Thanks for all the reviews guys, hope you enjoy!

Aotearoa- by Minuit, it's a song that reminds me of this couple that I wrote in the first ficlet featuring them being broken and apart, and trying to pick up the pieces to get back together. It's a good song, check it out… but on a happier note, let's keep going with the fic that started it all! ;p

Dis: Don't own TMNT.

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Raphael hated being played a fool. Mikey was all too aware of that fact with the permanent beating he dished on his youngest bro but this attack had come from Don: someone he hadn't expected it from. Angered, he'd been hell bent on teaching his brother a lesson, but seeing the flash of dark hair he'd changed tactics. He could always find Don later: because now? He was on the heels of Casey's cousin: a woman he'd found sexy as hell from the first moment he caught a glimpse of her at Casey's. Oh, he wasn't stupid; he knew someone like that wouldn't give him the time of day. He already figured out that unless he found someone like him, he was going to be alone. It didn't really bother him, not until he found someone he actually wanted to pursue. It stung now even more than ever because now she knew of him. Talked and laughed with him, drank with him… TOUCHED him, and was now playing a game with him. He could tell she knew he was following her by her laughter as well as the way she was weaving back and forth. With a burst of speed he snaked an arm around her waist then pulled her around, schooling his features to be free of any vulnerability before meeting eyes with her.

"Got'cha!"

Her cheeks were flushed from the run, hair slightly disheveled from the breeze, and her chest rose and fell with gasping breaths. She looked nervous, as if afraid of his reaction to her little joke. Good. He didn't want her knowing of his feelings for her, which would just be awkward.

"Raph!" she said, laughter now in her tone as she brought her hands up on his shoulders to brace herself.

"Dats my name."

"What's up?" she asked nonchalantly. "Decided to join me on my run?"

"Don't be cute," he muttered, fighting the blush that wanted to spread on his cheeks for calling this woman cute. Luckily the darkness helped shroud any sort of blush that would escape the inexperienced turtle. "I know what ya did."

"Pretty funny, huh?" she asked with a grin and he released her because seeing her smile like that did things to his insides that he didn't like. Ok, ok, maybe he liked it but he wasn't liking the fact that it was happening with her so damned close to him!

"No. It woulda been more funny if you'd let me in on it," he growled.

"Hey! At least you didn't run away screaming like a girl," said Zoey, running a hand through her hair.

"True. Mikey had dat covered."

"Yeah. YOU just ran," said Zoey smugly, making his eyes narrow as he rose a hand to point at her.

"It's called making a tactical retreat. I was, uh, gettin' some weapons before…" he trailed off.

"Before attacking my speakers?" asked Zoey innocently, making him growl and her laugh. "Would it help you to know Donatello was more than a little scared to go up against you?"

"No." Maybe a little. "It wouldn't."

"Sour puss," said Zoey, turning her back to him and continuing her trek through the woods, this time walking. Having nothing better to do he followed her. It was dark out, and large animals wandered the woods, so he couldn't just leave her out there alone. Right?

Besides, he liked the woods at night. Looking up through the branches of the trees one could see the half-moon glowing brightly through small wisps of dark clouds. Stars dotted the sky and that along with the smell of pine left Raphael with an odd sense of peace.

"Nice, huh?" she asked, stepping over a large stick that cracked under her foot. "The night time?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "Really the only time I go out other than when I'm here."

"Honestly? If I could choose only one, I'd choose the night. It's… peaceful. Plus, I can stare at the moon all I want without fear of burning out my retinas."

Once again Raphael chuckled. He was walking by her easily now. He knew where she was headed. Within moments the pond came into view. The little dock was still there that Casey said he and his dad built ages ago and Zoey eagerly stepped onto it, avoiding the small holes until coming to the edge of it. Raphael stood beside her and they were surrounded by the sounds of chirping crickets, croaking frogs, and splashing fish and turtles in the pond. Zoey soon sat and he followed the dock wide enough to fit the both of them side by side, and within seconds they both had their feet cooling in the water. Algae hadn't covered the entire pond but Zoey didn't mind trailing her toes through what was there as well as bumping them against the lily pads.

"I'm sorry I played the prank on you," said Zoey, tilting her head to look up at him. "I was doing it mainly to get back at Mikey."

"With Don being involved I'm bettin' some of it was about me for sprayin' him," said Raphael, turning his amber eyes, which almost glowed in the moonlight, onto her.

"I talked him into it?" she asked, trying to cover for his brother, making him feel a little bit of respect for her.

"Fine. I won't pummel him," he said, scissoring his legs in the water. "Be lucky I don't throw ya in here either."

"Oh, Raph, you wouldn't!" she gasped, giving him a mock pout that had his eyes zeroing in on her bottom lip.

"Oh, trust me, I would," he growled, not really thinking about tossing her in anymore but OTHER things. Clearing his head from those thoughts he gave her a gentle shove with his shoulder. "But not tonight."

"Oh, thank you for your consideration," she said, rolling her blue eyes.

They sat in silence for a while longer until he saw her shiver. It had grown a little colder in the time they were out there and he carefully brought out his hand to touch her cool shoulder.

"Yer cold. We should head back."

"Yeah…" She splashed her feet around a little more before rising, easily putting her flip-flops back on. "We should."

"How da hell did ya run in DOZE things?" he asked making her laugh as they maneuvered down the dock.

"Pure luck?"

"Right…" He rolled his eyes and she shrugged her shoulders. They didn't talk on the trek back. When Raphael emerged from the woods and stopped in his tracks when seeing a pacing Donatello and a worried looking Michelangelo on the porch with Leo sitting there on a chair. Raphael couldn't help but to roll his eyes and he muttered under his breath: "Fer fucksakes."

"What is it?" asked Zoey.

"They probably think I murdered ya in da woods fer yer little stunt ya pulled."

"Really?"

He rolled his eyes, arms crossing over his chest, already turning defensive. ONE word about what he DID to her and he was punching someone. HARD. He jumped slightly when her arm curved around his elbow and soon they were walking arm in arm toward his now flabbergasted brothers.

"Thanks for walking with me Raphael," said Zoey once they got to the porch, slowly releasing his arm and once again his insides shivered with pleasure while her fingertips lingered on his skin.

"Uh, no problem," he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Goodnight boys," she said with a wave before disappearing inside.

Raphael turned to his brothers with a raised brow. Leonardo looked suspicious. Donatello looked confused. Michelangelo was just standing there like a knucklehead but he was the first to speak.

"Dude! What the hell?"

Raphael's answer? A shrug. Then he followed Zoey into the house, leaving his brothers to figure out their thoughts on their own.

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Zoey woke up slowly, turning to her side and pulling the blankets closer to her, not sure if she wanted to get up yet. Burrowing further into her pillow she sighed contently taking in the peace and quiet of the house. That, of course, was what got her peeking open an eye to look at the time. It was a little after eleven and she got over the initial shock of sleeping in so late when taking in the complete SILENCE of the house. Where WAS everyone? The lingering smell of sausage let her know Mikey must've already cooked breakfast so if he was up and at it… Why was it so quiet?

Curiosity had her leaving the warmth of her bed and going to her window to look out. There was no one there in the front lawn and both the van and her fixed car were parked side by side. Running a hand through her hair she combed out the tangles with her fingers before pulling her hair up into a sloppy bun. Quickly sliding on some deodorant and changing into a bra and new light blue top she kept her pajama shorts on and slipped her feet into her warm, white slippers before opening her door. She peeked into the hall, making sure Mikey wasn't there to sneak attack her with some prank. Seeing that it was safe she opened the door the rest of the way. Fully determined to see what was with the silence she went down the stairs and headed to the kitchen where she saw April reading a baby book, a large glass of water with sliced lemons in it at her side.

"Morning," greeted Zoey.

"Hey," said April with a smile. "There's some sausage in the fridge. It took all of Mikey's willpower not to wake you up. Well, that and the threat of a pregnant woman going postal on him with hormones."

The two women laughed while Zoey rummaged in the fridge and found a plate of sausage as well as the container of orange juice. April closed her book and rested her cheek against a closed fist, studying her friend. Zoey didn't notice her stare until turning away from the microwave with her warmed up sausage as well as a large glass of orange juice.

"What?" asked Zoey as her toast popped up. She set her stuff on the table then grabbed her toast along with some peanut butter and honey.

"Nothing. I heard about the prank yesterday from Casey... He wouldn't shut up about it the big baby."

"He did run screaming like a girl," said Zoey with a smirk, lathering her toast with the PB.

"I heard Raph went looking for you though," said April.

Zoey shrugged a shoulder.

"He didn't do anything. Why was everyone so worried?"

"Raph has a slight temper and sometimes it gets out of hand…"

"Oh." Zoey bit her bottom lip while drizzling the honey on the toast. "He was fine last night. I could tell he wasn't happy with the prank but he didn't DO anything except threaten to toss me in the pond the next time I pulled something like that again."

"Oh. Ok. It's just-"

"Has he ever made a move to hurt you, April?" asked Zoey, truly inquiring on if there was some reason everyone had feared for her safety last night.

"What? No!"

"Then why are you all so worried about me?" asked Zoey, still not looking at her, just sitting at the table, looking down at her food. "He has a temper, fine. So does Casey, and you know it. Has he ever tried to hurt you?"

"Casey? No, he'd never…" April bit her bottom lip, seeing where Zoey was getting at.

"From what I saw yesterday, yeah, he may get a little rough with his brothers or other assholes like the Dragon's he saved my dumb cousin from but… Like last night, I could tell he was pissed but he never once raised a hand at me in an aggressive manner. You… You should learn to trust him better than that."

With that said Zoey left the kitchen with her plate of food and glass of juice and headed to the front porch, leaving April behind. What she and April were unaware of was the fact that Raphael had been standing just outside the doorway the entire time. Hearing April talk like that hurt him but hearing Zoey, someone he's only known for a short time, defend him like that... Made him start to wonder if things could be possible between them or if she was just defending a friend. Well, of course she was defending a new friend, but maybe if he pushed a little harder…

Noticing her start to gather her stuff from the table Raphael used his ninja training to rush up the stairs without making a sound and just as she made it to the front door he started to walk down, acting like it was just now that he'd rolled out of bed instead of twenty minutes ago.

"Hey!" she said, greeting him with a smile. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Mhm." She opened the door to see Donatello sitting on the porch, bent over some gadget on the small table, taking up a lot of room but there was just enough for her to put her small plate on. "There's some food in the kitchen. Join me?"

"Yeah," he said, acting nonchalant. "Why not?"

So while she went to go sit by Don he entered the kitchen. His eyes met April's and he looked away before she could see any sort of hurt feelings on his part. However, he must not have been fast enough.

"Raph…" she started, sounding sad and upset that he'd heard her.

"Don't worry about it," he said, grabbing an apple from the counter then opening the fridge to take out a can of soda. "I get what you were tryin' ta do."

"I'm sorry, it's just-"

"I'd neva hurt her," he said seriously, keeping his shell to April, before rushing out of the kitchen to the front porch where Zoey and Don were talking about her car.

Which left April sitting in the kitchen feeling like a complete and total ass.

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Raphael could tell Donatello was nervous. Maybe it was the sting of betrayal from April that had him poking at his usually passive brother, but he was having a bit of fun. Don and Zoey were talking about her car and while they did that Raphael kept a steady glare on Donatello. Every time he crunched into his apple Donatello flinched just enough to have Raphael hiding a smirk behind the fruit.

"Dat's it," said Raphael, making Donatello tense then look up at his brother with a bit of fear in his eyes. Raphael held up the core of his apple. "All gone."

"Oh," sighed Donatello in relief.

"Whut didjah think I was talkin' bout?" asked Raphael, eye ridge raised slightly as he tossed the core into the bushes for the ants to enjoy.

"Nothing! Uh, I, uh, finished this so I better go put it back," said Donatello.

Donatello lifted up what looked to be a piece that belonged to the water heater and left hurriedly, almost hitting the doorjamb on his way into the house. Raphael winced slightly when an elbow jabbed into his side and he looked over at Zoey, who was shaking her head at him.

"That was awful!" She tried to look stern but Raphael could see the sides of her mouth fighting a smile. "Poor Don!"

"Yeah, well, be glad that's ALL I did to him," he grumbled. "I coulda, I dunno, pummeled him until he cried Uncle or something just as awful like I tend ta do or-"

"You heard us."

"-wha? Heard what?" he asked, looking down at his half-empty soda can, twisting it around and around on the table between his hands.

"You know what." Suddenly her hands were on his and he was forced to look at her when she didn't let go. "She's just a worried friend."

"I'd nevah…" He cleared his throat, as if trying to find the right words. "She was right. I get outta hand sometimes. Sometimes I leave my head and when I come to I have my bro on the ground and… and… I don't want to hurt ya but what if…"

"I trust you," she said, as if it were the most logical answer in the world, making him growl in frustration.

"You don't get it!"

"Casey is one large dog with more bark than bite I think I can handle you."

"Sweetheart dere's no one in the word that can handle me," he said.

"We'll see," she said after a slight pause before rising with her empty dishes. She put her free hand on his tense shoulder and gave it a gentle rub. "Up for some fun?"

"If it involves prankin' someone you can forget it!" he said, looking up at her.

"Aw, you're no fun," she said with a mock pout. "But I was actually talking about something else."

Raphael raised his eye ridge suggestively, giving her a playful smirk that had her smacking him on the arm while blushing furiously. He had to admit he liked seeing her all flushed and flustered and he wondered what she'd do if he pulled her onto his lap at this moment and kissed her. Probably run screaming to April, telling her that she'd been right.

"Or THAT either!"

"Then what?" he asked.

"I'll be back in five minutes!" she said before vanishing into the house, leaving him to wonder what the hell she had planned.

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TBC!