Author's Note :
It's Raph and Haley's first date! 'Nuf said.
Chapter 7: The Date
Raphael pulled the trench coat closer to his neck, his heart pounding against his paced around impatiently while Haley was in the shower. Casey had already fallen asleep, snoring gently on the couch.
Raphael looked into the mirror, staring at himself. He had put on a trench coat, shades and a skull cap,as well as a scarf to cover up the fact that he's a giant mutant turtle. He kept his sai and other weapons in a satchel,which he hung on his side. All that was left now was to wait...
Haley walked into the room, her hair still soaked,and a towel wrapped around her. She went to her backpack to retrieve a fresh set of clothes. Looking away fervently, Raphael felt his cheeks burn. She had barely been here one night, and she was already making herself comfortable.
Haley quickly got dressed and dried her hair. She put on her shoes and jacket before calling out to Raphael,"I'm done. Ready to go?"
Raphael turned around to look at her. She was wearing a maroon t-shirt under her green hooded jacket, with dark blue jeans. She had tied her hair back into a ponytail. She had no make up on, but Raphael didn't care. To him, she was beautiful anyway.
"Raph?" Haley asked nervously. He was staring blankly at her, his mouth slightly ajar.
Raphael snapped out of his stupor,shook his head,and said,as he blushed heavily, "S-ss-sorry...you...you look nice."
Haley's face turned pink. "Thanks," her stomach rumbled yet again. Stifling a giggle, she glanced at the floor. "Shall we go?"
Raphael nodded, and Haley, grinning, grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.
Haley and Raphael walked side by side. It was a cool day,with an overcast sky, and a light breeze.
They didn't know it,but their brains were both buzzing about each other. Neither knew what to say, but it was clear that they both felt something more.
Haley decided to break the silence. "so,where are we going?" she asked.
Raphael shrugged, "I dunno. What do you feel like having?"
Haley actually didn't really care about what they were having. She just wanted to fill her stomach and chill out. Mulling things through, she finally said, "I can't decide between pizza and noodles."
She had expected Raphael to scoff at her,perhaps even get angry and tell her to make up her mind. That's what most guys she knew would do,anyway. But quite contrary to her expectations, Raphael smiled broadly,before saying, "I got just the place."
It was a short 20-minute walk, but by the time they got to the shop,Haley's stomach sounded like a mini-earthquake. Opening the door for her, Raphael said, "welcome to Murakami-san's noodle shop."
Upon entering the shop,the blind Mr murakami approached Raphael, and greeted him with a bow."Ah, Raphael-san,it is good to see you again,my old friend. And it seems you brought a friend as well." he turned to face Haley, who's stomach suddenly growled with a vengeance. "A rather hungry friend, at that."
Raphael returned the bow. "Thanks Murakami-san. This is my friend Haley."
Mr Murakami said,"I am honored to meet you,Haley -Chan."
Haley smiled,and said, "thank you, Murakami-San." her stomach gave another earth-shattering rumble.
Lightly chuckling, Murakami-san said,"My,my,you must be hungry. Come,you must eat." beckoning to the token machine.
Murakami-san's menu was pretty much the same like how Raphael remembered it. He turned to Haley,"What would you like?"
Haley shrugged, before saying,"Can I get the miso ramen and grape soda?"
Raphael nodded, and ordered two bowls of miso ramen and a jumbo-sized serving of Mr murakami's signature pizza gyoza,with two bottles of grape soda for them. Haley went to find a seat. It wasn't hard. The restaurant was normally quite empty at this time of day.
When she saw Raphael approaching with the trays of food, her mouth started to water. She could barely contain her hunger.
Laying the bowl in front of her,Raphael watched as Haley scarfed down the noodles. 'Damn,she really is hungry.' he thought. Taking a slow pace with his own food, Raphael popped a pizza gyoza into his mouth.
Haley looked at him, and, flushing very slightly, slowed down her pace on her noodles, half of which was already gone. She looked curiously at the gyoza. "What are those?" she asked.
"Pizza gyoza." Raphael replied with a smile."Do you wanna try one?"
Haley eyed the gyoza warily. She was always cautious when it came to trying new food.
Sensing her apprehension, Raphael took a gyoza and ate it in one bite, before picking another up, and, holding it up to her mouth, said with a wide grinned,"Open up."
Haley pursed her lips tightly, shaking her head. Raphael bit back his laughter. Her response was priceless. She could kick the shit out of 4 guys, but refused to try some new food. "Come on,it's not that bad!" he coaxed.
Haley shook her head again. Raphael sighed. She was really making this hard. But then Raphael had a brainwave. He looked her dead in the eyes,made sad eyes and pouted his lips.
Haley stared at him for a moment, and then broke out into peals of laughter. Clutching her ribs, she finally gasped, "Okay! Okay! I give! J-just...cut out...with the cute face!"
Raphael stopped and sighed contently. He had never done that to anyone before this,and truth be told he had never expected to ever do it. Normally this sort of stunt was Mikey's specialty. But this time it was totally worth the effort.
Raphael leaned forward and fed Haley the pizza gyoza. She took the first cautious bite slowly. As the burst of flavor hit her taste buds, her caution melted away into surprise. Surprise turned into shock. Shock then turned into ecstasy. "That...was...AWESOME!" she breathed.
"Glad you liked it." Raphael was grinning from ear-hole to ear-hole.
"What is in this?" Haley chewed. "tastes like...cheese..and pepperoni..mmmm...and ground beef?"
Raphael nodded, grinning wider still. Back in the counter, Murakami-san smiled to himself. 'Young love,' he thought to himself,'such a wonderful sight. I wish you the best of luck, Raphael-san. You have found quite a wondrous partner.'
They continued to eat and drink, and before long, they finished all the food they ordered. Feeling stuffed, Haley stretched, before mumbling,"I'm in heaven..."
Raphael couldn't agree more. "You should see my brother Mikey. He could eat like three full servings of that gyoza."
Haley's eyes widened like dinner plates, "Wait, did you say three? Damn,and I thought you were a glut."
Raphael scoffed, "Yeah well,looking who's talkin'. Ya practically ate half the 'd eat more if I hadn't taken some."
Haley giggled, "Point taken. Still, it was a good meal."
Raphael sighed, "Yeah it was. Ugh, I gotta work off this meal."
They got up, thanked Murakami-san for the excellent meal,and walked out of the shop. Deciding not to go back to the mill just yet,as it was still early,Raphael took Haley to Central Park.
The park was rather empty today, which suited Raphael just fine. As they walked through the lightly wooded pathway, Raphael decided to find out more about Haley.
"So, uh, what's your favorite color?" he asked her tentatively.
Haley rolled her eyes and quipped,"Really? That's what you're leading with?What's my favorite color? Don't you think that it's a bit...cliché?"
Raphael started to sputter,"Well,I..."
"It's red." Haley answered shortly, a mischievous smile spreading over her beautiful face."I'm guessing you like red too?"
Raphael blinked. Haley giggled. "Can I ask you something then?"she asked.
"Sure."
"What's your favorite food?"
Raphael thought for a moment, "I don't really have a favorite."
"If you had to choose?"
"Pizza,or breakfast cereal, probably." Raphael said.
"Wait, breakfast cereal?why breakfast cereal?" Haley asked,surprised.
"I dunno. Probably because of all that 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' crap or something like that."
Haley couldn't tell if he was joking or not. She stared at him with a bemused look. Raphael laughed at her expression, and,though she didn't know why,she joined in the laughter.
Their sharing session continued as they walked around the park, and they were learning more and more about each other. Haley liked hot chocolate and had a thing for noodle-based dishes. Her dad was originally from Glasgow, Scotland, immigrating here after he married her mom. Then her mom died when she was 7. Her father fell into severe depression, before jumping from one girlfriend to another. She was also in her school's fencing team, and did kali and Russian Systema when she was younger. She liked to read mystery and thriller novels in her free time, and she had a fear of snakes.
Haley found out that Raphael liked grape sodas and pepperoni pizza, and hated bugs. He told her about how his 3 brothers and father came to be, how he was trained to be a ninja for as long as he could remember. Haley listened with intent and, rather unexpectedly for Raphael, understanding. He was always cautious about sharing the more intimate details of his life with others. But with her,it was so easy.
Though he found it hard to admit,he loved the enthusiasm and spirit she put in everything she did. He didn't know why, but he felt an emotional connection to her,unlike anything he had ever felt towards anyone before.
As dusk approached, Raphael and Haley took a seat on top of a hill, watching as the sun set on their perfect day.
Haley could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she glanced at Raphael. He had removed his skull cap and scarf,and with his eyes closed, looked so content and peaceful; nothing like the angry sardonic beast he had made himself out to be to her. He had a certain air of caution and fear about him, as though he was expecting her to break out and run. But she knew it was more than that. She knew he was being cautious so as to avoid hurting or scaring her off.
Haley looked around the park. The area around them was completely deserted. Not a soul was to be seen. Seizing the opportunity, she touched his cheek.
Raphael's eyes flicked open,and his hand came up to grab hers on his cheek. Looking straight at her, he said,"You have really cold fingertips."
Haley giggled nervously, her eyes meeting his. The waning light from the sun reflected off his pupils, giving them an emerald glow. "I guess they need warming up." she whispered, her smile soft.
Raphael felt like his heart was going to explode. He wanted to say something to her,something to let her know just how he felt about her. But there were no words that could describe how he felt,nor could his paralyzed brain come up with anything.
Haley leaned closer towards him,her face barely a few inches from his. She whispered even softer now. "Raph, I don't even know how or why... But...I like you... No...I think... I love you."
Raphael couldn't think. He knew this was wrong. But yet it felt so right. SHE felt so right. She was close enough for him to catch her scent now..She smelt almost floral,like lavenders with a hint of citrus.
It was intoxicating to him.
"I-I-I...love you too..." he stuttered.
Their lips met,and both Raphael and Haley closed their eyes,savouring the moment. His arms enveloped her,and her hands wandered to his strong chest. What bliss it was. Nothing else mattered, no one else mattered. Haley and Raphael were in a world of their own.
And there you go! Raph and Haley are really hitting it off fast,don't you think? Raphael always struck me as the spontaneous kinda guy. It just felt so right to put 'em together. I dunno, maybe I'm lovesick.
A word of caution in the next chapter ; there will be smut.
