DISCLAIMER: I not own TMNT.
I would like to dedicate this chapter to all the people who took a moment of their time to leave me a review throughout all of the chapters so far, and I would like you all to know how much I appreciate your words. This is for you lot, XOX ! :)
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Chapter 7
Splinter looked up as Raphael entered his room. Instantly, the weight that had been pressing on his chest lifted. He stared at the red clad warrior, at his dark emerald green skin and his fierce yet soft golden eyes. Splinter stood.
"My son," Splinter sighed, the creases on his forehead lessening, "We have been so worried."
"Yeah." Raphael looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, "I, uh.. I'm… I, uh, didn't mean ta worry ya."
Splinter took the few necessary steps to meet his son. He slowly raised his hand and lightly cupped his cheek, noting the faint three-fingered hand mark that was there. He smiled softly.
"You have spoken to Leonardo, I presume?" Splinter asked.
"I… Yeah." Raph let out a heavy sigh and his hand left his neck, sliding down so that his hand now clung his shoulder instead, "Yeah, we… We talked."
Splinter's eyes travelled up and down his son, inspecting his behaviour, observing his response.
"He was mad?" It was not a question.
"Yeah." Raph said anyways. He hesitated, "L-Leo, he, uh, said… Said you were… furious."
"I am." Splinter said evenly, his voice cool.
Raph nodded, his shoulders tensing. Splinter stared for a moment at the tensed muscles, the golden eyes that avoided his own, and the tinge of regret emanating from Raphael. He then allowed a small sigh leave his lips.
"But I am also concerned, Raphael." Splinter said, waiting until Raph looked up until he elaborated, "I know that you have spent these past few weeks thinking about what this – Leonardo's pregnancy - means. What it could mean for all of us, what it could result in."
Splinter watched as Raphael's shoulders tensed and his eyes blazed over. What he had thought of, what everyone was thinking of, was what the pregnancy could cause. After all, they all knew that humans and all species could sometimes die from giving birth; and that was when their bodies were more adapt to giving birth, more prepared and designed for the task. Leonardo, with his mutated, un-adapted body, the chance of death from giving birth was much higher. The thought alone sent a wave of iciness down both Splinter and Raphael's spines.
"This is hard on all of us, you and Leonardo especially. I understand that. A large burden has been placed on your shoulders, one that I can neither remove nor can I lessen. For that, I am sorry. All that I can do is assure you that neither Leonardo nor yourself will need to carry this burden on your own, and that your brothers and I will be here to assist you in any way we can."
Raph nodded, his jaw tight. Splinter lifted his son's chin and stared into his eyes, seeing the gratitude there, layers beneath the molten gold. Splinter smiled softly and took a step back.
"Now, I think that my lecture can await until afterwards. I think it best that you go to Leonardo's side, and that you stay there." Splinter said.
Raph nodded, "Hai, Sensei… Th-Thanks."
Leonardo watched Raphael step from their father's room and slide the door shut behind himself. The blue clad smiled as the dark emerald green figure approached.
"So, he didn't kill you?" Leonardo asked.
"Always the tone of disappointment." Raphael grinned.
It felt as though somebody had pinched Leo's heart and yanked it, knocking it – and, subsequently, everything else – out of place. Slowly, the blue clad ninja raised his arms, wrapped them around his lover's neck, and pulled him down close. First their breaths touched, and then their lips. Raphael's warmth invaded Leonardo's and vice versa. Leo pulled his neck down more, pulled him closer, feeling as though they would melt into each other's arms. His chest ached for air but he ignored it. He loosened his grasp and pressed his hands on Raphael's shoulders, feeling the warmth emanating from them. Raphael's lips left his and his breath came out in a rush, blowing across Leo's face. Leonardo cupped the red clad warrior's cheeks, keeping him from going any further.
Leonardo had missed this closeness.
Missed Raphael.
Raphael pressed his hands on top of Leonardo's and stared into his blue clad lover's eyes. Leo stared into the pools of molten gold, searched their depths, and observed every already-memorised detail. Raph let out a rough sigh.
"Leo, I really am-,"
"Sorry." Leo finished, "I know."
As it turned out, the hospital bed Donnie had made was, in fact, not big enough for two adult mutant ninja turtle bodies. Raphael counted that he had fallen out of the bed seven times. Seven. Fucking. Times. On the seventh, Leonardo had awoken and groggily suggested he bring out another hospital bed, to put next to his one. He had only fallen out of the bed once after that, and only because he had forgotten to lock the small wheels down so that they didn't move.
"This is why I sleep in a hammock." Raph muttered. Leonardo laughed. Raphael frowned, "Oh, yeah, fucking hilarious. Now, come on, I'm done with all this damn mooshy-ness. Lets just…" Raph pulled himself closer to Leonardo and wrapped an arm over him. Leo rolled his eyes.
"I was wondering how long you were going to let you soft side show." Leonardo mused.
"Hey, what? No, that weren't my fucking soft side, I aint got a fucking soft side!" Raph snapped.
"Really? Then what was with that whole 'I'm so sorry'-thing?" Leo asked with a raised eye ridge.
"That was… That was me being sorry, not me being a damn softie." Raph snapped.
"You should be sorry more often, then." Leo mumbled as his eyes fluttered closed.
He heard Raph mutter a response but was too deep within the realm of sleep to take much notice. He awoke the next day to the sound of Mikey's voice and then a rough shushing sound. 'Dammit, Mikey, yer gonna wake him!' he then drifted back to sleep as a warm hand pressed onto his shoulder. Leonardo dreamed of fuzzy blotches of colour. He faintly knew who they were, what they were and what was happening but his mind refused to lift the fog. BAM. Leonardo startled awake, giving his surroundings a quick glance over.
"Dammit, Mikey!" Raph hissed.
"What happened?" Leonardo grumbled as he propped himself up onto his elbows. Raphael looked down at him and let out a rough sigh.
"Nothin' happened, just go back ta sleep."
Completely and utterly ignoring Raphael's statement, he peered past the red clad warrior to see Mikey trying – and failing – to pick up a large white cardboard box. The smell of scrambled eggs and bacon was in the air, so everybody would have not woken up too long ago.
"What's that?" Leonardo asked.
"Some new video games I found in the trash." Mikey grinned, "Heaps good condition, too. You guys wanna help come check if they work?"
Raph looked down at Leo.
"I guess I don't really have anything better to do, anyways." Leonardo shrugged.
The day was spent playing the video games Mikey had found. Some were violent, blood-filled games and others were more sportful. One disc did not have a clear cover and so Mikey plopped it in with curiosity lighting up is bright blue eyes. Raphael and Leonardo had snickered when a fairy princess popped up on the screen, speaking fluent Spanish and pointing a wand at the word 'comienzo'.
Donatello chose that moment to lean over the back of the lounge and hold out some bags of chips. "Anyone hungry?"
"Thanks, Don." Leo said.
"Yeah, Dude, you're a life saver." Mikey grinned as the purple clad genius chucked him a packet.
Don nodded at the TV, "Nice game."
Mikey rolled his eyes, "Oh, har-har." He picked up the Mario Kart cover, "You gonna play, or just crack jokes all night?"
"I was going to-,"
"Dude, it wasn't actually a question," Mikey said, and grinned, "we will use force to get you to play. 'Sides, the more of us that play, the more of us that can beat Raph's ass."
"Language." Leo reminded automatically. The others promptly ignored him.
"Well, I suppose I can't argue with that." Don said.
"What is this?" Raph frowned, "Pick on Raph day or somethin'?"
"More like Revenge-On-Raph-Day-For-Bailing." Mikey said as he plopped the disc into the game system, and threw the Spanish-fairy-disc into the trash.
"And not so much a day, as a month," Leo said.
"And it's kind of a special month," Don added.
"'Cause it only ends when we want it to." Mikey finished.
"Peachy." Raph muttered.
With Raph back, and Leo all too happy to commit to the "stay in bed" rule, Donatello found himself diving into a full-on investigation of Abigail Finch, instead of his recent half-assed snoops.
Information was scarce, and she seemed to be staying on the down-low. Every site Don went to either jokingly stated she had been locked up in a mental hospital somewhere in Louisiana, or said she was in Romania, hunting down a supposed vampire. Some even stated she was in Antarctica, searching for the abdominal snow man.
His lips pressed together firmly and he glared at his screen. All he knew was that Abigail Finn was back (he had always known she would be; she wasn't one to give up that easily), and that her current project was his family. He also knew the internet was a lost cause, and would give no answers. There were no records, and no evidence, of her being anywhere near Casey's farmhouse – at all. Not in government files, and not even in his enemies'.
Don supposed she had somehow learnt that Casey had utterly humiliated her to keep them safe, and that she now wanted to avenge herself… all the while proving the "green men" were real, and re-establishing her reputation. He didn't know how she had managed to fall off the grid, and guessed that somebody powerful was aiding her investigation.
He couldn't be happier that the real green man-er-woman, had been too frightened to raise her babies in the area, and that she had moved on (Mikey had insisted they keep an eye on them, and so Don had placed trackers on them to check on their whereabouts, so he knew for a fact she was safe from the monster hunter).
He rubbed his forehead and sighed. There was simply nothing he could find. He had asked Leo to keep quiet about the incident he and Raph had seen until he found some information – he didn't want the others to start worrying – but now there seemed to be nothing more to do other than tell.
Don stood stiffly and twisted his arms in the air to pop them back into place. "Why can nothing ever just go right?" He muttered.
The sun had risen little more than an hour ago, and so he wasn't surprised in the slightest to find that the rest of his family had already set off for bed. Raph had helped move Leo into the infirmary for more privacy, and so all the lights in the family room were off. There was no light creeping from behind neither Mikey nor Splinter's doors, either. The lair was dark, and only the faint sound of city life and snores filled the airways. Don rubbed at his ear slits as an indistinct ringing filled them, and headed for his room.
The news about Abigail Finn would haft to wait for just one more night.
The silence between them felt thick and heavy, and weighed on them as a constant reminder of what Raph had done.
Raphael's arms were wrapped protectively around the blue clad ninja, and they were close, their breaths mingling, and their bodies pressing against each other… and, yet, they felt so very far apart. Leonardo clutched his lover's hand and tried to find the usual comfort he received from the simple action, but… nothing.
"There has to be something I can do." Raph suddenly blurted out.
Leo looked up and met his gaze, his expression doubtful, "Raph…"
"Anything, Leo," Raph pleaded, "There's gotta be some way ta make this right."
Leo opened his mouth, and closed it again. He sighed, "I don't… I don't think so." When Raph opened his mouth to give yet another testimony, Leonardo added, "Band-Aids don't fix bullet holes, Raph."
The red clad warrior closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against his lover's. "Anything, Leo."
"I could try slapping you again," Leo suggested with a sly smile.
"Or, maybe," Raph heaved himself above Leonardo and brushed his lips over his lover's. Leo breathed out heavily and his eyes became hooded.
"That might work." Leonardo murmured.
Raphael pressed his lips onto Leonardo's; this kiss was longer, and more determined. Leo wrapped his arms around his neck and indulged himself in all that was Raphael. The smell of oil, car grease, and sweat. Him. Inevitably, the kiss broke. Leo sighed and pressed his palm firmly against Raphael's shoulder, feeling his warmth and his rough leather-like skin that was all-too familiar to him.
They were close, their breaths mingling, and their bodies pressing against each other… but they still felt so very far apart.
Thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter; your words really have helped me to keep writing this. Just thank you so, so, so much. Your words have just encouraged me to keep writing.
Yukio87, Pen-Woman, tmntlover2013, TMNTfangirl4life, & Wakizashi Warrior.
Ps. I have a, well, now-old-oneshot up which is Leo X Raph on my profile if you are interested in reading it. It is called "The Only Exception".
Summary: "Leonardo reached for Raphael's doorbell. What awaited him, he wasn't sure. Raph lived alone in this apartment, Leo knew that much. He also knew Raph wanted him every way possible. Coming here hadn't been a good move, especially since he was so unsure of the situation; this Leo knew. And yet here he was. WARNING: Raphael X Leonardo, human AU, adult themes, 'tcest' (not related by blood though), etc. ONESHOT." (you can just picture them as turtles if you don't like human AU's)
