Note: So, are you ready to see the fallout of Zoey and Raph? Are ya? Ok, well here it is... warning, this is some serious angsty stuff here! You asked for it... ;)
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Title: Fall Out
Summary: Zoey and Raphael have been going strong for almost a year and a half and are going strong, that is, until an incident almost ends her life and Raphael and forced to make a tough decision...
Rated: T (lang)
Genre: Angst/Romance
Pairing: RaphxZoey
Dis: Don't own TMNT
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Zoey Jones huffed a sigh of annoyance as a strong, three-fingered hand put pressure on her shoulder because apparently she kept dropping it during an attack she could do in her sleep. She was sweaty and she hurt all over and she was about ready to smack her boyfriend upside the head for the umpteenth time. She now knew why he gained so much pleasure doing it to his younger brother. Blowing a strand of black hair out of her blue eyes that had come undone from her ponytail she dropped both her hands at her sides and turned around to face him.
"Raphael..." She tilted her head to the side when seeing his nervous look. He thought she was going to yell. Ok, she HAD been ready to yell, but she swallowed down the outburst that wanted to come out and instead cupped his cheek. "I'm tired. Can we take a break?"
"Sure, Zo," he said, nuzzling her palm with half-closed eyes before stepping away. "Leo wanted ta talk to me about somethin' anyway. Be back in ten?"
"An hour," she corrected, rolling her shoulder.
"Zo..."
"I'm no good to you tired, Raph," she snapped lightly, making him put up his hands in surrender before backing out slowly.
Sighing she stretched her arms while walking to the single bathroom in the lair. She was pleased to see towels hung up instead of balled into a corner as well as no toothpaste in the sink. They were all learning, and the thought had her smiling as she turned on the water and splashed some onto her sweaty face. Looking up into the mirror that had a small horizontal crack she stared deeply into her hardened blue eyes as droplets ran down her tanned cheek. She was a different person than she was two and a half years ago when she first met Raphael and some of it had to do with her scars. Frowning, she pulled the tank top down and stared at the raised white scars down the center of her chest she gained protecting the turtle she loved. Of course, it had led to the destruction of their relationship: which they just managed to put back together again four months ago. Now he was more than a little paranoid of it happening again and was pushing her to polish her defensive skills. She got it, the fear he had of losing her again: she had the same fear about losing him as well.
Their past mistakes in dealing with her injuries had almost been the end of them, but now they were getting back on track. She saw it though, the look in his eyes when he saw the scars... The fear, the same fear she now had in her own gaze as her mind drifted back to the beginning of the end...
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One Year Ago...
A tapping on her window had Zoey smiling brightly before launching up from her position on her bed to the pane of glass that separated her and her boyfriend. Unlatching the window she eagerly pulled it up and soon had her arms full of shivering turtle. It was starting to transition into Fall and his cold blooded nature had his body protesting the cooler elements. She was more than happy to warm him up.
"Hey," he said, cool hands cupping her flushed face.
"Hi," she answered, leaning in and nipping what could be considered his bottom lip. "Good patrol?"
"Yeah." He reached behind him to close the window.
"All hot and bothered now?" she whispered huskily, almost anxiously as she pressed her body against his plastron. She knew him well enough to know how amped he was after a good tussle with the Dragons, Foot, and whoever else he was battling.
"Hell yeah."
"Hmm... Good."
Much later they lay in the safe haven of each others arms. Her cheek pressed against a chipped upper plate on his plastron that he'd recently gotten and she pressed a small kiss to that area before closing her eyes. She hummed her acceptance as his hands trailed up her bare back under the thick blankets of her bed.
"Leo still upset that you spend the night?"
"Nah."
"He worries," said Zoey. "Don't be too hard on him."
"Mother-Hen Leo," grumbled Raphael, making Zoey chuckle. She opened her eyes then lifted up her head to stare seriously into in own amber ones.
"I just don't want to come between you and your brothers."
"You ain't," he assured, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear. "I think he's just butt hurt cause Mikey is gettin' closer ta Frey. I told ya about her, right? She helped us out a couple weeks ago 'n I think Leo's worried Mikey is gettin' too attached to someone that might not be interested in him that way."
"Well she'd be stupid not to like him," said Zoey with a sniff, making Raphael chuckle.
"She's cool, though," said Raph with a nod. "A good girl ta give Mikey a swift kick in his tail when he's goofin' around too much."
"Sounds like someone I want to meet," said Zoey, smirking before once again laying down, cheek pressing into his plastron. "I have an early meeting tomorrow morning with my Editor... Sleepy time."
"You shoulda just went ta sleep instead of waitin' up fer me," he said softly.
"Where's the fun in that?" she asked before closing her eyes. "I wouldn't have gotten to have hot sex with my mutant boyfriend OR tell him that in a couple weeks I have a chance to move up out of the pit and get my own office: hence the meeting with my editor. He's looking for a replacement for Victoria Vale."
"The reporter that's been missin'?" he asked.
"Office talk says she ran off with her lover," said Zoey behind a yawn. "I'm sure she'll turn up to say she's in Cabo with Walter or whatever his name was."
"Sheesh," said Raphael. "Humans."
"Turtles," sneered Zoey playfully, earning a pinch to her bottom. "Raph!"
"G'nite, Zo," he said around a chuckle.
"Night..."
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Present Time
Had she known what would've happened after taking that job she'd have never signed up for it. It had been the pebble thrown in the lake that started a ripple effect that led to the destruction of her and Raphael a year ago. Maybe the events that transpired still would've happened, due to her ties with the Jones family, even if she hadn't taken the job. It is still unknown but she cursed her rotten luck before releasing her tank top so that it covered up the scars once more. A light tapping on the door had her backing away from the sink as well as the whine from Michelangelo that he had to use the bathroom. She opened the door with a smile but his frown let her know he saw the shadows that were swimming in her eyes. She went to the room she shared with Raphael when they weren't at her apartment and found the bed easily and closed her eyes for a short nap before her training resumed for the day.
To go back in time and fix her mistakes and push Raphael into getting over his fears would be so easy and instead she now had a freshly re-grown relationship that still had its bumps and bruises thanks to that one job that almost ended everything...
That almost killed her.
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TBC...
OH interesting prologue, yes? Hope you're all intrigued, almost done with the first chapter as well! :)
Reviews are appreciated, loved, cherished, and put up on my shelf of pretties ;)
