"Dat's it?!" Raphael cried. Leonardo looked at him through his hands. "Dat's what all da big deal was about?! Cuz ya got a boner?!"
"Raphael, please try to understand how uncomfortable-"
"Course it's uncomfortable Leo! It's a boner in front'a yer family! What? Did ya think I was gonna make fun of ya or something?" Raphael asked, exasperated at Leonardo's over dramatization of something so common and normal. He leaned against a wall and looked at Leonardo from out of the corner of his eye. Leonardo was rubbing his arm bashfully, looking at the suddenly very fascinating sewer walls. Ugh. He probably feels all weird tellin' me dis stuff. Alright Raph. Let's be sensitive! You can do it cuz you're da best, toughest, manliest turtle that – wait, that don't help to being sensitive! Shit. Ok. Let's do dis again. Be sensitive. All the while this argument was going on in his mind Leonardo felt more and more out of place in front of his brother.
I have never felt so awkward in my life, Leonardo gasped in his mind.
Suddenly, arms were around his neck. Raphael stood awkwardly before Leo, his stance stiff and his muscles flexed at attention, making sure he was doing this whole 'sensitive' thing right. Leonardo's eyes widened and he looked at Raphael, a bit confused. "Ugh, Raph?"
"What? Tryin' ta be sensitive here!" he cried in frustration. Leonardo smiled at him endearingly. "If yer jus gonna make fun o'me you can forget about me bein' sensitive to ya Leo."
"No, Raphael. No," Leonardo said, wrapping his arms around the muscular turtle, now trying to get away. "No, I just didn't expect that." Leonardo nuzzled his face into Raphael's shoulder. "I just felt so ashamed," he whispered softly.
Raphael's angered melted into compassion for his beloved leader and elder. He's so obsessed wit bein' honorable, can't imagine how he must feel doin' somethin' so impure. "Ah," Raphael exhaled sharply. "Alright, alright Leo. Can you jus tell me what happened? So I can understandya?"
Leonardo's eyes gleamed with joy at hearing that Raphael wanted to understand and talk about something instead of muscling his way through a subject.
"Well, I was doing my meditation," Leonardo began. "As you well know, a good leader must always-"
"Not ta be mean Leo, but cut this leader crap with me okay?" Raphael smirked. "I know you're a good leader. Hell, I know you're the best leader. Now, movin' on about honor and leadership and purity and all that bullshit to the real meat of the stew alright?"
Leonardo nodded. "Very well Raphael. If you insist." He cleared his throat, nervous at getting to the point so quickly.
Leonardo was hoping he would have been able to prepare himself to talk about this most sensitive topic with the first part of the speech but because Raphael did not want to hear it, now Leonardo had to deal with it immediately. "Well, like I said I was meditating and all of a sudden," he cleared his throat. His hands went to the back of his neck and he looked around the sewers awkwardly. "Well, I started feeling something, ugh, erm, uncomfortable, and that's when I realized I was experiencing a most intimate and ugh, aherm, trying predicament to be having in the open." A flush blanketed Leonardo's usually green face. He shuffled in place and still would not meet Raphael's eyes. He took a deep breath, and continued his embarrassing story a little louder than an instant ago out of embarrassment and lack of comfort. "So! I simply stood up, covering my genitalia area, zone, place, part area there," he said, his hands making all kinds of shapes and pointing in directions everywhere except between his legs, eyes to the north. "and tried to nonchalantly make my way to my room to, erm, ugh, aherm, deal with my predicament when of course Mikey has to look away from his video game for the first time ever and see me and that' when you come in."
Leonardo finally looked at Raphael who was standing there, a stoic look on his face. Leonardo felt judged and embarrassed. He chuckled nervously to put some noise back in the air, the silence making his hear race and tears cloud his eyes. "Ugh, Raph?" he asked, a small quiver in his voice. Does he think I'm disgusting now?
Michelangelo finished preparing his midmorning snack, a sandwich with double bacon, double ham, and a whole lot of cheese. "Hahaha! Michelangelo you have outdone yourself this time! Muah!" he cried, licking his lips in anticipation of the deliciousness that he was about to experience.
He walked back to the living room, and plopped himself on the couch, using his mad ninja skills to keep the plate motionless so as not to upset its precious cargo. "Mikey how do you do it?!" he whispered to himself happily. The look in his eyes betrayed nothing but pure starvation, as if he had not eaten in months and this was going to the only food he would eat for the next few. "It's cuz you're awesome!" he cried happily to himself.
He reached for the treasure poised handsomely on his play, his hands dancing in slow and dramatic anticipation. When his moment of attack was interrupted by a voice. His back immediately went erect and he looked in the direction of the voice. It was Donatello, emerging from his lab, the door slightly ajar.
"What are you doing to that poor sandwich Mikey?" Donatello asked, forcing himself to sound casual. He nervously went to sit down on the couch, as far from Mikey was seemed normal, chuckling.
"Dude!" Michelangelo cried. Donatello's heart slightly raced. There was a pause between Mikey's voice and a slight panic befell Donatello. "You totally threw my entire concentration out of whack!" Donatello released his breath and smiled.
"Oh forgive me, Mikey," he said, mock bowing to him. "Didn't we just eat breakfast an hour or two ago?" Donatello asked matter-of-factly.
"I will have you know Donatello," Mikey said with a snippy air. "That is has been exactly three hours since breakfast," he said, holding out his hand to drive the point home.
"Oh, forgive me Michelangelo," Donatello smiled.
"Of course. You barbarians that don't eat regularly would never understand the complexities of balanced diet," he said smugly. He looked at his sandwich again and then back at Donatello. His face suddenly got serious and Donatello gulped furiously. "Hey, Donatello," he said softly.
"Yeah?"
Michelangelo rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the lair. His shuffled to fro the television set and finally settled a bit unsteadily on Donatello. "Do you want some of my sandwich?" he asked.
Donatello smiled and nodded.
Michelangelo grinned and ran to the kitchen to get a knife to slice the delicious treat in half. Donatello watched him as he walked to the kitchen and looked at his very frightening sandwich. He got closer to inspect the contents of the sandwich he was about to consume.
"Look at it Donatello!" Michelangelo cried with pride. "Is it not the most beautiful things your eyes have ever had the honor to see!" he stated more than asked.
"Ugh, Mikey, where are the vegetables in this sandwich?" Donatello asked, slightly worried.
"Pssh! Vegetables! I'm a man!" he cried. "Men don't eat vegetables! Well unless it's liver I guess."
Donatello looked at Mikey. "Mikey, liver is not a vegetable," he informed the younger turtle now positioning himself to slice his sacred snack.
"Oh, well whatever, then no veggies for a man like me!" he cried. He dramatically raised his arm and sliced the meal with such force the cheese exploded and bits of bacon flew on the table.
"Michelangelo!" Donatello cried, shielding his face from the cheese and bacon eruption.
Mikey laughed as he licked his arms clear of post-battle wounds. "There you go Donatello," Michelangelo said happily.
Donatello took the sandwich in his hands, cheese dripping from every angle of it. He shrugged at the mess being made. I'll just clean it up after. This is going to be messy anyways. "Hey, Mikey, am I going to get a heart attack from this?" he asked, slightly concerned for his health.
But there was no answer. Michelangelo had already begun eating, his mouth full of food and shining with delight.
"Raphael?" Leonardo pleaded. The stoic look on the emerald green turtle's face stirred an uneasy feeling in the leader's face.
Raphael rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry Leo, I ain't too good wit bein' sensitive and shit like that dat, ya know?"
Leonardo forced a chuckle. "Oh, of course, I know you're not. Uhm, well I suppose we should be getting back?"
"It's alright ya know?"
"What do you mean?"
"You don't always havta worry bout bein' honorable and pure and da best," Raphael crossed his arms across his chest, a motion that Leonardo reasoned was done almost as second nature. "It's okay if ya get a fucking boner dude. Seriously."
Raphael walked over to his brother and embraced him. A warmth emanated from Raphael that Leonardo was not familiar with. A comfort and feeling of protection befell him, as if it was okay that he was not in control at the moment. Leonardo hugged Raphael back.
"You know you don't gotta go it alone bro," Raphael said, releasing him and placing his hand on Leonardo's shoulder reassuringly. "I ain't here ya judge ya or none of that shit." Leonardo smile and Raphael smirked. "Knock ya down a few pegs and maybe show ya who's da boss, sure! But not judge."
Leonardo's smile widened hearing Raphael's signature sarcasm. "Thanks Raphael."
Leonardo thought the ordeal over. He smiled and chuckled at himself for being what he now reasoned as a bit dramatic. Then Raphael spoke.
"Hey Leo?"
"Hmmm?"
"So, what caused yer random boner anyways?"
Leonardo shot him a look of distress. "Uhm, ahem, yeah well, about that. Uhm, funny you should ask, haha."
Donatello only ate half of the sandwich that Michelangelo gave him. Still full from this morning's breakfast and a bit concerned for his health with what he knew for a fact was a heart attack on a plate, he set the rest of the sandwich down on Michelangelo's now empty plate.
"Dude! How could you not finish this?!" Michelangelo asked in shock.
"You know Mikey, not everyone has four stomachs like you," Donatello chuckled. He exhaled strongly and a belch escaped him. "Ugh! Now I'm going to have the worst stomach ache and this is going to have a most unpleasant assault on my poor behind." He put his hand over his face. "Honestly, how you stomach this and cause yourself so much unnecessary pain is beyond me!"
"You know Donatello, iph notsfo bad onthe you get usthed to iph," Michelangelo said through a mouthful of Doantello's left over sandwich. Cheese dripped from the left side of his mouth and Donatello smiled with fondness. Michelangelo could see Donatello watching him from out of the corner of his eye. A small pounding began in his heart and he turned to Donatello. He swallowed and smiled at him, cleaning his lip in the process. Donatello chuckled.
Michelangelo shuffled in his place and Donatello couldn't help but know what he was shuffling about. "Hey Mikey," Donnie started awkwardly. "You know . . ."
"Sorry about earlier bro," Michelangelo said, itching his chin. "I didn't mean to ya know walk in and ya know see ya and ya know-"
"It's alright Michelangelo," Donatello nodded. "I'm sorry about that. I should have been more careful."
"Yeah . . ."
"I didn't mean to make it awkward," he reasoned.
"Nah, dude. It's all good," Michelangelo laughed. "I mean not like you're gonna rape me or something like that right?" he added awkwardly.
Donatello's mouth fell open, not really knowing what to say after something like that. He nodded and looked away to the television.
"Of course not Michelangelo," Donatello whispered, a slight pain in his heart. I love you Michelangelo. I would never hurt you.
"Ahem, have you thought of it?"
Donatello's heart stopped. He looked at Michelangelo, a questioning look on his face. "Why do you ask me that?" he breathed.
"I was just wondering," Michelangelo shrugged.
"I would never hurt you Mikey," Donatello told him. Michelangelo nodded and smiled at him.
"Thanks Donnie. You're the best you know that?"
They sat in silence for a few more minutes, a tense air lingering between the two turtles. Both unaware what this conversation would lead to and both nervous as to what may or may not happen next.
"Have you thought of it?" Donatello almost squeaked, afraid to push Michelangelo too far.
There were a few more seconds of silence. Neither turtle looked at each other , they barely deigned to breathe. Michelangelo took a deep breath and sharply exhaled.
"Maybe . . ." he whispered.
Hello fellow TCESTers! :) New Chpter! More to come!
Thank you for the feedback and I hope you enjoy the read! Thank you for all your support and I will upload again soon! :)
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