Hello all! This is a one shot Stealthy Stories challenge.
This story takes place in 'The Proposition' Universe between the last chapter and the Epilogue. But you do not have to read the fic to get this one. For anyone who is reading 'Rogue' And 'Vicissitude' The OC is the same but it is a Different Universe.
And a big giant thank you to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this fic for me! You Rock!
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys!
(Oh an there aren't any tests 1 or 2, I just liked the title);)
Trial by Drugstore: Or Boyfriend Test #3
Donatello finished stuffing the rest of his clothes into his duffel bag and zipped it up. He flung it over his shoulder as he surveyed his room to make sure he had everything he needed.
He was going to spend the week with Katherine and he was excited about spending some alone time with her. She had taken the week off and he planned to make use of every single minute of their free time.
He walked from his room and waved goodbye to Michelangelo who was sitting on the couch playing a video game of some sort.
"Bye Mikey, I'll see you on Sunday." He said to his baby brother.
"I don't see why you haven't moved in with Kitten yet." Michelangelo said as he shoved a mouthful of popcorn into his mouth.
Donatello found himself blushing. He and Katherine had been going out for 3 months now, and he knew that he and Katherine would have to make the next step in their relationship eventually. That and the two hour drive was getting tedious.
"I don't know Mikey." He said as he shifted the bag on his shoulder.
"You worried about Kitten, Raph, or just leaving the lair?" Michelangelo asked pausing his game and turning to him in question.
He sighed. "All three Mikey." He admitted.
Michelangelo grinned. "You tell Raph that you're spending the week with Kitten?"
"No, and I am trying to get out of here before he figures it out." Donatello said in irritation.
Michelangelo snorted. "It isn't like he can't just show up to throw a crimp in whatever plans you and Kitten have." Michelangelo pointed out.
"I know!" He said in in frustration. "I thought Raph would have given up by now."
"Donny, they dated for a little over a year and he never stopped loving her, and he knows that Kitten still loves him." Michelangelo said helpfully.
Donatello sighed in resignation. "I know Mikey, but Katherine and I are together now."
Michelangelo shrugged. "So tell Raph he has to back off."
"I would Mikey, but it isn't like he is actually doing anything. He's just…always around." He said in frustration.
Michelangelo turned back around and un-paused his game. "Have fun Donny" He said with a wide grim.
Donatello frowned at his baby brother in suspicion. "Tell Leo where I am when he gets back." He said as Michelangelo just waved him off.
He sighed and shook his head. He walked through his lab to where the truck was stored. His eyes searched their garage for the truck and realized that it was gone. He slapped his forehead as he realized that Leonardo had taken it when he had gone to see Karai.
It was then that he realized that they needed to get at least one more vehicle. They were so used to going everywhere together, that now that they weren't and had begun to have separate lives, they were going to need a way to be able to get around.
His eyes briefly strayed to Raphael's bike. He took a step towards it.
"Whatchya doin' genius?" Raphael's low even voice slid over his shoulder.
His shoulder's slumped in resignation. "Hey Raph." He said softly.
"You weren't gonna try takin my bike, were you Donny?" Raphael asked softly.
"I need to borrow your bike Raph." He said softly.
"Nope." Raphael said as he walked from behind him and walked to his bike.
Donatello clenched his teeth together in irritation. "I built that bike Raph."
"And you gave it to me Donny." Raphael pointed out reasonably as he leaned against his bike, crossing his arms across his chest and grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Can I please take your bike to Katherine's." He asked politely. Hoping his brother would just give him a break. He was set to be disappointed as Raphael shook his head.
"I'll tell you what Donny." Raphael said smugly. "I'll let you take my bike, if you let me tag along."
"No. Katherine and I are wanting to spend a week alone for once Raph." He growled at his brother.
Raphael shrugged. "Bike or no bike Donny, your choice."
He ground his teeth together. "I'll just wait until Leo gets home." He said as he crossed his own arms over his chest.
Raphael grinned more broadly. "Leo and Karai took the truck and went camping for two weeks. Weren't you listening when Leo told you that?"
Donatello felt his mouth open and then shut in surprise. He remembered Leonardo had told him something, but…"Fine." He ground out. Raphael could hang out with them all day, every day for all Donatello cared, but Raphael had to go to bed sometime and so did he and Katherine.
Raphael pulled his backpack from behind the bike and flung it over his shoulders. He put a leg over his bike, pulling his helmet over his head. "You comin' Donny?" Raphael asked.
Donatello took a step towards the bike, pulling out his cell as he hopped on the back of the bike.
"Hey Katherine." He listened to her talk for a moment. "Yes, we're still here." He answered.
He glared at the back of his brother's helmet . "Yes, he's coming." He grumbled into the phone.
He sighed. "Sure." He said when she asked him if he would do her a huge favour.
He listened as she told him the exact nature of his errand and he felt himself go hot with embarrassment. "Katherine, I don't..." He stammered. She pleaded with him and he capitulated. She asked him if he understood what she had wanted and he numbly nodded. Realizing she couldn't see this action he responded with a strained 'Yes' into the phone. "I love you too." He said to her as he hung up the phone.
He tapped his phone against his beak in thought and broke into a grin. "Hey Raph, Katherine wants you to pick something up for her."
Raphael looked over his shoulder and looked as him best as he could. Raphael flipped the visor of his helmet up. "Yeah?" He asked in confusion.
Donatello nodded. If Raphael was going to tag along he might as well be useful. Besides, Raphael tended to be more comfortable with going into human stores than he was. "Just drive us to the nearest drugstore...or supermarket." He informed his brother who nodded as he flipped his visor back down. Donatello put his own helmet on and adjusted his duffel bag.
Raphael kick started the bike and they roared from the lair.
Donatello looked at the illuminated lights of the nearest drug store with a mixture of trepidation and resignation.
Raphael waited until he hopped off the bike before putting the kickstand down and climbing off the bike. Raphael pulled his helmet off and surveyed the parking lot and the front of the store while pulling his hood over his head and placing his sunglasses over his eyes.
"So what does Kitten want me to grab?" Raphael asked as he started walking to the door. Donatello pulled his own hood over his head and covered his eyes with his sunglasses.
"A box of tampons and a box of maxi pads." He answered as his brother put his hand on the door. His brother froze and pulled his hand away from the door as if it had burned him. Raphael stalked back towards him.
"She wants what?" Raphael growled in a low dangerous voice.
"You heard me, and Raph, Katherine really appreciates you doing this." Donatello said as he fought the urge to grin at Raphael's predicament. Donatello couldn't see Raphael's eyes because of his dark glasses, but his mouth formed a grimace as his brother no doubt fought with himself. On the one hand Raphael couldn't say no to Katherine, on the other, Raphael was not going to be eager to fulfill the request.
"Fine, I'll go buy the stuff." Raphael said with a smug grin.
"Y...you will?" He said in surprise.
"Sure Donny. You break up with Kitten and I'll buy her the stuff. " Raphael said with a shrug.
Donatello glared at his older brother. "Funny."
Raphael just shrugged as he leaned up against the seat of his bike.
Donatello looked at the door and swallowed. Raphael sighed and shook his head. "Come on Donny." Raphael said as he reached out and grabbed the front of Donatello's coat, dragging him towards the door. He struggled against his brother, but Raphael was by far the bigger and stronger of the two of them.
"Raph, you know how much I hate going into human stores." He hissed at his brother as he was dragged through the automatic doors and into the bright interior of the drugstore.
"Suck it up Donny, you're her boyfriend, not me." Raphael growled as he let go of the front of his coat.
Donatello followed Raphael as he began searching the signs above the aisles. "We go in, we get out." Raphael said as he finally managed to spot the sign above the correct aisle.
Donatello nodded as he was momentarily distracted by the razors and shaving cream to his right. He had never used a razor before and the process was somehow fascinating to him.
Raphael had stopped beside him and was waiting patiently. The store was quiet and sparsely populated with customers which allowed him to relax slightly.
"Kitten is usually good about this sort of thing. She never got me to pick anything up for her, ever." Raphael said to him.
Donatello shrugged. "She said something about them not having the right kind?" He said with a confused shake of his head.
Raphael frowned. "How many kinds can there be?" Raphael said, raising an eye ridge in question.
Donatello shrugged. "I wouldn't think many. All are designed to perform the same basic function."
"Right." Raphael said as he looked down the aisle. "You done starin' at the stuff we don't ever have to worry about?" Raphael asked in slight irritation.
"You ever wonder if Katherine ever thinks what it would be like to be with a human?" Donatello asked his brother.
Raphael rubbed the bridge of his beak knocking his sunglasses slightly askew. "You want to ask me if my ex-girlfriend, who is now your girlfriend, thinks about bein' with other guys?" Raphael asked him in disbelief.
Donatello opened his mouth and snapped it shut again. No, he didn't want Raphael to contemplate the question because it would force Raphael to think about the fact that even though he was still in love with Katherine, Raphael was no longer with her, Donatello was. "Forget I asked." He said hastily.
Raphael placed an arm around Donatello's shoulder. "But truthfully Donny, I think Kitten's one of those women who, once they go mutant turtle, they can never go back." Raphael said in a conspirator whisper.
"Raph...Katherine's never been with a human." He pointed out.
"But she could have been Donny. For the 6 months that me and Kitten were broken up for, she never dated a human guy, then she started datin' you Donny." His brother pointed out.
"I...it wasn't like that Raph. Don't act like it was my fault that you two broke up." He said in irritation.
Raphael's eyes shifted away in regret. "I know it was my fault Donny. I hit her, of course she left. All I am sayin' is," Raphael paused his regret quickly being replaced by mischief. "That I ruined her for humans."
Donatello rolled his eyes and pushed his brother away. "Let's just get the stuff and get out." He said with irritation as he strode down the aisle.
Raphael walked beside him a smile on his face. "After all, there's only four of us. And Leo's taken so that just leaves you and Mikey she could have fallen back on. And well, Mikey is Mikey, so that just left you Donny."
"Raphael, close your beak." He snapped angrily.
Raphael chuckled and then swore.
Donatello frowned and followed his brother's gaze. He looked at the shelves in shock. There were shelves and shelves of different brands and different types of both pads and tampons.
"Okay genius, which ones did Kitten want?" Raphael asked him.
Donatello just shook his head. "I..." He blushed with embarrassment. "I tuned her out."
"You did what?" Raphael asked in shock.
"I just, I got so embarrassed I just kind of...stopped listening." He said awkwardly.
Raphael sighed. "Well give her a call, and then let's get out of here." Raphael said as he looked up and down the aisle.
Donatello just stood there looking dumfounded at all of the 'feminine hygiene' products. "I can't call her Raph. I told her I knew what she had asked for." He said softly.
"Still trying to impress her Donny?" Raphael asked with a smile.
"Shut up Raph." He grumbled as he scanned the shelves for anything that looked remotely familiar.
"Kitten's not easily impressed you know." Raphael paused for a moment before turning serious. "No, that's not true. She gets impressed by weird stuff. No, not weird, just...I suppose you never can tell with her. She is amazed by the sunset and butterflies and the stars at night, and a bunch of other stuff. I remember I always tried to impress her with how strong I was, or how many push ups I could do. She never seemed to care about that, but it did used to make her smile." He said softly.
Donatello flicked a quick glance at his brother as he felt a twinge of guilt for dating the woman his brother loved.
"Though," Raphael began, a grin replacing his serious expression. "She always was impressed at how big I was."
Donatello turned his attention to his brother and frowned in confusion. His brother was slightly taller and more bulky that he was...His mind finally got what Raphael was alluding to. "Raph! Katherine is my girlfriend." He hissed.
"And my ex." Raphael said with a nod. "You ever wonder if you measure up?" Raphael said as he crossed his arms over his chest, a mocking grin on his face.
Donatello ground his teeth together in irritation. The problem was that he had wondered. He had asked Katherine once, but she wouldn't tell. But she hadn't ever complained either, and Katherine was never one to mince words. If she was unhappy, you'd hear about it, whether you wanted to or not.
"Raph, why are you being such an ass?" He asked his brother.
Raphael shrugged. "You broke brother code and guy code. I'm entitled."
Donatello clamped his teeth together in irritation and sighed. "Fine." He said determined to ignore his brother's jabs, only because he did have a valid point. "Any of these look familiar?" He asked as he picked up a blue box.
Raphael turned his attention back to the task at hand and scanned the shelves. "Donny I know there were boxes that made their way into our bathroom when Kitten would stay over, but I kinda ignored them."
Donatello sighed. The problem was that he couldn't fault his brother. He ignored all of Katherine's 'feminine products' as well. "Okay, lets go with process of elimination."
"Donny that will take forever." Raphael complained. "Just call Kitten, otherwise we could be here all night."
He sighed. Raphael was right. He pulled his cell from his pants pocket and dialled her number. Unfortunately it rang until the answering machine picked up. He tried her cell and got the same result. "She's not picking up. She may be outside, or in the shower or something."
"Great." Raphael grumbled. "I say we just grab something and go."
"Raph, Katherine sent us here to specifically pick up one of these because her drugstore didn't have what she needed. Come on Raph, we can figure this out."
"Okay Donny, but let me ask you this. This one here, says it has wings. What the hell does it need wings for? It ain't like they fly."
Donatello looked at the package and diagram in confusion.
"And this one here, says overnight, extra thin, heavy flow. Ewh. Then this one says liner. What the hell is the difference between a liner and a pad. They both do the same thing!" Raphael said with exasperation.
"I am a dead turtle." Donatello moaned. It was then a light bulb went off in his head. He took his cell out of his pocket again and dialed.
"Hey Casey, is April around?" He asked. "Great I need to talk to her."
"What's up Donny?" April asked as she got on the line.
Donatello put his cell on speaker, but turned the volume down. "I have an emergency." He said into the phone.
"Are you hurt?" April's voice was suddenly full of worry.
"Uh...no." He could feel his blush rising up his cheeks."Katherine asked me to pick up some...stuff for her, but I don't know which one to pick."
Donatello could hear April's pause. "Soooo, why don't you call her?" April asked in confusion.
"She's not answering her phone." He replied.
"So why are you calling me?" She asked.
Raphael sighed and grabbed the phone. "Kitten wants us to pick up some feminine products and genius here didn't pay attention to which ones he was supposed to grab."
"Raph?" April asked.
"Yup, I'm here." Raphael grumbled.
"Raph are you trying to spoil Donny's weekend again?" She asked her voice turning stern.
"Hey don't blame me, I am just givin' my brother a lift." He said innocently.
"Wait, did you say Katherine needed some feminine products?" April asked finally paying attention to what they had asked her.
"Yes April." Donatello said to her.
"So you and Raph are standing in the middle of a drug store in front of the pads and tampons?" April questioned in shock.
"We just need you to tell us which ones to buy and we can leave." Raphael cut in.
April suddenly burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." April apologized between gasps of laughter.
"Yes, haha, hilarious. Come on April, focus." Raphael snapped.
April stopped laughing, but Donatello could still hear the smile in her voice. "Well what did she ask for?" April questioned.
"Pad and tampons." Donatello said into the phone. "But there are like a million different kinds." He said in frustration.
"Liners, pads, wings, no wings, overnight! I mean, where do I even start?" He asked with desperation.
"Well, does she have a problem with a heavy flow?" April asked.
Donatello shared a look with Raphael. "Uh...?"
"You'd know if she did. Okay just look for the box labelled regular with wings. I don't know who would by them without wings."
"Okay found one." Donatello said triumphantly.
"Here's one too Donny." Raphael said as he held up a black box.
"It doesn't matter what brand. In a pinch it will do." April said into the phone.
"Okay, now regular, light, heavy, tween, compact, pearl applicator. What is an applicator for?" Donatello asked in confusion as he moved onto the tampons.
"This one doesn't have an applicator." Raphael said picking up a white box and frowning.
April informed them what an applicator was used for. He looked at Raphael.
"I liked this whole thing better when I didn't know anything about it." Raphael said with a shake of his head. "It happens a week later everything is back to normal, much better."
"Being a woman sucks Raph." April said into the phone. "Just be lucky you don't have to go through with it every month."
"April." He said into the phone trying to pull April's attention back to the task at hand.
"Regular with an applicator. Not the compact ones. Again, doesn't matter the brand. I mean every woman has her preferences, but I think Katherine will understand if you didn't get exactly what she was looking for." April told him.
"Thanks April." Donatello said as he hung up the phone.
"Let's get outta here." Raphael grumbled as they headed towards the front of the store to pay. There was one person in front of them and Donatello shrank back a little.
Raphael perused the shelves near the checkout and selected a dark chocolate bar, throwing it on the belt.
He looked at it in confusion. Raphael did not like dark chocolate. The cashier greeted them and Donatello pulled the hood more over his eyes. The cashier just smirked probably thinking he was embarrassed rather than uncomfortable being in the human store.
Raphael threw down some money and grabbed their bag, Donatello following his brother out of the store.
"Okay so why the chocolate bar?" Donatello asked his brother.
"Kitten craves chocolate during this time of the month. She doesn't get cranky or anything, just eats chocolate." He said as he stowed the bag in his backpack and threw his leg over his bike.
Donatello hopped on the back of the bike. "Thank Raph." He said softly as he and his brother pulled their helmets over their heads.
Raphael looked over his shoulder pulling his visor up. "I didn't do it for you genius, I figure Kitten will appreciate it." Donatello narrowed his eyes at his brother who he could see was grinning broadly by the wrinkles that formed in his mask. "Besides, this made my night. No, my week."
Donatello looked at his brother in confusion. "Whyyyy? He asked suspiciously.
"Because, I know you ain't getting laid for the next week." Raphael said with a chuckle as he slammed his visor down and started the bike. The roar of the engine cutting off Donatello's swearing.
Reviews and opinions are always welcome!
And I know Raph was really riding Donny pretty hard, but I think he has a pretty good excuse=) And he has his slight redeeming moments. (The ones where you can see that Raph realy does love Katherine.)
For those of you who have read 'The Proposition' I really wanted to show the bickering that Michelangelo was refering to during the Epilogue, and how thigs had actually changed.