April was beginning to feel tired, and wishing for things that she had just recently wished into the past. Back then, she had begun to think and drink for normalcy, just going out on a Friday night and perhaps bedding a man, but all of that was out the window when she had been constantly thrust into the middle of earth-shaking battles. Just four years ago she begged that all the wildness would stop, that all the super-secret world-domination plans fooled at just the right moment and the Shredder shrinking back into the shadows like a dark promise would somehow become a fantasy, like they already seemed. And then they did. Saki did disappear, but not in the way she expected.
Of course, it wasn't a normal fight.
They had formed one of their rare alliances with Shredder against a squad of inter-dimensional raiders…the raiders were initially after Saki's latest invention, and the aliens had showed up on the scene ready to kill Saki and solve a lot of problems. Unfortunately, the turtles (and April in tow, camera rolling) showed up just as he was losing his footing. The turtles, half-pleased, that their greatest enemy had just been tossed to their feet in a heap, bleeding from what would be in the NBA, a career-ending thrust to the knee, rolled their eyes and jumped to defend, if not him, then his technology, that could no doubt be even more dangerous in the wrong hands. As Saki lay in a quivering heap on the floor, the turtles sprung into action, swiftly destroying the invaders and securing the technology.
April continued to tape the action, but eventually swiveled the camera to the ground where the great Oroku Saki, the Shredder, lay, groaning at her feet. His helmet rolled off…and a dark face, and dark eyes, contorted in pain were revealed…
…but that was then. And this was now.
They both reached for the soy sauce at the same time and as their finger's bumped, both of their eyes snapped up in the usual apologies and solicitudes. However, at that moment, both eyes were frozen in mutual recognition.
It was he.
She had to admit, she had seen his face only once or twice, and could hardly but pick it out of a line-up. And yet his eyes were unmistakable, oval, large pupils, dark brown, but with hints of grey. For the slightest second she imagined them framed by a helmet, and strangely that did not cause fear. Only nostalgia.
But this time the face was not hidden.
She had already checked out his figure in the bar and for a wild moment she had a hard time reconciling the worn, expensive jeans, crisp business shirt and velvet jacket hanging off of his frame with the man from her past.
But there he was. No helmet. No spiky armor. No ridiculous cape. Just a head full of swept, silky black hair, with perhaps one or two strands of sexy grey gracing the sweep, and lips she had never really studied, full, and with the moment, parting to accept a tongue sweeping in surprise.
His eyes snapped to hers and they held for an instant and a lifetime: all the emotions sped across his eyes: Instant recognition, surprise, anger, surprise again, then suspicion, then something else…his hand reached out and grabbed hers…encircling the wrist in a tight embrace that was both uncomfortable and strangely invigorating, and he leaned in, giving her the whiff of a cologne that was at once so expensive and so human, April again had trouble reconciling his humanness with his cold villainy. She also had forgotten how exciting it was to be around danger. Her body buzzed and hummed, moving down along her arm.
"Where are they?" he hissed, his eyes darting around in a quick survey of the bar. And, because he was a ninja, and used to dealing with ninjas, his eyes swept up to the ceiling for good measure. Who knows who could be hiding in those vents and dark places in the chic, industrial lofted ceiling? The idea that there were ninjas hiding in the rafters of Le Bar ready to drop upon Saki's head suddenly struck her as funny, and she had to bite down some laughter. Goodness, she was a little drunk.
"Where are who?" she squeaked, barely containing a buzz-fueled smirk. And her eyes moved down to where his large, brown hand encircled her wrist, making it look small and pale, trying to confirm his existence by matching the visual with the pressure on her hand. Then he gave her wrist a firm squeeze and her eyes shot back to his.
He had leaned in close, eye to eye. "The turtles, Miss O'Neill," he hissed, his dark eyes narrowing.
"Oh!" she squeaked again, and then, despite her best control, her second cosmo got the best of her, and she giggled.
This was not the reaction he was expecting. He was expecting the fear he used to inspire in her, or the feisty anger. He had probably never even seen her laugh.
He looked a bit confused, a look she had rarely seen on his face, and it made her giggle again. He leaned in further, angling his face toward her neck, squeezing her wrist again, not painfully, simply firmly and for a wild moment she thought he was going to kiss her on the cheek. Oh my God! But he merely paused, sampling her scent for a moment. He then leaned back, releasing her wrist and appraising her coolly. "Are you drunk, Miss O'Neil?"
"Oh!" she squeaked again and her hand flew to her mouth as she found herself flushing with the insinuation. And there he went with the Miss O'Neil crap again, like she was some kind of second grade teacher. "Geez…not drunk. Just having a cocktail or two…" she said hastily, a little bit of her old fiestiness returning. "It IS Friday night, after all. And we are at a bar," she huffed.
He sat back in his chair and rested his chin on his fisted hand that sat on the bar and looked hard at her. She had a moment to take him in again, and was alarmed at the tableau. Here was the Shredder, but not that crazy, angry raging ninja that spent many years trying to kill her friends and conquer the city, but rather calm and smartly dressed, well-groomed, sitting at an upscale bar…and…her eyes traveled to the bar and the rocks glass that sat before him, filled with a tan liquid and a few ice cubes.
"You're drinking, I see," she said, nodding at the bar. His eyes followed hers to the glass and he reached out slowly to grasp the glass. He brought it to his lips and April found herself riveted as he parted his lips and sipped down the scotch slowly. He set the glass back down, keeping it in his grip as he sat back again and continued to appraise her with an unreadable look.
"Yes," he said, finally. "But I'm not drunk."
"Not yet." She said before she could stop herself and then realized she might have said too much, gone too far. But his expression didn't change.
"So this is just a coincidence," he said slowly. "You sitting down next to me at a bar."
"I guess so." She said flatly.
"Small city," He mused.
"Yeah, long time, no see."
He continued to look at her with that unreadable, intense gaze. And for the smallest moment his eyes drifted down over her figure, before meandering back up to her face. What the hell was he looking at?
Oh! Oh, shit! The shock of seeing him started to ebb, and then another kind of shock set in. Oh shit! She was wearing her seduction dress and her sexy hair and her smoky make-up and, well, she WAS a little drunk, because the reason she was there that night was to pick up a man for some wild, uninhibited, rebound from a break-up sex. Oh shit!
She was wearing a nude-colored shift dress that dipped low in the front and a sparkling choker. She had swept her hair up and smoked her eyes up, and left her lips pale and glossed. She had on her Jimmy Choo spiked heels and little else. Oh shit! She could feel the flush from earlier unwinding in a wave across her body.
His expression didn't change and he continued to stare at her. What the hell was going on? Why wasn't she afraid? Why was she actually excited to see him? Was it that her life had become such a routine, so boring, so banal in the years since he had disappeared that she was longing to see him? Of course, in her imaginings, it would be not Oroku Saki, but the Shredder, re-emerging as a super-villain on a kind of comeback tour and bringing some excitement back to the city. It wasn't bumping into him, wearing a sexy outfit at her favorite prowling ground. What the hell was going on? And why was she so excited?
They continued to look at each other and it seemed the more flushed and confused April became, the more serene he became, his finger lightly brushing his chin as he clearly mulled something over. What the hell was he thinking? How to kidnap her? How to take her prisoner? She flushed harder when she thought of being taken prisoner by this new, sexy, version of the Shredder. Oh my, oh my…
And then the uncomfortable staring contest she was engaged in was interrupted by Jack, her favorite bartender. The handsome young, gay lad who had been witness and co-conspirator to many of her sexual adventures, now stood before the two of them, proffering two plates of delicious food. He could barely contain his smirk as he quickly took in the scene. Here was lusty April, clearly out on the prowl, sitting next the drop-dead gorgeous, rich-looking Asian model-type mystery man that came in now and then. Perfect! Oh yeah, she was going to score tonight, his eyes telegraphed! And she would definitely give him a blow by blow account on another night. Jack would finally find out what Mr. Saki had in his pants! Perfect!
"April…here is yours." He said, sitting a plate of sushi before her.
"And, Mr. Saki, yours." He said, sitting the other plate in front of the Shredder.
They both turned to look at their food.
"Thank you, Jack." Saki said smoothly and April looked sharply to her right. He knew Jack too? How was this possible?
Jack stood for a moment looking with a wry smile from one to the other. "Anything else I can get for you two?"
"Um…no, thank you Jack." April murmured, glaring at his clear amusement.
"Ok! Just let me know!" And to her utter horror, he winked at April as he turned and glided away.
They both sat for a moment looking at their food. Oh dear, this was awkward. What, like they were going to eat, in effect, have dinner with each other? And then, for the briefest moment through her buzz, April was slapped with guilt. This was Shredder, after all, her best friend's greatest enemy, and it hardly mattered that he had disappeared four years earlier, she couldn't simply sit there and…
…and then, Saki reached out for chopsticks. He selected a pair, swiftly broke them, expertly shaving them…then he handed them to her. Stunned, she took them, her eyes lowered, and then he prepared a pair for himself.
He reached for the soy sauce that had begun this entire debacle and decanted a pour into the round, obsidian bowl next to his plate. Next, a generous portion of ginger and wasabi went into the mix. And then he selected a fat, pink slice of toro, one of the most expensive selections on the menu, dipped it, and brought it to his mouth. He selected another piece, dipped, and was about to eat it, when he paused and turned to look at her, his eyes still unreadable. "A problem, Miss O'Neil?"
Oh fuck! She had been staring, her mouth slightly hanging open. "No," she said quickly, turning to select her own, less expensive sushi. "Just never thought I'd see you eating dinner."
He gazed at her for a moment, before turning back to his meal. "I do eat, you know."
"Obviously," she murmured her mouth full of unagi. Oh dear, a bit of soy sauce was dribbling down her chin. And he turned to look back at her. What the fuck was going on? Why was this so exciting and yet so terribly wrong at the same time? Shouldn't she make excuses and slip away, call the turtles from a bath stall? OK, they were all out of the country, but still…
Jack returned, to her relief. He glided up, and placed another full Cosmo in front of her and another scotch in front of Saki. "Since you are both valued patrons, this round is on the bar. Please do, enjoy your food…and each other…." And then he was gone before he could see April choking on her unagi.
She choked harder when Saki's hand went to her knee as he looked at her, still blank and unreadable. "Are you quite alright, Miss O'Neil?"
April was breathing into a napkin. "Yes. Fine." Her eyes snapped to where his hand rested on her knee, and then she looked up at him, feeling woozy. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. He looked a moment longer, then turned back to his meal.
And then things got really fucked up, because they then proceeded to eat and chat. Chit-chat, really. So, fine weather, no? This place has the best sushi in the city, yes? And then, what have you been up to?
Saki spoke slowly as he ate. She expected him to be secretive and shady. After all, she was a reporter, and he used to be the most sought-after criminal in the city. Yet, it was clear that this meeting would remain off the books. He didn't even have to state that, and she didn't need to assure him. It was all so weird, and yet, followed all the normal cues of a one night stand, that April didn't trust at all where this was going.
Apparently, he actually WORKED now; as a security consultant. He did not give any details, understandably, due to the sensitive nature of the work and the explosive nature of his identity. And he liked to dine here now and then. She managed to talk a bit about her recent investigative journalism, her mind barely working at weirdness of the moment… she spoke of a piece on the public housing development in the Bronx was being run like a flop house…
"Oh yes, I saw that one, really well done." He was looking at his glass of scotch as he said this, examining the amber liquid and ice cubes in the now low light from behind the bar, as it was now dark and rather mysterious in the room, the light thump of the lounge ambient music pulsing between them like a heartbeat.
"You saw that?" She asked flatly.
He turned to look at her again, his eyes unreadable, but incredibly intense. "I do watch the news, Miss O'Neil…and I'm not being presumptuous am I? It is still Miss O'Neil?"
April glared at Saki, the suggestion made by his tone unmistakable. "Yes…it is…" and before she had a chance to launch into her usual defense of her late 30s status of being unwed he finished for her.
"I thought so…"
April set her chopsticks down on her plate with a snap. "And why is that?"
"Because you don't seem like the marrying type." He said, simply, his face still a blank slate, but his eyes glinted in…what the hell…was that amusement? Was he actually teasing her? How dare he?
"What…what is this?" She began to babble. "I mean…you should be arrested…I won't say anything…but this is too weird and you're…you're…". She realized she was panting in her indecision, in her inability to process the electricity of the moment.
He continued to look at her and then cut her off. He stood, suddenly, with that unbelievable mix of lack of visible intent and total control that only a ninja could muster, and grabbed her wrist roughly, pulling her to her feet.
"What the…" she managed before he leaned in.
"Quiet…I will not harm you…but come along…." And then he turned, dragging her deep into the scrum of dancers and people now packing the bar.
Oh shit! This was it! He was kidnapping her! She should struggle and scream, but instead she just stumbled along behind him as he expertly guided her through the dance floor to the long dark hallway at the side of the bar. There was no one waiting for the bathroom and right before she allowed herself to be pulled into that dark space, she had a moment where she realized that his grip was not that hard, that she could easily wrest away, and run away, but to her later shame, she didn't, but meekly followed his lead.
What was this? She thought she knew. He was now going to threaten her in typical Shredder manner. He was going to tell her that if she told the turtles about this he would harm her and her family and…and…as he maneuvered her down the hall, he suddenly spun and with both hands thrust her against the wall.
And then he was on her. As only a man could possibly be. He pressed her shoulders against the wall and thrust a knee between her legs and lifted one as he pressed his body on top of hers. And then his tongue was in her mouth and her hands were tangling in his hair and he put his hands underneath her thighs and lifted them, placing them behind his back. He paused for a moment as they panted in this position, his hardness pressing against her core, her arms wound behind his neck, his breath huffing in her ear, and then he found her hands and pressed them above her head, bringing his lips to hers, his tongue gently exploring her mouth while he roughly rolled his hips in a thrust against her.
April's mind went blank as she felt him thrust against her hard as he gently kissed her. Oh, mother-fucking God, he was an expert and impossible to resist. This was about all she could wish for, and she mused that she could easily forget who he was, for just a moment, as he rolled against her, and kissed her, and it all only took a moment, and then there was a moment where their bodies aligned, and his thrust met her open legs, and she broke the kiss to groan and her legs trembled against his thighs as she slid in submission to him, and then, as quickly as all this madness started, he gently closed his legs, alighting her on the ground, and holding her for a moment so she could get her bearings, before he stepped away and ran a hand through his hair as he looked down at her.
"Come!" he barked hoarsely, grabbing her wrist and elbow and helping her now trembling frame through the writing bodies on the dance floor. He planted her on her bar stool, then leaned in. "Stay here for a moment…while I arrange something…" His eyes were intense, hungry.
And then he sped off into the mass of writhing bodies. What the fuck was going on? Did she just make out with Shredder? What the hell was he busy arranging?
And as she sat slumped on an arm, trembling, Jack was there, as if by magic. "Oh..this is perfect…he is sooooo hot, and…what is going on…"
April reached for her drink and managed to get most of it through her mouth. "He's an old…acquaintance."
"I knew it!" Jack chirped, then leaned against the bar, moving his face against hers. "You know, we've been talking about him for months, so hot, so rich, so well-dressed, but I knew that he was the type of man, straight man, unfortunately, that would know you…"
"Oh yes," April managed. "I know him…"
And then he was back. Jack immediately straightened into his bartender pose. Saki leaned above them both, his eyes quickly darting between the co-conspirators. "Come," he said simply, and then to Jack. "Put all of this on my tab."
Jack was immediately in bartender mode again. "Of course, Mr. Saki." He beamed as Shredder maneuvered April through the dancers, and through the hall to the elevator, the private residential elevator she noticed absently, and then, before she could catch her breath, he had steered her inside.
And as the doors slid shut he pressed her against the wall, kissing and touching her….and thrusting against her with abandon, and April let him do it, and responded and allowed her mind to shut down and her instinct over. He was really good, and smelled good, and looked good, and he was incredibly strong and firm as he ran his hands along her body, massaging her breasts and leaning in to lick and nip at the top of her cleavage. As he did so, and she wound her hand through his thick, black hair, gazing bleary-eyed over his head, she suddenly realized what was happening. Her mind snapped into focus and she gasped and tensed.
Down on her chest, he stopped moving and slowly looked up at her. His eyes had changed, the cool demeanor was dropped and his eyes gazed with fierce hunger up at her. It wasn't affection in the least, but pure lust and hunger and power wound tight and nipping at his ninja sense of control.
"What…" she panted, looking down at him. "What is this? What are we doing…"
He examined her, then spoke huskily, "This is what you want, I think. Do you want to be fucked? Do you want to be taken by me, and scream in pleasure?" His hands that were around her bottom squeezed hard and his fingertips wandered inward and brushed at her lower lips.
This made her groan. "Oh…oh, God…but…the turtles…I'm betraying them…" she didn't want to admit it, but that is what this amounted to.
He continued to look at her and kneed her bottom, slowly slipping an index finger into her wet panties to probe lightly at her core. "It doesn't have to be any of that. It can just be sex…."
She started to pant as he thrust a finger deep inside her and curled it up, massaging her G-spot. "Urgghh…" she moaned, her legs growing weak. "But why…why are you?"
He lowered his eyes and began to lick at her breasts again, then murmured against her skin. "Because you're so hot, and so sexy…and I always wanted to fuck you."
The admission dismantled her last hesitation and she freely thrust her own hips against his hand as he thrust two more fingers in and began to fuck her with them. She only blearily noticed that the elevator had stopped and the door had opened, not on a hallway, but on a large, dark space.
He suddenly scooped her up in his arms and she squeaked as he spun and walked through the door into a penthouse suite, three stories tall with a wall of windows looking down on the lights of the city. And this wasn't a rental…it was clearly his space, one of those hotel condos for the very rich, discreetly owned and rarely used, and yet it was decorated with Japanese art, and it also contained a dojo she noticed vaguely to the left, and a sleek, stainless steel kitchen…it was beautiful, imposing, and expensive. What the fuck? Did he live there?
"Do you live…urghh." She started to ask, but was cut off as he suddenly knelt and pushed her down onto the cold, polished-concrete floor. He clearly couldn't wait a minute longer, and to be honest, nor could she. He yanked down her panties as she fumbled with his shirt pulling it up over his head, revealing his smooth, dark, toned torso. In a flash he was upon her, unzipping his pants and spreading her legs with his knees and then, just like that, he thrust all the way in with one roll of his hips.
April cried out, grasping his shoulders and arching her back, wrapping her legs around him. "Oh…oh God…" she murmured. He paused and so did she and they lay tense for a moment, panting. She could see through her eyelashes that his eyes were closed, his face vulnerable in its expression of extreme pleasure. They both breathed hard, and she could feel him twitching inside of her, his length pushing hard against her cervix. And then he began to thrust, slowly at first, and then working his way up to a pound, bracing himself on one strong forearm and sweeping the other under her hips and sharply pulling her in with each thrust, pushing himself in deeper and deeper. They began to inch across the floor with his movements and April tossed her head side to side with pleasure. "Oh…oh…God!" she screamed. "Oh…I'm going to come…fuck…don't stop…." She cried out and it was true, although she rarely came from just plain vanilla sex, even rough sex. He had his head above hers and was watching her through hooded eyes, mouth open, tongue lazily licking his lips as he watched her respond to him.
She could feel the tight coil reaching it's peak, and she scratched down his arms, raking him hard as she went over the edge and went rigid under him, her body stiff, her legs quivering, and her inner passage clenching and unclenching around him. This was all he needed as well and with a growl he pressed into her quivering center hard, impaling her and went stiff as he came with great spasms, and he cried out too. She opened her eyes and saw his looking right into hers from just inches away, his pupils dilated, fixated on her. She could feel his penis contracting and spurting, and slowing, and then he collapsed on her, breathing hard.
She lay back against the cold concrete floor and looked up at the ceiling over his shoulder. There was a chandelier way up there, with individual crystals glinting in the light of the city. All she could hear was their breathing, and she could feel his heart pounding through his chest. And then she felt his mouth touch her neck as he gently licked her, gently kissed her.
They lay like that for some time, luxuriating in each other's slowly unwinding lust, until their breathing slowed and April felt incredibly sleepy, and her eyes fluttered, and she fell away, thinking that this was all perhaps some fantasy, and she didn't just sleep with her friend's greatest enemy….and then she was asleep.