Disclaimer: I don't own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or its characters. I only own my OC. I don't own the lyrics used in this chapter either.
A/N: I'd just like to thank everyone again for sticking with this story so far, and for continuing to support me with it. I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I actually loved writing it.
The Silvernote: It seems like you're my only reviewer right now! The hangover disappeared within a few hours, thankfully, but it didn't stop me writing more of this fic. O hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for the continued support so far!
Happy reading!
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~ Secrets ~
{ Chapter Seven: War Dance }
Raphael couldn't believe his eyes as he walked into the bedroom after his shower.
Not only had Amelia made up their beds (even though she hadn't really used hers), but she was walking around in her shorts and bra. She was humming softly to herself, and clearly hadn't heard him come in to the room. He closed the door gently, not wanting any of his brothers to find her in this state of undress. She shivered in the cold air and Raphael grimaced at the sight of her trembling body. He took a step closer to her as she turned around and visibly startled at the sight of him, which almost caused him to back off, but he held firm.
"God, Raph... I'm sorry." She said, taking a deep breath, "I didn't see you there."
Raphael wanted to touch her so much... She was standing there in front of him, a blush covering her cheeks and chest, her breasts almost on display for him. Her toned belly looked beautiful as the dim light of his room bathed her muscles in a soft glow. He saw her reach to grab the pale yellow t-shirt that sat on the pile of clothes that she'd retrieved from her bag, but he couldn't bear to see her cover herself up. Not yet.
"Wait." He said gruffly, trying to brace himself as he stepped closer to her, "I want to... Uh... I want to... Touch you."
Amelia's worried expression changed to a more relaxed one, even if she was looking a little bashful, and she slowly let the t-shirt fall from the clutches of her dainty fingers to the heavy cotton cover of Raphael's duvet. She ducked her head and bit her lip as Raphael reached forward and placed his hands on her hips, stepping so close that their chests were almost touching. She felt a large finger under her chin, and felt her head being tilted upward as Raphael coaxed her closer. Dipping his head, he kissed her full lips gently, intensifying the kiss almost immediately. Amelia let out a long sigh with a very quiet moan which escaped her as the air left her lungs, and as her brow furrowed into a deep frown, a pleasurable jolt ran through her from within her chest. Her legs almost gave way with the sensation, and Raphael, thankfully, held onto her hips to keep her upright.
Her hands lazily slid up his arms and then her wrists crossed behind his neck as she leaned into him, sighing as his hands continued to explore her almost bare upper half. She heard a deep sound emerge from his throat as he slid his hands up her waist, almost like a whirring purr. It was the only way that she could think to describe it. As it came from him, though, Raphael's eyes snapped open, and he backed away from her, almost shoving her off of him.
"Raph...?" She asked, trying to stop the onset of tears that were threatening to fill her eyes, "What is it?"
"I shouldn't have..." He began, looking away from her, "I don't know if I'll be able to..."
"Is it me?" She asked him worriedly, "Baby, please talk to me..."
He was way too aroused to have this conversation right now. So, he did what he knew best, which was to leave the room and head straight for the dojo to kick the hell out his old punchbag. Amelia couldn't even get her shirt on before the door to the dojo was slamming shut. She finished putting on the t-shirt, and as her hands went to her face, she let out a long sigh and sat on his bed, trying to control her upset at the sudden churning of the previously lovely atmosphere. She startled again as she heard an incredibly loud roar from the direction of the dojo, and she knew that Raphael was probably trying to work out his anger. What had she done to make him so mad?
Footsteps caught her attention and she was met with a concerned Michelangelo, who came into the bedroom with a frown on his face. He'd heard the commotion and he'd seen Raphael leaving the room, so wanted to make sure that Amelia was alright.
"Are you okay?" He asked her, stepping closer as he saw the tears welling up in her eyes, "Oh no... Dudette..."
He sounded just as heartbroken as she felt. He moved straight to her and crouched in front of her, taking her hand in his own as the tears began to fall down her face. He felt upset for her, because he realised that she'd just experienced Raphael's temper for the first time, and it was quite obvious that she really cared for him, so to have his anger directed at her must've been horrible.
"What happened?" He asked her, getting up to sit to her left, putting a comforting arm around her, "We knew something was up this morning..."
"Mikey, I love your brother." Amelia said softly, a sob escaping her lips, "I love him so much."
"Did you guys get together?" Michelangelo asked, shocked.
"Yeah... But he just got freaked out and bailed..." Amelia breathed, becoming more upset, "I don't know what to do."
"The best thing to do with Raph is to just let him work it out on his own." Michelangelo said quietly, "Don't take it personally, huh? Don't forget what we are. Finding a girlfriend is like an impossible dream for us, so it'll be hard for him to adjust, you know?"
"I understand, believe me." She whispered, burying her face in her hands, "I just..."
"You want it to be okay." Michelangelo finished for her, sighing sadly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder, "Oh, baby-doll..."
"What happened?"
Donatello's soft voice drifted into Raphael's room as he cautiously shuffled in the doorway, looking at Amelia worriedly. Michelangelo beckoned him in as one of Amelia's hands moved from around his neck to reach for the other brother, her face still hidden from view by her honey-blonde hair. Donatello eased his way forward, kneeling on the floor and taking her hand in his own carefully.
"They just got together and Raph's already bailed." Michelangelo said quietly, stroking Amelia's back gently, "He wasn't mean to her. He just freaked out."
Donatello nodded and adjusted his glasses with his free hand, continuing to stroke Amelia's daintier one with his large thumb. The purple-clad turtle shared a sad look with Michelangelo, who looked as distressed as Amelia sounded. They'd never seen Amelia this upset, and she sounded utterly heartbroken.
"He'll come round." Donatello said softly, "He'd be a fool to let a girl like you go."
He shared a second, more anxious look with Michelangelo, who moved his hand to brush it over Amelia's thick, loosely-curled locks. Not knowing what else to do, Donatello offered to make Amelia some tea, and as she accepted, he headed out of Raphael's room and down to the kitchen, where he was met by a concerned Leonardo.
"What's going on?" The blue-clad turtle asked, watching Donatello move around the kitchen to make tea for Amelia.
"Raph and Amelia." Donatello asked, "It happened. I'm assuming at some time during the past few hours they've decided to become a couple, and Raphael's just freaked out about it and bailed to the dojo. Obviously, Amelia's a little upset about it, since she's kind of in love with him."
"She's in love with him?" Leonardo asked, shocked.
"Yeah. She just told Mikey." Donatello replied, getting a cup from one of the cupboards and filling the kettle, "He'd be incredibly stupid to let a girl like her go. The chances of us finding love at all are minimal, and he's got a sweet girl, right there in that room, who'd probably do anything for him."
"I'll go and talk to him." Leonardo said quietly, "See if I can get some answers."
Donatello nodded and watched his older brother walk to the dojo, who cautiously stepped inside to find Raphael pounding the shit out of the punchbag that in one of the far corners of the room. He walked over to his younger brother, who seemed to slow down in his rage, and he watched, stunned as Raphael put a hand to his head, half leaning against the punchbag, before he ran a hand backwards across his face as though wiping away tears.
No... Raphael wasn't crying... Was he? Leonardo knew that Raphael had heard him approaching, because he heard the younger turtle clear his throat as though trying to clear a lump from it. Slowly, the red-clad turtle turned around to look at his older brother, whose lips were formed into a tight line. Leonardo had only seen Raphael cry once and that was after almost falling to their deaths from the top of a tall building.
"You okay?" Leonardo asked him quietly, earning a solemn nod in response, "Amelia's upset."
"I know." Raphael said gruffly, breathing heavily, "I suppose you all know about us now."
"Yeah." Leonardo nodded, "I know it's a lot to take in. New experiences, new feelings, new fears. But, you can't run every time something spooks you, you know? Amelia deserves better than that. It's not easy for her either."
"You have no idea how I feel right now." Raphael snapped, walking past him and purposely knocking into his brother's shoulder.
"So, tell me." Leonardo said, turning around to face his brother's retreating form.
"I can't." Raphael replied, "It's personal. Between me and Amelia. I just got a little freaked out and I needed to get out of that room. That was all."
"She's really upset." Leonardo told him quietly, "Mikey and Donnie are taking care of her but I think you ought to..."
Raphael was feeling more and more closed in with every passing minute. He needed to get out of the lair, just to have some time to think about what was going through his head, without everyone else giving him their fucking opinion and crowding him.
"Just... Just back off!" He yelled, "Fuck this, man! I don't need this shit!"
Leonardo sighed and rubbed at his brow with frustration as Raphael bolted out of the dojo. He followed him into the main part of the lair, but all he could see was his brother's retreating form as he disappeared into the sewer tunnels, out of sight. Donatello appeared from Raphael's room to see what was going on, but he was met with the disappointed expression of Leonardo instead. Bowing his head, Donatello shook it and turned back to the bedroom, disappearing from Leonardo's sight.
"She really needs to eat something." Donatello muttered later that afternoon, looking worriedly into the doorway of the dojo as Amelia danced around the large open space.
"She's working out her issues." Leonardo replied, turning away from the partially open door, "Just give her time."
"It's been four hours." Donatello answered, growing slightly agitated, "Where the hell is Raph?"
"Poor baby-doll." Michelangelo breathed, looking sadly at the girl as she danced around the dojo, "She must be worried sick. She doesn't even look like she's enjoying herself."
"Better her keeping herself occupied than sitting and stewing until he comes back." Leonardo said, looking back at her, "She's probably mad at him too. He didn't exactly give her any explanation as to what made him freak out like that."
"Guys?"
At the sound of their brother's voice, the three turtles turned and headed over to the entrance of the lair where Raphael was walking in, looking much calmer than earlier. He'd taken some time to go over all the worries in his head, and he decided that it would be best to talk to Amelia first, get as much as possible off his chest, and take things from there. He was scared and worried about a lot of things, and he knew that the way he reacted earlier to something as simple as arousal was far from okay.
"Where's Amelia?" He asked, looking towards the dojo as he heard music playing.
"Guess." Leonardo replied, folding his arms over his chest, "I think she's mad at you."
"Yeah... I don't blame her." Raphael muttered, "I'll go talk to her."
As he entered the dojo, Raphael heard a new song starting up on Amelia's iPod. She was dancing around the floor, her expression one of concentration. His breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a cropped fitness top and skin-tight shorts, showing all of the body that he'd had his hands on earlier. She did a spin and met eyes with him briefly, stopping in her tracks. An expression that Raphael could only describe as rage made its way onto her face. She was mad at him.
"And another one bites the dust
Oh, why can I not conquer love?
And I might have thought that we were one
Wanted to fight this war without weapons
And I wanted it, I wanted it bad
But there were so many red flags
Now another one bites the dust
Yeah, let's be clear, I'll trust no one."
He stepped closer to her as she began to dance again, determined to get her attention. But as the vocals kicked in, he could tell he was going to have a battle on his hands. He went to grab her by the arm, but she ducked under him and spun out of the way, backing away from him. He began to approach her slowly, but she ran past him and swung around the pole, dodging him as he went to grab her again. It was on. She was clearly going to try to avoid him, no matter what he did. They circled each other for a moment, and he could see it in her eyes that she wasn't backing down. While this seemed like a childish thing to do, Raphael thought that there must be a reason for her to keep avoiding his efforts this way.
"You did not break me
I'm still fighting for peace..."
The two stilled for a moment and Raphael realised she was sparring with him in her own weird way. Until he was able to catch her, there'd be no talking about what had happened. He wasn't stupid. She was going to make him prove that he wanted her. Now, her behaviour didn't seem so childish. He could understand why she was reacting this way. Every man in her life had let her down, and now, he'd hurt her too, which made him feel awful.
"Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,
But your blade, it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,
Yeah, I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me fall apart
'Cause I've got an elastic heart."
He ran at her again, but she ran towards him and slid between his legs, gracefully rolling back onto her feet, bending backwards and using her hands to push herself up and over towards the door, out of his way. At the doorway, Donatello and Leonardo watched in amazement as their brother and Amelia literally danced around each other. She was able to predict every single movement and avoid him without any difficulty, which was making Raphael angrier by the second. She was performing dance moves as she avoided his grasp, like she was taunting him, and that only added to his anger. But with his anger, came determination. She was playing him like a fiddle.
"I've got an elastic heart
Yeah, I've got an elastic heart..."
Raphael went low to try and kick her feet out from under her but she placed her hands on his shoulders and flipped over him, turning to face him again and backing away with a twirl. Her instincts and timing were more than just a little impressive. Michelangelo and Splinter joined the others at the door, and both stared in amazement as Raphael fought to control the girl who was evading him to the best of her ability. They stopped for a brief moment to get some energy back, before they continued their unusual sparring match.
"And I will stay up through the night
And let's be clear, won't close my eyes
And I know that I can survive
I'll walk through fire to save my life
And I want it, I want my life so bad
I'm doing everything I can
Then another one bites the dust
It's hard to lose a chosen one..."
Again, the pole became a way of avoiding Raphael's attempts to grab her, and she climbed her way up it, swinging herself around quickly enough to get away from his hands as he almost got her by the leg. She landed on the floor below and rolled so she was on her feet again. They circled one another once more, and as they did, Raphael came to the realisation that he'd never seen this side of Amelia before. Her blonde hair was brushed out of her face with a dainty hand, and as he snarled at her, she snarled back, charging at him with ferocity. Holy hell... She was pissed at him.
"You did not break me
I'm still fighting for peace..."
She slid between his legs again, as if he hadn't seen it coming, and spun around on the floor to get back onto her feet. Her speed sent her almost staggering backwards quickly, and as she reached a wall, she looked up at her boyfriend who was moving towards her again. She was determined that he wasn't going to get a word out of her until he caught her, and she wasn't going to make that task easy for him.
"Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,
But your blade, it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,
Yeah, I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me fall apart
'Cause I've got an elastic heart..."
She looked to the pole and ran back for it with incredible speed, grabbing it and throwing herself around it, right at Raphael. He caught her, finally, but her momentum caused him to spin, giving her the opportunity to use his forearms as leverage as she sucked in a breath, loosening his hold on her. She pushed herself up and out of his arms, sliding out of his way as he came to a stop again. Splinter was watching with keen interest as the two fought for control over the situation, and it was clear to him that Amelia was testing Raphael to see how far he was willing to go for her. She would show great promise as a ninja warrior, if she was willing to learn, of course. The two kept circling each other, ducking and diving as she continually escaped the large turtle's grasp. The angrier Raphael became, the easier it was for her to evade him.
"Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,
But your blade, it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,
Yeah, I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me fall apart
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,
But your blade, it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,
Yeah, I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me fall apart
'Cause I've got an elastic heart...
I've got an elastic heart."
Amelia could feel herself growing tired. Raphael was tired too, but he was relentless, barely giving her a moment to rest. He stepped closer, cautiously reaching out for her as she ducked under his arm again. She couldn't help it. She was so angry that rather than trust her with what was bothering him, he decided to run out on her instead. Rather than turn to her with whatever had scared him, he fled like a frightened child. But, his persistence with her, his patience as she'd taunted him for all this time, like she wasn't taking him seriously, and his willingness to endure this game in front of his family proved to her that he wanted her enough to talk to her and work it out. She slowed to a stop, and as he approached her again, she allowed him to grab her, and she brought her hands up to cup his head as she tried to catch her breath.
He looked at her for a moment, confused as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. His hands moved to her waist and he pulled her in, feeling her arms move around his neck again as they had earlier while a wave of relief washed over him. It was such an intimate moment that Splinter silently ushered his sons away from the door, leaving the couple to it. They broke their kiss after a few moments and leaned their heads together, taking a few moments to rest after their exhausting war dance.
Briefly backing away, Amelia went to turn off her iPod, and Raphael followed her tiredly, sitting on the small platform that her pole was situated on. She joined him after she'd turned off the iPod speakers, and she caught her breath, not even sparing him another look.
"I'm sorry I freaked out." Raphael muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, "It was stupid, and there was no reason for me to react the way I did."
"You didn't trust me enough to tell me what was wrong." Amelia said, her voice dark and low, "You didn't trust me."
"I'm sorry." Raphael apologised again, looking at her with sad eyes, "You didn't deserve to be made to feel that way. And, I'm gonna try harder. It's just... I'm not good with my feelings."
"I know." Amelia whispered, "But, you need to be honest and open with me, or this is never going to work."
"I know." Raphael nodded, reaching over to hold her hand, "Can we go and talk about it in our room?"
Amelia looked up at him properly and saw the look in his eyes. He was scared that he'd fucked it up. She could tell that he was scared just by the sound of his quaking breath. Biting her lip, she ran her hand through her hair and stood up, gathering her iPod and dock in her hands before holding a free hand out to him. He'd learned his lesson, and the relief on his face as she held her hand out to him told her that he genuinely was sorry for what he'd done earlier.
With a grateful smile, Raphael took it, and the two of them headed out of the dojo to go to his room.
~ To Be Continued ~
Hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for reading so far!
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