Ch 10 The hothead's turn.
Raphael stood at the edge of the garden and watched with a glint of mischief in his eyes as the prince went through his exercises. He waited a few minutes before deciding to make himself known and for that short time, was contented to just watch the young turtle breathe deep and stretch his arms and legs.
"Do you plan on watching me the entire time?" Leo suddenly said as he did a split and reached over to his left side to bring his hands to his left foot. "Or are you going to join me?" After a few seconds he stretched himself to the right side and placed his hands on his right foot. He looked up at Raph. "Well?"
"Just enjoyin' da view," Raph said as he made his way to him. He removed his sais and began going through his own set of exercises and katas. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Leo began to stand, he smiled and waited till the prince stood tall and faced him before he suddenly swung his sais around and toward the prince's head.
Leo quickly ducked and unsheathed his swords. "A bit unfair don't you think Raphael," He said as he brought his swords around and toward Raph's side.
Raph grinned and blocked. "All's fair in love and war princy." He grinned maliciously as Leo brought his swords up and blocked Raph's sais coming at him again.
The red turtle blocked and thrust. He attempted to push Leo back but instead, Leo blocked his sais and swung his sword around and behind Raph's back. He twirled and ended up behind Raphael. Raph quickly turned and blocked again and thrust his sais against Leo's swords. This went on for several minutes, sparing back and forth with each turtle attempting to get the upper hand on the other, trying to push the other one to the ground. Finally, the blue turtle ducked under Raph's thrust and twirled around so he was once again behind Raph, he kicked the red turtle's shell and pushed Raph to the ground, his face landing in a pile of dirt.
Leo smirked down at Raph as the larger terrapin rolled over and scowled up at him. "You still 'enjoyin' da view'?" Leo mocked as Raph wiped the dirt off his face.
Raph stood and narrowed his eyes at Leo. "Ya know princy," Raph sneered at him. "Someone needs to knock ya down a few." He once again charged at the prince and the two turtles went at it hard. Leo won over Raph several times throughout their workout. Raph looked up at the prince from the ground and panted hard. "What happened ta that happy go lucky turtle I saw yesterday playing with da little orphans, huh?" Raph asked as he got off the ground and they once again began to circle each other.
Leo held his swords and panted hard. "That was play time, now its back to business time." They charged at each other and Raph threw a punch toward Leo's head which Leo was able to duck. He rolled himself on the ground and jumped up behind Raph, ready to kick Raph's shell and push him forward again, but Raph was ready and turned around and grabbed Leo's leg just as it shot out. He brought Leo's leg up and as his leg went up Leo went down and hit the ground hard on his shell.
Leo rolled to the side and quickly got himself up and charged after Raph with his swords up. Raph blocked one sword but Leo managed to get the other through and punched Raph's mouth with the hilt. Raph fell back on the ground; he looked up at Leo and ran his tongue over his mouth, scowling at the prince as he tasted blood forming on his lips.
Raph wiped the blood off his mouth and glared angrily at Leo. "Now," He said panting hard and tossing his sais down. "You're goin' down." He jumped up and ran toward Leo who threw his swords to the ground and met him head on. Raph rounded his fist on Leo who quickly blocked and threw a punch at Raph's middle. Raph doubled over and got a fist to the jaw.
"You have way too much anger in you hothead." Leo taunted as Raph fell back onto the ground.
"And you." Raph shouted, jumping off the ground and charging angrily. "Have ya head stuck up ya ass!" The two grappled for several minutes until Raph finally managed to bring his foot behind Leo's ankle and trip him to the ground. Leo fell hard and Raph quickly jumped on top of him. He grabbed Leo's wrist and held them over Leo's head, holding him down hard. The two stared at each other panting hard with sweat pouring down their faces.
"I concede." Leo told him. "You finally won a match now get off me." He looked up at Raph with a clear expectation for him to do as he demanded.
Raph's eyes roamed over Leo's face and he shook his head. "What if I don't wanna get off?" He sneered. "Or maybe I'm hoping to get 'off' in another more fun way." He wiggled his eye ridges.
Leo gritted his teeth and attempted to buck Raph off him, but the larger turtle held fast. "You cad!" Leo almost shouted as he struggled. He decided it was better to keep his voice low since he did not want his guards to come and find him in what he considered to be a humiliating situation. "I can have your head for this."
"Oh yeah?" Raph said as he leaned in close. "Which head do ya want?" He moved his hips slightly and stared at the prince with an intense look. Leo gritted his teeth and rocked to the side in an attempt to get Raph off him. He gasped when he felt Raph suddenly lean forward and nip at his neck.
Leo growled and bucked his hips upward hard and fast causing Raph to finally lose his balance and fall to the right side of him. Leo brought his right knee up to his chest and pushed his foot against Raph's stomach causing the red turtle to fall back. Leo rolled over and got on his knees and faced Raphael with scowling growl, "You are infuriating," Leo said with a very frustrating tone.
Raph smiled and leaned closer to the prince. Leo, expecting a patronizing response from the hot head, also leaned in closer with intent on berating him, but instead was surprised when Raph suddenly gave him a peck on the beak. The prince narrowed his eyes in anger as Raph sat back and gave him a smug expression.
Leo gritted his teeth and stood; he took a deep breath and turned his back to him. "I am going to meditate." He announced, sounding clearly irritated. He walked over to the pond and sat in the lotus position. "If all you plan on doing is challenging me and mock everything I do," He said as he closed his eyes and attempted to calm himself. "Then you may leave and go do whatever you want," He told him hotly, "I no longer wish for you to be here."
The footsteps that came toward him caused him to smile slightly. "I'll leave when I wanna." Raph told him hotly, settling into the lotus position next to Leo. "Besides, after a match like that, I could do with a cool down in the pond."
Leo opened his eye and smiled smugly when he saw Raph, his eyes closed and taking deep breaths. He would never admit it to Raph but their sparring was something he needed more than even he had realized. He enjoyed a good challenge and Raph had proven to the prince that he could certainly hold his own. And for some reason, he now felt having the muscled bound hard-head nearby as they meditated made him feel rather comforted.
They did their hour of meditating and when Leo stood and stretched, Raph opened his eyes and looked over the prince's lean body, his eyes staring in appreciation. Leo looked at him and smiled when he saw Raph quickly look away. "I'll be in the pond." He announced. "You are welcome to join me." He made his way into the water, slowly moving his arms back and forth in relaxing circles. He had made it up to his waist when he heard Raph begin to make his way in. He was just about to turn to him when Raph suddenly jumped on him and pushed him into the water. Leo came up gasping and turned toward Raph with angry eyes.
"Now that's just plain mean!" Leo yelled and jumped toward Raph bringing him down into a deeper part of the pond.
Raph came up laughing and pushed Leo off him. "Now ya askin' for it." He said with a arrogant expression and jumped at Leo again.
The two play-wrestled in the water for almost fifteen minutes before Leo finally managed to push Raph away and quickly make his way over to the opposite end of the pond.
"Ah what's da matter Leo?" Raph asked swimming toward him. "Nothin' wrong with a little play is there?"
Leo rolled his eyes and smiled at Raph. "I don't mind play time Raph, but after the sparring we just had, I want to relax in the pond, not wrestle."
"Ya want ta relax." He flexed his fingers and cracked his knuckles. "I can help with that." He turned Leo around and began massaging his shoulders. He brought his lips close to Leo's ear. "How's that for relaxing…Princy."
"Hmmmm, Feels good Raph," Leo moaned, leaning his head back and rolling his shoulders. "And don't call me princy."
"Can I call ya mine?" Raph whispered in his ear.
Leo's eyes shot open in shock, he moved himself away from Raph and swam to another side of the pond. He leaned against the edge and smiled at him. "As I said before, I'll let you know at the end of the week." Raph smiled and made his way to the opposite end, he closed his eyes and let the water soothe his tired muscles.
From the window in Raph's room, two young turtles watched the scene unfolding before them. They exchanged knowing looks with smug smiles on their faces. "So what do you think Don?" Mikey turned away from the window and began to walk to the door of the bedroom.
"I think their little game is going to come to a 'head' very soon." Donnie told him, his eye ridges wiggled and he made quotation marks in the air. The two turtles laughed as they left the room and made their way to the dining hall for breakfast.