Raph preferred sleeping in a bed versus the mound of hay and blankets that he and Leo had managed to pull together up in the barn loft. But he had to admit that there was something nice about waking up with Leonardo clinging to him for warmth. Summer or not, it became chilly overnight. And he could tell in his half-asleep state that Leo had practically crawled underneath him to try to escape the cool air.
He momentarily hoped the kids had all been warm enough through the night but dismissed the thought when he thought of the fur that covered each and every one of them.
He opened his eyes and found that Leo was, of course, already awake. Raph knew if Leo hadn't been freezing he probably would've gotten out of bed to head off for his morning meditation by now.
Raph smiled down at him and began pressing kisses to Leo's cold, pitiful face as he ran his hands up and down Leo's arms to try to warm them.
"Come on," he whispered as he stood up. He grabbed one of their blankets and then watched Leo shiver and stand as well so that he could quickly press himself back into Raph's side.
Raph wrapped the blanket around both their shoulders and then led them quietly out of the barn. They walked through the cold, wet grass down to the water where he spread the blanket out and then planted them down in a spot the rising sun was just beginning to reach.
"What are we doing down here?" Leo asked, shivering again.
Raph wrapped his arm around Leo's shell and rested his head on Leo's shoulder, situating himself before he spoke. "You get a little antsy when you don't meditate in the morning. So go for it."
"Are you going to meditate?"
"No. I'm going back to sleep," Raph said through a yawn. "But I will sit here and keep you warm."
Leo pressed his lips to Raph's forehead. He'd never had someone draped over him while meditating before but there was no way he was giving up the heat coming off of Raphael. He smiled to himself as he began to calm his breathing.
Master Splinter watched them through the window in his farmhouse bedroom with a small smile on his lips.
They had already said goodbye to Usagi and the color-coded bunnies when everyone began loading up the vehicles to go home.
Donnie found Sadie standing on the front porch and he wrapped his arms around her as he came up behind her.
"Did you get your coffee?" he asked.
He heard her laugh and then say, "Yes, I've had my coffee. Not that I depend on it, at all, to be a normal person in the morning."
"Oh no, of course not," Donnie said, laughing as he thought about how completely non-functional she was without morning coffee. He glanced out to the front yard to see what had caught Sadie's attention and found April dancing with Machi.
When the rescue group had left for Usagi's dimension to find Leo, Donnie had wondered why April had so quickly accepted that she was going to be left behind. But once Leo had been found and returned, April and Casey had shared their exciting news that she was pregnant. April was the first pregnant woman he and his brothers had ever seen and Donnie caught himself, and his brothers, staring at her stomach as it grew.
But April certainly wasn't the first pregnant woman Sadie had ever seen and he was left wondering if it was the round stomach that had her attention or just the dance she'd made up with Machi. He leaned his head down and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before leaving her to put their suitcase in the shellraiser.
Once they were back in their own apartment that morning, Raph gave Machi a bath and then ordered Akito into the shower as he went in search of Leo. He was alarmed to find Leo at the kitchen counter, appearing for all intents and purposes as if he was making food.
"What are you doing out here?"
"Mikey said he would disown me as his brother if, as an expert swordsman, I couldn't manage to spread peanut butter and jelly onto bread using a tiny sword," Leo responded with his shell still to Raphael. He lifted the knife he was using over his shoulder to Raph for emphasis.
"He challenged you over something that involves feeding our children?" Raph growled as he walked over to the counter to eye Leo's progress. He was expecting a disaster but the picture on the countertop actually looked pretty normal. Plus there were no appliances involved. And in truth, Leo should be perfectly capable of using the so-called tiny sword.
"Well, I am the one who is home with them for lunch," Leo said, finishing up with the jelly and pressing the two sandwiches together before cutting them in half. "Plus, I can also manage cutting up fruit." He grinned over at Raph.
Raphael grinned back. "Will Machi eat peanut butter and jelly?"
"I think the point we need to focus on," Leo said, raising a finger, "is that I made them lunch, using a sword-,"
"Knife."
"-by myself."
Raph pressed his plastron against Leo's shell, effectively trapping Leo against the counter, and gripped Leo's bandana tails so he could pull his head back far enough to plant a kiss on the side of Leo's face. "Twenty-five years old and you finally learned how to make a sandwich. It's ridiculous how impressed I am right now."
Leo tried to stifle a gasp as he felt Raph's fingers pull on his tail. "I hear that lunch meat is even easier," he said in a fast exhale. "No utensils required at all."
Raph huffed out a laugh before quickly releasing Leo. Leo's breathing was altered and he wanted to scowl at Raphael for teasing him. He refrained only because he could also hear Machi's footsteps before she rounded the corner into the kitchen.
"Lunchtime, Akito!" Raph called out as he picked Machi up and settled her in her seat at the table. He sat down next to her and grinned again at Leo as he set the kids' plates on the table.
"If you don't eat this, I will," Raph said, pretending to try to steal some of Machi's food. It was the newest trick they'd all learned to get to her to eat. And it worked. For now.
"I'm going out for a run," Leo said, strapping his katana to his back as he stood by their apartment entrance. He glanced over to Raphael and watched the emerald hands tighten into fists as a slightly panicked look reached his eyes.
Since his return, Leo hadn't pushed to leave the building by himself often. He could feel the worry that rolled off of Raphael and he didn't want to distress his favorite turtle. But Leo was accustomed to running almost daily. Add in that the brothers weren't patrolling as often as they used to and Leo's muscles were becoming restless. He tried to compare it to Raph's need to head to the dojo to lift weights every day but that analogy didn't deter Raph's fears.
Raph glanced over at the kids who were currently watching a Space Heroes episode. He frowned for a moment, wondering how they could be watching the show when Raph was pretty damn sure he'd destroyed, secretly of course, all of Leo's old DVDs of the show when they'd moved out of the lair.
"Want someone to come with you?" Raph asked, suddenly wondering if it was fair to ask Master Splinter to come watch the kids every day just because he didn't like their current clan leader going out by himself. And if he had to stay behind with the kids, maybe Donnie or Mike could –
"No," Leo said, walking up to Raphael. When not on patrol, running was a solitary activity for Leo and he preferred to do it alone. He slid a hand along Raph's face. "I'll stick to the sewers." It was a silent compromise and he watched Raph's eyes accept it before he offered a small nod in return. He smiled and kissed Raph quickly before giving both kids quick hugs, while hiding his smirk about the TV show, before heading out to the elevator and down to the sewers.
Once in the sewers, he immediately took off in sprint. He was soon covered in a layer of sweat and could feel the still-tight muscles in his previously injured side start to loosen up the longer he ran.
Since moving into Donnie's building, he hadn't had much of a chance to explore the surrounding sewer tunnels and took the opportunity to do so now. He made a mental note to go back to his old basketball court and collect the ball and net in order to relocate them somewhere closer. Its current location was too far to run if he wanted to have any energy by the time he reached it. Plus, he knew Raph would appreciate him not going so far out.
Sensing someone nearby, he stopped suddenly, unsheathed his katana and spun around. His eyes widened.
"Hello, Leo."
"Karai."
