wanted right now was to start an argument.
"What happened to you anyway?"
The question had been pressing in my mind for a while and finally releasing it was satisfying. He held his scowl for a few more second before relaxing. Actually he looked even more relaxed now than before. He sighed deeply as I applied the antibiotic to his shoulder wound.
"Purple dragons is what happened. I got ambushed in this weird neighborhood. They lured me all the way out here." He answered thoughtfully.
I couldn't believe that I was treating a guy who had a beef with the purple dragons. But then again this guy was such a mystery to me that I was probably just scratching the surface of his life. I didn't want to press him more. He seemed secretive enough as he were, and I could only understand why. But I wanted to ask why they were after him. Telling his whole life story would probably take a whole day.
"I'll have to admit that I'm beyond curious-" I looked at him, pausing my treatment for a moment-" you only have to tell me what you want to. I won't judge you for not telling me anything."
I started to remove the cloth from the stomach wound, seeing that it had stopped bleeding again. I was already done with the wound on his thigh and only needed this last one before I could wrap him up.
"Thanks. That's nice to know." He said sincerely.
I gave him a small smile, seeing that he wasn't going to tell me more about it. I worked on him in silence for a while. I started to bandage him up, feeling my eyes getting tired. I didn't know what time it was, but it was late. I would've stitched up his stomach wound if I could, but it was too hard to manage with the plastron. By admitting my thoughts of his body I didn't feel so affected by his constant staring anymore. Like he was watching everything I did...
"How old are you anyway?" He broke the long silence that had lasted between us, abruptly.
I rubbed my eyes tired, taking the opportunity to take a small pause. I'd just finished wrapping up his stomach wound.
"Just turned 18." I said with a smile, trying as much as I could to hide how tired I was.
"Oh... Then you're older than me." He pondered.
"And how old are you?" I asked, continuing where I left off.
Actually I was a bit surprised by the fact that I was older than him. I hadn't guessed him to be a teenager. Not that he looked old; he looked young but his manner was not like any boy I knew my age.
"I'm 17." He answered.
I looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.
"Well then you're not much younger than me. What about your brother?" I said, finishing the last bandage. He gave me a puzzled look.
"You did mention a brother patching you up." I said, reminding him of why I knew.
He looked reluctant to tell me at first but then seemed to change his mind. I moved on the bed, cleaning up the first aid kid as my work were done.
"I have three brothers. They're all 17. We all hatched at the same time. Well I was second but you get the point." He sounded stranger and stranger as he spoke.
It was like he was realizing how strange it must've sounded to me that he'd hatched from an egg. I chuckled at his expression, it was kind of cute.
" I don't think that anything you say can surprise me anymore." I assured him.
My smile seemed to ease him up, and he smiled back at me. I scooted off of the bed, with the water, fighting yet another blush.
"You better go to sleep." I said before I left the room.
I looked out the kitchen window for a while, watching the snow flying by outside while I tried to empty my mind. The wind was beginning to build outside. What if I'd just become a part of some big secret. Would my mother believe the government when they told her I was killed in a 'car accident'? My eyes were heavy now but I couldn't get myself to go to sleep. I rubbed my temples and decided to check up on the turtle. He was looking at the ceiling when I entered the room, and he tilted his head to look at me when a walked around the bed to lie on the empty side.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" I asked unable to hide my tiredness anymore.
"I'm used to staying up at this hour." He said, watching me as I crawled under my cover, which he was partially laying on. I laid down on my stomach - bless god for not giving me huge boobs - and propped my head up on my pillow to look at the turtle beside me.
"I think you should get some sleep though." He said, seeming to fight a smirk.
Well, I guess my eyes looked pretty worn out by now.
"You don't say." I said, starting look at him thoughtfully.
The undivided attention I suddenly gave him seemed to make him uncomfortable. I could only guess that he didn't know what to do now when there was nothing for either of us to do.
"I've set my alarm two hours ahead so I can change your bandages." I said, trying to make him less uncomfortable.
I was starting to be so tired that I was starting to feel so relaxed and at home with him that I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. I turned to grab the remote for my radio and turned it off, also turning off my lamp and then turning around in the exact same position once again.
"You don't have to do that." He said, his eyes flickering to me and back again.
"I'll do it any way." I said, closing my eyes and taking pleasure in letting the tiredness take over.
"... Are the government going to brainwash me for having been in contact with you?" I asked nonchalantly, opening one eye to see his reaction.
"What?" He asked, sounding startled by the question. He looked at me fully now, his green eyes glowering at me. I kept looking at him, waiting for an answer.
"Are you going to answer or what?" I said, quoting him for earlier when I hadn't answered right away.
"I don't even think the government knows of my existence." He said, with a confused frown.
"Oh..." I replied. Now it was my turn to be a bit confused.
I felt cozy when I listened to the howling wind outside, and was glad that I hadn't left him outside in this weather. We were both silent once again, and I was starting to drift to sleep even though I would've liked to talk to him. I turned away from him, moving to the edge and searched for a blanket for him under the bed.
"A warm blanket will do you good." I said as I pulled up one of the many blankets stuffed under my bed.
I sat up, and unfolded the blanket over him. Obviously he was done protesting, even though he gave me a sour look.
"I seriously think that you should stop worrying and go to sleep." he said, his voice almost demanding like I haven't heard it before.
"Fine!" I said and yawned loudly, slumping down on the bed again and crawling under my covers.
"Thanks though." He said reluctantly.
I laid down on my side, towards him once again, closing my eyes, finally giving in to the tiredness.