Crazy - Chapter 4
Touch
Rated: T
Chapter Summary: Raphael is not sure what to think about all of April's touching.
Sorry it took forever to get this up. Having so many stories going on at once is not optimum for fast updates. Oh well, hope y'all just bear with me.
The hours flew by.
Once his mind wandered and the television became nothing but background noise, complete with nearly muted voices and less stimulating colors, time seemed less prone to dragging at a snail's pace. It was a damn near impossible to not fall asleep when he was just so unbelievably comfortable. The large terrapin could scarcely recall a time he'd felt more at ease yet at the same time, ready to spring at a moments notice. It was an odd combination to say the least.
It should have been hell - it really should have, but it was anything but.
After all, what sane person would agree that sitting on a lumpy couch with a stiff neck and back, not being able to shift an inch or even get up to take a much needed piss would ever think this was comfortable?
Obviously someone not currently experiencing the touch of April O'Neil curled against them in such an incredible way.
Whether it be the soft aroma of soap and flowers trickling up into his nostrils or the incredible warmth her body exuded; not to mention the couple instances she'd shift and seemingly cuddle even closer, her hands brushing and face nuzzling against his rough skin. It was only his immovable self-control that had him resisting to pick her up and cradle her against his plastron just to get her even closer - that, and it would definitely wake her up - and there was no way he was breaking this spell just yet.
Without his knowledge, the hours were flicking by, the clock was behind him and he'd not even glanced at the television in hours. Instead, he'd spent it just looking at her - taking in the beauty he'd been terrified to appreciate for more than a second at a time - always being too nervous to stare at her for long in fear she'd realize just how fucking creepy he was being.
But at this moment, he couldn't find it in him to care.
Time slipped quickly just like sand through his fingers and soon, he'd felt the unfamiliarity of the sun's warmth flickering through her living room and kitchen windows; the rays scattering pleasantly over his scales. Any semblance of contact from the sun was something he treasured because ever since he was a kid, it was always been too rare an experience - something to not be taken for granted but also something to be feared for their place was meant to be the shadows. To see the sky changing color and the brightness filtering through the window was even enough to tear his eyes away from the still slumbering brunette and finally allowing his eyes to close, relaxing into the moment of peace he found himself in.
For once, fate seemed to be on his side, for the very moment he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, April began stirring. Immediately sensing her adjustment at his side, Raph refused his body's demand to tense at her movement; valiantly striving to be a virtual corpse at that point. Concentrated on not moving in fear she may have realized he was not asleep and had not the entire night; rather spending the duration of it staring at her like some demented psychopath. He had fairly good reason to considering his night-time sleeping patterns, but she didn't need to know that.
So, Raphael listened and played dead.
April moaned sleepily, her arms stretching out and trailing sleepily over the surface; making Raphael nearly swallow his tongue at the sensation of those tiny hands over the expanse of his arm; her short nails tickling the scaled surface and his skin prickled at the touch. Little did he know, it was only going to get worse. Rubbing her body against his, unintentionally sensual, as she regained consciousness; completely unaware how it was affecting the terrapin faking sleep next to her. Raph's skin trembled when a warm breath cascaded along his bicep, her smooth lips ghosting over the surface and the tickle of her eyelashes brushing made him strive harder to keep still.
A second later, he heard her small surprised exclamation of "Oh!" before in an instant, she'd pulled back and the warm weight he'd become accustomed to overnight had shifted and was gone as she sat up and away from him just as he feared she would. The lurch in his stomach from the loss of warmth was like a boulder to his gut, but he remained perfectly still. The silence that followed lasted for nearly a minute and Raphael began to grow apprehensive over the sudden wane in sound. He feared she could sense he was not really asleep but was way too far into this that backing out now only wouldn't work - it would be fucking stupid.
Raphael knew she was still there. He sensed and smelt her close presence; felt her weight still upon the couch as well as April's eyes on him, but he continually played dead, or sleep - whatever you want to call it; breaths deep and steady even as his heart was nearly hammering straight out of his plastron. He was terrified that she could hear it.
Whatever he was expecting to happen next, especially considering how quickly she'd pulled away, this certainly wasn't it...
It was only his finely honed skills ingrained into his being that caused him to remain as still as night when April's hand suddenly returned to his forearm. The padding of her fingers were as soft upon his skin much like a soft breeze on a perfect spring day. Ghosting effortlessly over what could only be completely rough surface compared to her own silky skin. Suddenly, the uncomfortably rose into his chest - he hated feeling like anyone's experiment they could prod and touch whenever they liked. Yet, her touch was different; strokes were more curious than intrusive. He focused on those fingers as they continued their journey from her forearm before trailing up his bicep and deltoid. A lump suddenly clogged up his throat from her touch, but he dared not swallow in fear of ruining whatever was happening at this very moment. Suddenly, her hand was gone.
When it didn't immediately return, Raphael silently pondered shifting as if coming back to consciousness, but when the soft touch appeared again, everything inside of him shuttered when it returned - this time to his face. Feather-light graze of soft fingertips trailing over his cheek had his pulse pound in his ears; she was touching his face!
That rugged visage of scars and scaled green skin that was hard enough to look at in a mirror - and this beautiful woman was touching it. He worried for a split second his skin might be rough enough to catch along her delicate fingertips, but it didn't. She continued this action for what felt like an eternity but was only a couple seconds. Raphael never wanted it to stop. He had no idea what would possess the reporter to want to touch him this way; he hoped it wasn't just some demented curiosity about his strange form to her, but he doubted it. From what he knew of April O'Neil over the two years he'd known her, she was not a fake person; she wouldn't do something so emotionally harmful. She'd taken many precautions to make himself feel welcome in her home, her life; she was not one to keep him around just so she could experiment and peer at him like some freak behind glass. He knew it was the truth, but there was still a side of him that pondered it.
Raphael was mesmerized by her touch, focusing on every inch she covered, barely able to register her touch against his skin because of just how gentle she was being. It was only the occasional graze from her short nails that he was certain she was touching him at all; he sensed the awareness of her eyes upon his face; those beautiful blue eyes remaining upon his scarred mug instead of turning away to look at things much more pleasant than him; but they didn't. Dainty fingertips grazing over his cheek, the pad of a thumb brushing along the edge of his lips and his heart almost gave out. It was unbelievable; a part of him even questioning if he had fallen asleep; lucid imaginings of a fantastical dream of the lovely April willingly touching him. The ideas of a dream faded when he felt his skin prickle near his scar; the facial laceration he'd hated since day one and she was quickly closing in. All of a sudden, the pleasantness of her actions felt threatening; the large terrapin wanted to grab her hand away, to remove her touch from his mouth and the scar he hated with a passion; but he was frozen and her thumb only grew nearer. When she was less than an inch away from the long thin scar that marred his left upper lip, a shrill alarm rung out through the apartment.
"Shit!" April gasped loudly, yanking her hand away from his skin before scrambling to wrangle the small cellular device vibrating upon her scratched wooden tabletop.
Raph breathed a sigh of relief as her touch was suddenly gone and the sound provided an excellent excuse to break himself from his pretend sleep. While he wasn't the best actor, he made a show of stretching and grunting as if arising from a long, restful sleep. Gold irises peeking out from dark green lids took in the scene before him and had to force himself not to make a fool of himself when he took in her breathtaking visage.
The young reporter's hair was an adorable mess and there were slight indentations in her cheek from where her face had been pressed into his scales. He watched as she continually jabbed a thin fingertip over the brightly lit screen all while whispering obscenities that were easily picked up by his sensitive ears; he didn't bother to hide the smirk that tickled the edge of his lips to hear a colorful vocabulary that even rivaled his own. When April's eyes finally met his, she smiled and shrugged sheepishly as she placed the quieted electronic back upon the table.
"Good morning. ...So, um... I'm sorry about that - I swear I turned off the damn alarm before I fell asleep last night." she said with a chuckle; hand brushing a tendril of hair that had become loose from her bun back behind her ear and Raphael eagerly eyed the delicate movement. God, he felt like a creeper.
"S'nothing." he shrugged nonchalantly even if every bone and muscle in his body protested the sudden movement. Not being able to take the stiffness any longer, he shifted his attention away from her lovely face to some fixed point on her coffee table as he unconsciously made a display of cracking his neck and shoulders; thickly muscled arms and pectorals rippling under the skin. With a loud pop and a few creaks, the nearly orgasmic relief rushed over him - it was almost as if he didn't just spent his whole night awake and sitting down on a lumpy couch without moving a muscle. Lost in his own pondering and hoping she couldn't read minds, he didn't notice a set of blue eyes watching him as he stretched out his sore limbs. When the weight of her gentle stare finally triggered his senses, he turned to look at her and blue eyes met his golden gaze easily, the a warm smile lighting up her face.
"You know, you can go back to sleep if you want. It's still pretty early." April said, gesturing to the clock behind the couch, which read 6:30. The ease in which she offered her home to him still took him aback all the time.
"Nah. I'm good." Raph replied, hoping she wouldn't notice the bags taking residence underneath his eyes; more thankful for his ragged mask than ever.
"You sure? I don't mind if you crash here for a few more hours. After all, isn't it one of life's greatest pleasures to get Leo's panties in a bunch?" she winked at him and his heart skipped a beat.
The ease in which she made conversing, Raphael was more than happy to continue this conversation. "As much as I love seein' Fearless squirm and disturb the perpetual stick shoved up his ass, I think it's best I head out. Ya know, don't need Sensei gettin' on my case too." he replied, a smirk pulling up the edges of his lips.
"Hmm..." April mumbled with a slightly pouty lip and thoughtful finger under her chin.
Fuck, was she actually disappointed? The realization had Raphael choking down a sudden lump that clogged his throat.
"...Well, if you don't want to sleep on my couch then at least let me make you some breakfast for letting me sleep on you last night. That couldn't have been very comfortable for you." April continued with a breathy laugh, the nervousness as which she admitted it was fucking adorable.
Little did she know how wrong she was... He couldn't recall a time he'd been more so.
"Eh, I dunno..." Raph replied, the nervousness of being in her presence was starting to get stifling. He still wasn't even sure how to mentally tackle the fact she had been touching him when he was asleep.
"It's the least I can do. I know my pancakes will never transcend the brilliant Michelangelo's, but I can try. So, what do you say? Let's just have some breakfast before you head out, okay?"
"I don't..." Raph shrugged nervously before she brought out the big guns.
"Aww, come on, Raph." she said, eyes wide as she stared into his golden gaze; Mikey obviously teaching her the fabled puppy-dog technique to get her way. ...God, had her eyes always been that blue?...
"I..." he tried to resist.
"Please? For me?" Those three words broke him.
"Yeah...Sure. I don't see why not." he answered and the smile that lit up her face at his answer had his stomach doing somersaults.
The only question that crossed his mind at this point was just exactly had he gotten himself into?
