Resident Hot Head
Need
Leo blew out the candles before standing and stretching. His meditation had left him feeling both tired and refreshed; a strange mixture, yet it suited him.
Tonight his mantra had been the pounding of Raph's heavy fists against his punching bag. Raph was a little pissed at him, but Leo didn't care because Raph had stayed in for the night.
That meant a lot to Leonardo. It meant that he and Raph were getting to a point where they could argue and still manage to be under the same roof. This time they had argued and still managed to stay in the same room.
What they had argued about didn't matter. What mattered was that Raph didn't give in to his emotions and start a physical altercation, or run from the lair in an angry frenzy.
When he started to hit his bag, Leo knew his hot headed brother was trying to release his tension enough to talk. Leo wasn't going to abandon him while Raph worked his way through the anger. So Leo lit some candles and sat down to meditate.
That had been over an hour ago. Maybe Raph wouldn't be able to work his way to the point of actually talking. Leo counted it as a small victory anyway, since Raph was still in the lair.
He was putting away the last candle when the dojo suddenly went silent. From Raph's corner of the room Leo heard his brother take a deep breath.
"I ain't perfect Leo," Raph said, his voice gruff.
Leo turned and saw his brother leaning heavily against his bag. Raph's face was grim but not angry.
"Neither am I," Leo told him.
Raph shrugged, not conceding the point, but obviously not in the mood for name calling.
"Nothin' ever happens fast enough for me," Raph said. "I get…I get impatient, ya' know?"
"Raphael, I understand. I truly do," Leo said, walking towards his brother.
Raph stood up straight and crossed his arms over his plastron, an unconscious defensive posture that caused Leo's heart to feel heavy. His mere presence shouldn't evoke that kind of feeling in his brother. It made him sad.
"Ya' remember the time we first met Karai, when all those gangs were fightin' for territory?" Raph asked.
Leo nodded, not sure where this was going, but not wanting his voice to break Raph's train of thought.
"I told ya' we should stay out of it, 'cause it wasn't our deal." Raph snorted, the sound a cross between self-derision and amusement. "But ya' know what? I was wrong. It is our deal. It's our city, and the bad guys don't outnumber the good guys. The problem is that the good guys don't fight back. We gotta fight back Leo."
"We are fighting back, Raph. We patrol almost every night; we monitor the police band, you and Casey go out at least three times a week to stop the Purple Dragons," Leo said.
"It ain't enough," Raph said forcefully.
Leo moved closer, wanting to see Raph's eyes. The pain in them was obvious.
"There is only so much we can do Raph. If you fight all the time, you'll have no life. Is that what you want?" Leo asked.
"Ya' know what I want, Leo? I want us; the four of us, 'cause that's the only thing we really have and it's the only thing I really want," Raph told him.
Leo frowned, trying to comprehend. "You have us Raph. We aren't going anywhere."
Raph laughed without amusement. "Ya' think I go topside and get into fights 'cause I'm psycho Leo? I fight 'cause I know if the streets ain't safe for humans how the fuck is it ever gonna be safe for us?"
"Are you saying you're running interference?" Leo stepped into Raph's personal space and saw his brother flinch slightly.
Raph's voice was a low growl. "Maybe. If I get rid of the bad stuff before you guys go topside, I ain't gotta worry about a bullet finding one of ya'."
Leo put his hands on Raph's forearms; his touch gentle as he pulled Raph's arms down from their crossed position.
"That still leaves us to worry about one finding you," Leo said softly. His amber eyes searched Raph's golden ones, hoping to help his passionate brother understand.
"Don't matter," Raph all but whispered.
Leo caught Raph's face between his hands and hissed at him, "Stop that! We love and need you Raphael. You are more important to us than I could ever put into words. If something happened to you, I…I don't think I could go on."
Raph could feel his heart beating hard against his chest. Clearing the sudden obstruction in his throat, he wrapped his arms around Leo and said, "Ya' mean that?"
"Of course I do," Leo whispered. "I love you more than life itself Raph. I don't want you to watch our backs from a distance anymore. We're a team, a family. We've always been strongest when we're together."
"Okay then." A corner of Raph's mouth quivered and then lifted. "Ya' need me that bad I guess I should stick around."
Leo laughed, touching his forehead to Raph's. "Yeah big guy. We do need you."
Beguilement
"I ain't fallin' for it Mikey," Raph said, brushing his youngest brother aside with a wave of his hand.
"I'm not trying to trick you into anything Raph, I just need some competition. The game is losing its appeal," Mikey cajoled, following the red banded Turtle into the kitchen.
"No means no," Raph told him, reaching for his favorite cereal. "Every time ya' talk me into playing one of your new games, we end up makin' some kinda wager on the outcome. A wager I usually lose 'cause ya' never bother ta' tell me ya' already spent a hundred hours playin' the fucking game."
"Not this time Raph. I only played it like four times, honest. I'll even let you play it by yourself for the same number of times so we'll be completely even," Mikey said.
Raph chewed on a spoonful of cereal as he thought about it. Mikey's blue eyes were staring at him from across the table, and fuck if they weren't the most hypnotic things he'd ever seen in his entire life.
"Ya' know if you're lyin' ta me, any wager we end up makin' is gonna be void, ya' little punk," Raph growled at him.
"I'm not lying. Scouts honor." Mikey curved his thumb into his palm and held up two fingers.
Raph continued to eat, silently watching Mikey's face. Of course it was totally guileless, but shell, that was a look the prankster had perfected. It meant absolutely nothing. In fact, the more innocent Mikey looked, the more mischief was being hatched. Raph knew that from first-hand experience.
Finally Raph groaned, and Mikey started to grin, knowing the hot head was giving in.
"Fine," Raph said, standing up to deposit his bowl in the sink. Turning, he pointed a finger at Mikey's face. "But if ya' pull one trick on me, I'm gonna feed ya' the entire game console, and I ain't gonna bother to break it into small pieces first."
Three hours later, Raph tossed his controller onto the couch in defeat. Mikey had beaten him in every game.
"Okay squirt, how'd ya' do that?" Raph asked, trying not to be pissed. He had let Mikey talk him into loser does winner's chores for a week, even though he'd sworn he wasn't going to wager.
Mikey chortled and bounced off the couch. "I am the Master Mikester. King of the Games. Battle Nexus Ch…"
Raph could contain himself no longer and swatted at Mikey with the back of his hand. Dancing out of Raph's range, Mikey beamed at him. Raph returned the look with a glare.
Then Don crossed from his lab to the kitchen and said, "Ask Mikey how many times he played the previous version of that game."
"Thanks a lot Donny," Mikey said sarcastically, watching his brother's retreating form. Turning his head, he saw Raph's face start to change.
"Ya' told me ya' only played this game four times," Raph said, his voice low and deliberate.
"N…now Raph. Before you go all ballistic, I never lied about that. I only played this version of the game four times," Mikey said, slowly backing away.
"Old version, new version – it don't matter Michelangelo. It's the same fuckin' game," Raph told him, starting to move in Mikey's direction.
"Come on now, don't be a sore loser," Mikey said, continuing his retreat. "I'll tell you what, the wagers off, how's that? 'Cause I can see you sorta have a point."
"Damn right I do," Raph growled as he stalked his brother. "Remember what I said I was gonna do ta ya' if ya' lied ta me?"
Mikey swallowed, his eyes flicking over to the gaming console and back to Raph.
"Well, you gotta catch me first," Mikey said with a rakish grin and bolted.
Usually that worked, because Mikey was the faster of the two. But this time Raph didn't chase him.
Raph picked up the couch and threw it in front of Mikey.
"Hey!" Mikey yelped as his feet tangled in the flying cushions and his legs hit the back of the couch.
He went down head over heels, his carapace hitting the floor with a loud thud. Before he could recover Raph leaped on him.
"Ya' want that console with or without syrup, goofball?" Raph asked, beak to beak with Mikey.
"Can we just t…talk about this? I'm sure we can work something out," Mikey said, squirming under Raph's weight.
"Talking's what got ya' into this mess little bro'," Raph told him. "But I'll tell ya' what, I'm willing ta let it go if you're willing ta pay a forfeit."
Mikey saw the gleam in Raph's gold eyes and went completely still. His pulse, on the other hand, started to race.
"F…forfeit?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah. Ya' used your mouth ta trick me, I think ya' should use your mouth ta make it up ta me," Raph grinned.
Mikey licked his lips, suddenly aware of Raph's legs between his thighs.
"Deal," Mikey said breathlessly.
Visage
Don pulled into the garage astride Raph's shell cycle, easing back on the throttle and then coasting to a standstill. He lowered the kick stand, swung a leg over and dismounted.
Removing his helmet, he stared at the machine, the beast, and barely refrained from tossing the helmet to the ground.
"Damn!" he finally burst out, completely frustrated.
A dark laugh from nearby got his attention and he turned around to see Raph seated on one of the workbenches.
"I had a feeling ya' was gonna be up here," Raph told him. "All I gotta do is mention something don't seem right with my baby and ya' drop everything to come work on it."
Don shrugged, setting the helmet aside and then squatting next to the bike.
"You were pretty tired when you came in last night and I knew you didn't get a chance to check it out. I didn't want you to forget and go out for another ride if there was a chance you might get stranded," Don said.
"Hey, all I said was it was riding a little rough," Raph replied.
"Well, it is," Don said with a sigh. "I've been out on it three times already, and it gets worse with each ride. I've been over everything; the electrical system, the spark plugs, pistons, crankshaft, exhaust, all the wiring – I can't find anything wrong."
He lifted a socket wrench and then tossed it down again, thoroughly aggravated.
"Shell Donny, and ya' guys say I'm the hot head," Raph said, jumping off the table.
Sauntering over to Don, he leaned down to survey the bike, running a practiced eye from stem to stern. He hadn't bothered to do that the previous evening, because as Don had pointed out, Raph was just too fucking tired.
When Raph saw the problem, he went from surprised to amused and said, "Well shit!"
He was laughing when Don stood up to face him across the seat of the bike.
"What? What did you see?" Don asked, confused.
Raph managed to get his laughter under control enough to say, "Ya' was so busy looking for a big problem, ya' never checked for something simple, egg head."
"That's not very funny, Raph," Don replied with a frown. "I missed something?" he asked, his peevishness giving way to curiosity.
"Take a good look at the back tire," Raph told him.
Don came around to Raph's side of the bike and inspected the tire. He immediately saw the bubble that had formed on the sidewall.
Running a palm over his face, Don sheepishly said, "Oh."
"No biggie," Raph said as he watched Don walk over to the rack which held the spare tires. His brother was shaking his head, as though internally reprimanding himself.
"Hey Donny, just how long were ya' planning ta work on the bike?" Raph asked as a slow smile curved his mouth.
Don pulled down a replacement tire, set it on the ground and rolled it over to the shell cycle.
"I don't know; as long as it took I guess. I figured a couple of hours at least," Don replied.
"So~o, ya' set aside a couple hours for this project out of your busy schedule," Raph said, the smile now fully developed.
Don looked up at him and his eyes narrowed when he saw the look on Raph's face.
"Raphael…" he started to say but was cut off when Raph pounced at him, grabbing his shoulders and pushing an insistent tongue into Don's mouth.
Don let the tire fall and grabbed the edges of Raph's shell, feeling his mind going wonderfully blank.
Breaking the kiss, Raph pushed Don backwards until the workbench stopped them. Raph ground his plastron into Don's as he leaned forward to clear the table with a sweep of his hand, and then shoved Don's carapace down onto the flat surface.
"That means ya' got some time ta spare don't it bro'?" Raph asked as he stepped between Don's thighs.
Don shuddered and his breath caught as Raph grabbed the edges of his shell to bring him further down on the table. Don puffed his cheeks as his rump slid off the end and then bit his lip when his legs were lifted onto Raph's broad shoulders.
Raph's lower plastron was rubbing against Don's as the red banded Turtle leaned over to capture Don's mouth in another searing kiss. A simultaneous churr rolled out of both brothers, and then Raph moved his mouth to Don's neck.
Don's head went back against the table, his mouth a perfect O as Raph nibbled and licked at sensitive skin. His eyes, which had been wide open and glazed over, now squeezed shut when a wide wet tongue stroked his pulse point.
Raph's rough hands moved between them, searching for and finding the part of Don's anatomy that made the genius' beak wrinkle and his jaw clench.
"Ya' know one of the things I love best about fuckin' ya', Donny?" Raph asked, his hot breath against Don's neck making his brother's lips twitch.
"Wh…what?" Don managed to say.
"All those great faces ya' make," Raph chuckled lustfully as he reached for the lubricant.