Raphael finished signing the paperwork for the car rental, after having the company throw in the insurance for free after he growled about the plane that had left them behind. He turned to watch for Leonardo and found the other turtle beside him already.

He paused for a moment as he realized that Leonardo had changed out of his suit and now stood beside him in jeans and a blue polo shirt. A blue shirt that made his blue eyes stand out even more, if that was possible. He still looked rather proper by Raph's standards, but the look suited him. And, Raph could see the appeal in having a couple buttons to undo if given the -

"I thought I should save the suit for my meeting."

Raph turned his attention back to the rental paperwork, having clearly been caught staring again, and then turned away from the desk to lead the way to the exit.

"I hope yer not expectin anything fancy," Raph said, doing his best to ignore those last brain images before his face gave him away any further. "Not a lot of selection here."

"I don't care as long as it's a vehicle capable of taking us up the road." Leo continued to follow him as the signs led them to the location of the rental cars. "You do, though, don't you? You have a thing for cars?"

"I don't know if I'd call it a thing," Raph said with an easy grin. His home island was actually so small that there was no need for cars, although a few families had acquired golf carts. But Raph reveled in any chance to drive a car off island. He stopped now, however, as they reached the exit that would lead them to the rental cars.

The skies were nearly black and the rain was coming down in thick sheets. He glanced over to Leonardo and saw a matching worried look on his face. He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened a weather app. Then wordless showed Leonardo the Doppler map. The storm was large, moving slowly, and unlikely to disappear any time soon.

"What do ya wanna do?"

Leonardo appeared to think about it for a few moments before his face steeled and he met Raph's eyes.

"What's a little water to two turtles? At least its still daylight."

"How can ya tell?" Raph muttered as he glanced up at the skies. He turned back to eye Leonardo again and could tell by his expression that he'd already decided they would be venturing out into the weather. "Okay, Fearless, lets go. Apparently we're burnin daylight standin here."

For that he earned a smile, which sufficiently warmed his insides even as they sprinted out into blistering winds and cold rain. He quickly led them to their assigned car and they both practically dove into it in order to get out of the rain.

"What was that you were saying about a little water?" Raph asked as he pulled at his soaked t-shirt that was plastered to his plastron.

Leonardo was in the process of shoving his suitcase into the backseat, which left him not only halfway twisted over the center console, but also only a few inches away from Raphael. And now Raph had the pleasure of watching Leonardo's blue eyes appraise just how well his short sleeves were currently clinging to his biceps.

Leonardo seemed to catch himself, however, and he untwisted in order to sit in his seat correctly. He kept his eyes off Raphael at that point as he buckled his seat belt.

"That, uh, a little water won't hurt you," Leo finally managed to say before he began busying himself with setting up their destination in the car's GPS.

Raph didn't reply. He only grinned to himself as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the main road. He followed where the GPS led and occasionally glanced over at Leonardo as he drove. The other turtle was staring down at his phone screen again and Raphael left him to it, riding in comfortable silence for almost an hour before he noticed Leonardo frowning.

"What're ya worried about?"

Leonardo sighed without looking at him. "I have to basically make a presentation at this meeting. And I'm not sure I'm ready."

"Even with all the studying I've seen ya do?"

"Well," Leo started but then paused. "I'm trying to sell a product, which is actually really genius in design. But I'm just not the designer. And I'm trying to make sure I can translate all the genius speak I got from the designer so that I do the product justice."

"So yer a salesman?"

"No."

Raphael waited, but Leonardo didn't elaborate further. He wondered if he should push him to open up a little more when Leonardo turned the tables on him and asked him a question.

"So why don't you like to fly?"

"Huh?"

"You were practically mangling the armrests on the plane earlier. So I'm guessing you're not a fan about something plane-related. Maybe heights? Or just flying in general?"

Raph glanced thoughtfully at the other turtle. And not just because Leonardo was spot on in his observations, but also because he hadn't been aware that Leonardo had been paying attention to him at all on the plane.

"Yer right. I hate bein in the air."

"So were you upset we missed the plane for yourself at all? Or just for my sake?"

Raph smiled towards the rain-covered windshield and didn't respond to the question. He had a feeling Leonardo already knew the answer anyway. "Okay, yer not a salesman. Are ya detective, Sherlock?"

Leonardo laughed. "First Fearless and now Sherlock?" Raphael grinned at him in return. "I guess Leonardo is a mouthful. You can call me Leo if you want. Most of my friends do."

"Are we friends now, Leo?"

Leo actually didn't respond right away, but as Raph glanced over at him, he realized he was content enough for now with the smile on Leo's face as an answer. He grinned back at him and then grinned wider as Leo rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and turned his head to look out the window.

"So," Leo said with a quick throat clear of his own, "what do you like to do for fun?"

Raphael had an immediate bashful look as he admitted he liked to swim. People always thought it was funny that the turtle's favorite physical pastime was something as unoriginal as swimming.

"Well, you did grow up on an island," the blue eyed turtle said to him with a knowing look. "I like to swim as well, when I get the chance."

Raph smiled back at Leonardo. But he lost his smile as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Although they were staying steady and straight in their own lane through the downpour, the car next to them was not. Raph swerved as soon as he realized the other car was headed straight for Leo's door. He fought with the steering wheel, but he was no match for a hydroplaning car.

When he next opened his eyes, he found himself in a hospital bed. But even more alarming than that first realization was that Leo was asleep in the hospital bed beside him. He scrambled to sit upright while calling out Leo's name.

Leo's eyes immediately opened and he was up off the other bed in the next moment in order to stand at Raph's bedside. Raph quickly scanned over the other turtle looking for injuries and realized Leo was scanning him just as carefully.

"Are ya okay?"

"I'm fine, Raphael. Not a scratch," Leo assured him.

He squeezed a hand over Raph's shoulder and Raph soon realized that Leo was actually pushing him back, forcing him to lie back on the pillow again. Raph glanced over at the other hospital bed again and Leo was shaking his head before Raph could form the question.

"I just fell asleep over there while I was waiting for you to wake up. How are you feeling?"

He was feeling relief that Leo was alright. But he then allowed himself to pay attention to his own discomforts. His fingers lifted towards a tight spot on his left temple, although Leo's fingers pulled his hand away before he could actually touch the area.

"You have a couple stitches there. You hit your head on the doorframe when that other car hit us. Do you want me to call a nurse for some pain medication?"

Raph glanced up at Leo again and took in the worried look. And the hovering.

"No, I'm okay, Leo. You can relax." The area the stitches were holding together stung slightly, but other than some slight body aches, he wasn't feeling all that terrible.

Leo sat on the edge of his bed, his hip barely brushing Raph's sheet-covered hip. And while he was no longer hovering, he still looked just as worried.

"I'm really sorry, Raphael. It was my idea to drive in that mess - ,"

"Leo - ,"

"And that car was headed towards my side of the car, Raphael. I saw it. Your quick reflexes saved me, but – ,"

"Leo, seriously -,"

"- you got hurt instead."

Raph sighed and took in the pitiful look on the other turtle's face. He reached a hand out and was happy when one of Leo's hands immediately joined his.

"You can call me Raph," he said after a moment. "That's what my friends call me."

He watched the stress ease out of Leo's shoulders as the other turtle let himself relax there on Raph's bedside. Leo's fingers squeezed his hand and he squeezed right back, reassuring Leo that he should drop the guilt.

"You're sure you're alright?"

Raph nodded. "Tough shells are just one advantage to being a turtle, right?" He shifted slightly in the bed and looked around the room for a clock. When he didn't find one, he asked Leo for the time.

Leo pulled his phone from his pocket and actually yawned as he answered. "It's about 3 a.m."

"Shit." Raph almost tried to sit up again as he realized just how long he'd been out and what that meant for Leo's schedule. "Yer meeting."

Leo tried to soothe him as he pressed Raph back against the pillow again. "Its fine, Raph. I made some phone calls earlier. I mean, I'm sure I look like an unprofessional child now that I've rescheduled once again, but the meeting has been moved back another day."

"Didja tell em you were in a car accident?"

Leo nodded. "Which sounds completely credible I'm sure after my first excuse."

"It's not an excuse if it's true." He paused as he thought about what Leo had just said. "What'd ya tell em the first time?"

"The truth of course," Leo said with a sudden teasing smile on his face. "That I got off the plane to have a drink with a good-looking stranger and the plane took off without me."

Raph flushed and he found himself tightening his hold on Leo's hand. "Ya didn't say it like that."

Leo laughed and the sound made Raph forget about his current aches.

"No, not exactly like that. But even if they do believe me, they probably think I'm cursed when it comes to travel."

Raphael frowned at that. "The car is totaled?"

Leo nodded. "Yes, but I called the rental agency and thanks to the insurance you signed up for, they're bringing us a new one in the morning. Although, I guess it is morning, so make that in a few hours."

"Will I be breakin out of here by then?"

"According to the doctor, if you woke up overnight, they'd let you go in the morning. Hey, do you have anyone you want me to call? Anyone that would be worried about you?"

"Nah. I called my sister earlier and she thinks I'm spending the night in Seattle tonight anyway. I'll call her later to tell her it'll be another day."

He felt Leo's thumb begin to rub over the back of his hand, and found the gesture, as well as Leo's calming blue eyes pinned on him, so relaxing that he actually began to blink to keep his eyes open.

"Will you sleep if I sleep?"

"I guess."

He wasn't sure how to keep Leo next to him, while also allowing Leo to rest as well, so he had no good response when Leo's hand left his and Leo's weight left his bed to move back to the other bed. But his eyes closed against his will and he was soon back to sleep.