A/N: I wanted to say a quick thank you to le02468, yukio87 and Mr. Butters who have sent reviews and comments for previous chapters. You guys are great and your reviews are so encouraging. Thank you!
Woody and Sadie had arrived back at the lair the next day around mid-morning armed with groceries for a big lunch.
Donnie, Sadie, Master Splinter and Usagi sat the kitchen table and laughed as Mikey and Woody prepared the lunch. Master Splinter marveled at how well Mikey and his friend were able to anticipate each other's cooking needs, tossing food back and forth from the cutting board to the stove top, while flying swiftly around the kitchen without knocking each other over. It was the kind of smooth choreography he praised his sons for while they sparred and he was impressed that Woody fit into Mikey's fast-paced, colorful rhythm so easily.
"You must be a good cook, Woody," Donnie said, "Mikey refuses to let anyone else touch his precious kitchen utensils."
"He's an excellent cook," Mikey responded, grinning at Woody who ducked his head when he felt himself blush.
"From what you've told me, I doubt you're any better with your lab equipment," Sadie said, elbowing Donnie's arm.
Donnie laughed. "True, although Mikey always finds a way around my lab security systems."
"Ninja, dude," Mikey said over his shoulder, grinning at his older brother. "Honestly, you should be thanking me. Think of all you've learned about enhancing security thanks to me!" His grin grew when even Master Splinter began chuckling.
No one had seen Raphael yet, which didn't surprise anyone as they had all seen him leave again on his new shellcycle once his party was over the night before. No doubt he came in late and was sleeping in.
They were surprised, however, that Leonardo was still asleep. Even on the nights that he stayed up late to await Raphael's return, something he did on numerous past occasions, he somehow always managed to wake up early for meditation with Master Splinter.
Master Splinter had begun to notice dark circles under Leonardo's eyes lately though, so he was hoping that Leonardo's absence this morning meant that he was catching up on some much needed rest on their day off.
Mikey was beginning to dish the spaghetti noodles into individual bowls when they all heard a deep, rumbling laugh coming from the doorway. Woody thought it was almost comical how Mike froze with a spoon full of noodles in mid-air just to stare as his two eldest brothers entered the kitchen. But he soon noticed that everyone, even Mikey's father, had frozen and were staring at the two turtles.
Raph and Leo stopped grinning at each other long enough to turn and look at everyone else in the kitchen.
"Raph, are you laughing?" Donnie asked, incredulously. He took note of the sound and had a flashback to when they were children, which was quite possibly the last time he'd heard a real laugh coming from his big brother.
"Seriously, dude. I'm scared," Mikey said. "What was that sound you were making? You're not dying right? Hey!" He said, swinging around and tossing noodles across the room in response to Woody jabbing him in the skin between plastron and shell, one of the few places Woody had found he could jab Mike and get his attention.
"Don't make fun of him just for laughing, Mikester," Woody muttered. "He beats you up enough as it is."
Mikey only laughed in response and went back to dishing out the spaghetti noodles while Woody followed along with the sauce.
Leo sat at the table next to Usagi and began a conversation with his friend. Raph smacked Mikey on the back of his head as he sat next to Leo and then began asking Donnie questions about the fuel valve on the Shellcycle.
Leo managed to carry on a conversation with Usagi and Master Splinter, while half listening to the sound of Raph's voice next to him. He wondered if anyone else could hear the soft difference in Raphael's tone of voice this morning. Or in the way his broad shoulders seemed to be eased back. Or in the way his eyes seemed to be shining brightly.
He thought back to earlier that morning when he'd woken to the familiar scent of Raphael and could feel the pressure of something wrapped around his shell. He knew it was corny but at the time he hadn't wanted to open his eyes for fear that the sensations would disappear.
When he did open them, he found he was still face to face with his favorite turtle.
He took advantage of Raphael's sleeping form to let his eyes leisurely travel over the hothead's face, down the thick, emerald neck, across the broad shoulders. He scanned over the scars covering Raph's plastron until he reached the blanket that was covering them both. He loved the freedom of being able to look at his Raphael without a snarling glare in response. His hand lifted and began lightly tracing the lightning bolt-shaped scar at the top of Raph's plastron.
"Do you remember how I got that one?" a husky voice asked him.
Leo lifted his eyes and grinned when he saw that Raph's eyes were still closed.
"I remember you not listening to me when I said to watch out for the –" he was cut off by Raph growling as he leaned forward to cover Leo's lips with his own. Leo happily kissed him back and laughed when they broke apart. "You did ask if I remembered," he pointed out.
Raphael's only response was to squeeze his shell a little tighter.
Leo twisted his head around to glance at the clock on his bedside table and suddenly bolted upright.
"What?" Raph said, as he was practically dragged into a sitting position as well based on his unwillingness to let go of Leo.
"It's nearly eleven!" Leo said. "Master Splinter – Usagi – they're probably wondering where I am. We're lucky they haven't come into my room looking for me." Leo managed to untangle himself from the blanket and Raph's warm arms to jump up and start putting on his gear.
Raph frowned and watched him. "Lucky?" he asked.
Leo glanced at him as he pulled on his elbow pads. "Yes. Unless you're ok with them coming in and finding us cuddled together."
"I don't give two shits."
Leo stopped what he was doing and stared into Raph's green eyes. "Really? I wouldn't think you'd want anyone to see you cuddling. Anything. Ever."
Raph moved to the edge of the bed and stood up to approach Leo. "I'm not going anywhere Leo. I'll march downstairs and tell them all right now that I'm yers and yer mine."
Leo felt butterflies in his stomach and knew the grin on his face was so big he probably looked like a dork.
"You look like a dork," Raph said, trying to keep a smile off his own face. He lifted Leo's blue bandana from his bedside table to hand to him.
"Let's just settle into this ourselves first," Leo said, taking Raph's hand into his own, instead of just the blue cloth. "Then we'll start sharing."
"Whatever you say, Fearless," Raph said.
"Can I get that in writing? I've got some paper in here." He pretended to look around the room. "Just a little something to pull out and show you when you start arguing with me on patrols?"
"Shaddup," Raph said, pushing Leo towards the door. "Come on, we have to go get my gear before we head downstairs."
Leo's thoughts were quickly brought back to the present when he felt Raphael's foot slide up his leg. He resisted the urge to glance at the emerald turtle and suddenly realized that Master Splinter was asking him a question.
"Sensei?" he asked, hoping his father wouldn't be too upset by his inattention.
Master Splinter considered him for a moment before repeating himself. "I was asking if you would be willing to walk Usagi to a safe location after lunch so that he may return to his own dimension?"
"Of course," Leo said, nodding to his friend beside him.
He waited for the conversation to begin again around the table before throwing a grateful glance at Raphael.
Raphael smirked into his noodles in return. And for the first time in several years, the expression garnered butterflies in Leo, instead of irritation.
Raphael eyed the back of Leo's shell as he headed out the entrance of the lair with Usagi. He wished he could think up a reason to go with them, but he'd never been friends with the bunny, so it would probably seem strange if he tagged along.
He wasn't jealous. Well, he wasn't totally jealous. But he'd only had Leo back for one night. And he wasn't ready for him to be out of his sight yet.
He begrudgingly headed into the dojo to work out with his punching bag and wait for Leo's return.
And he did wait. And then waited some more. Finally, he headed towards Don's lab, ready to force the genius to track Leo's T-phone when Leo burst through the entrance, looking dead on his feet as he carried an unconscious Usagi.
"Leo!" Raph said, running to his side and immediately taking Usagi from him. "Donnie, get out here!" he called as he set Usagi down on their couch. He quickly turned back to Leo who had sunk to his knees on the floor.
Donnie rushed out of his lab with Sadie right behind him. He scanned Leo as Raphael was lifting him off the floor and carefully placing him in the armchair. He didn't see anything life-threatening so he turned his attention to Usagi. He'd never had to tend to the samurai before this and was suddenly at a loss for what to do about all the fur. Eventually he was able to focus on the areas of white fur that had been stained red from blood to locate the injuries.
Mikey was suddenly beside him, handing more bandages to Sadie so she could assist him before he headed over to Leo.
"I'm fine, Mikey," Leo said, trying to swat away his brother's examining hands.
"Yer bleeding, Leo," Raph grumbled at him. "Let the kid look. I can already tell yer gonna need stitches on that arm."
"Let me remind you, Leo," Mikey said, gripping his arm to keep it still, "that today was supposed to be our day off. And I don't count having to stitch you up as fun in any way."
"What has happened?" Master Splinter asked, appearing from his room. He eyed Leonardo while leaning forward to place a hand on Usagi's brow.
"Usagi and I were saying goodbye when we were surrounded by mousers and Baxter Stockman," Leo said, with disgust. He watched Woody hand Mikey supplies as he cleaned a deep cut on Leo's arm, preparing it for stitches.
"I thought Stockman disappeared when the Foot left town," Donnie said without taking his eyes off the wound he was stitching on Usagi's shoulder. "Why would he be back?"
"I didn't get a chance to ask," Leo said, fully aware of how tense Raphael was as he stood next to Leo's chair. "We were fighting off the mousers when we realized Stockman had some sort of weapon. After a few attempts, Usagi was able to strike the weapon, which also means he was closest to it when it exploded. He was tossed pretty far and has been unconscious ever since." He paused and cast a worried glance towards his friend. "Will he be ok, Donnie?"
"I think so, Leo," Donnie said. "Most of his injuries are pretty minor. We may just have to wait for him to wake up. I'll get him set up on the cot in my lab when I'm done here."
"What about Stockman and the rest of the mousers?" Raphael asked.
"Stockman was unconscious from the blast as well. But he was breathing when I checked him. And there weren't any mousers left when I was finished." He glanced up to see Raphael smirking at him. He smiled back before continuing. "I brought this home as well," Leo said, pulling a piece of the weapon out of his belt. Sadie moved over to him to take it for Donnie. "It was the only piece left that I could see. But maybe we can use it to figure out the purpose of the weapon."
"All stitched up, bro," Mikey said, standing from the crouching position he'd been in to take care of Leo's arm. "Now let me see the rest of the cuts."
"I'll get em, Mike," Raph said, taking the supplies before dropping into a crouch in front of Leo. "You go back to your day off." He began tending to Leo's more minor injuries, ignoring the shocked expression on Michelangelo's face.
"Lets help Don move the rabbit," Woody said, pulling on Mikey's arm while smiling to himself as he watched Raphael with Leo.
"Do you want me to look you over, Leo?" Donnie asked.
"No, I think Raph's got it," Leo said, not taking his eyes off Raphael as he continued to clean the other small cuts on his arms.
"Donatello, please alert us when Usagi wakes up," Master Splinter said, before heading into the dojo.
"I'll help you examine this," Sadie said, turning the fragment of weapon over in her hands before handing it to Donatello. They followed Mikey and Woody who were carrying Usagi between them towards the lab.
"You shoulda called me," Raph said when the others had left the main room.
"I just wanted to get back," Leo answered back quietly. "And my hands were pretty full. You know with all that fur, Usagi looks light and fluffy, but he's actually pretty darn heavy."
Raph's green eyes raised to meet Leo's blue ones. He knew Leo was trying to lighten the mood but couldn't find it within him to return a laugh. "I don't think we can keep this a secret for long," he said.
"Why not?"
"Because I was about to lose my shit just now in front of everyone," Raph said. "I wanted to go with you when you left and I shoulda followed my instinct."
"Raph, I'm barely hurt. And you've seen me way worse off than this before," Leo said.
"I know," Raph said, resting his hands on Leo's knees. "That doesn't mean I'm used to it or that I like it."
Leo leaned forward suddenly and kissed Raphael. "I'm sorry I worried you," he whispered. He looked towards the lab where he could hear the others working and sighed. "I should check on Usagi. It's our fault he got caught in a fight with Stockman."
Raphael nodded, agreeing with him.
"We'll continue this discussion later."
"Bet yer ass we will," Raph growled at him.
"He's waking up, Leo!" Don called out from the lab.
Raph stood up from his crouched position in front of Leo as Mikey and Woody left the lab.
"Yeah he woke up after we carried his heavy butt all the way in there," Mikey muttered as he and Woody plopped down on the couch to play video games.
Leo also stood quickly to head into the lab and suddenly fell back down into the chair.
"Wha-" Raph said, dipping down to look into Leo's face. "What was that?"
"Just felt dizzy," Leo said, placing a hand on his forehead. "I'm fine." He pushed himself up from the chair and was able to push past the dizziness this time to start walking towards the lab. Raph trailed behind him, worried as he watched Leo's steps falter a few times.