Genesis

Turtlecest, raphxdon – Because everything has to start somewhere…

Disclaimer: If I owned the turtles, it wouldn't be a kiddie show.

Warnings: turtlecest, yaoi, turtle on turtle action, slash, mature: are you sure you are in the right place? Be weary or your brain might implode.

Chapter Eleven – Red, Summoned

Raphael violently halted when he saw the flash of purple obstructing his view of Leonardo. Had he not caught his stomach, it may have emptied on the living room floor. The rest of the figure soon materialized as he slowly put the pieces together. Donatello was standing between him and his destination. Raphael could not remember the last time a shockwave hit him so hard, and if anything, it only flushed his mood further into the crapper. Begrudgingly, he had to proceed, despite his greater interests in turning around and heading right back up the staircase.

The hothead wished Donatello was not standing there. Nothing he had ever done compared to how he felt. Raphael would bet money his brain just transformed into pudding. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. The inarticulate turtle's thoughts swirled abhorrently in his cranium. Moving was a lot more difficult than it should be.

He did not know what to do. Or what to say. But a pleasant and familiar persona started to ease his pain and confusion. Raphael let it take over enthusiastically as his more aggressive side offered to take the reins. Anger was familiar territory for Raphael. He could bask in its warmth and it would shield him from whatever Donatello could possibly say as he stepped off towards his meeting with Leonardo.

That was right. He had been summoned. Of course Leonardo knew. The nosey ninja overstepped boundaries by spying on him last night. But Raphael could not explain what the leader saw. He would have nothing to tell Leonardo when the interrogation started. Raphael did not even understand himself. One second, he was screaming obscenities at his most kind-hearted brother, and the next…

Raphael wanted nothing more than to forget what happened. He ran away, like he always did, and found no comfort in the outside world. Out there, he was all by himself. No one knew he even existed. There was Casey, but he and April were gone for the week, taking up invitations from family to continue the celebration of their engagement.

He drank; oh how he drank. And he broke one of the few rules he set for himself, unbeknownst to the others. He drank alone.

But he did not forget what happened. The memories constantly put his common sense under siege, leaving him nowhere to turn to but towards his anger. If only he was capable of drowning them away, but Raphael was positive that not even the liquor store on 94th and Lexington had enough alcohol to do the job; diminish the memory of what he almost did.

So he would just have to deal.

His pause was brief and unnoticed. He knew what he had to do, no matter how painful it was going to be. Leonardo requested his company, and unlike usual, there was no ignoring it. Because if he refused to cooperate, then Leonardo would just as fast turn to Donatello for the answers he wanted. And Raphael wanted Donatello to stay as far back from this mess as he could manage.

"Move." Raphael never stopped his barrage. Before Donatello could actually react, the hothead had already plowed past him, their shoulders colliding with no restraint. The genius stumbled back, both out of instinct to regain his balance and to do as he was told. Raphael refused to meet the gaze of the turtle that he could feel burning through the back of his skull.

Raphael did everything in his power to avoid it, but as he slammed the door in Donatello's face, he caught that wide-eyed confused set of eyes staring back at him. It was for the best. If he treated Donatello anything other than callously, Leonardo may lose that cool sense of composure he had been building all morning.

Playing Leonardo was his expertise. His field of study. Raphael was not going to make any rookie mistakes today. Not for his sake, but for Donatello.

Leonardo summoned him, and only him. This was the best news so far out of the entire ordeal. Raphael knew the conditions, so there was no reason for him to ask. Leonardo wanted this to disappear quietly. And if Raphael cooperated, then it would. It was best just to keep Donatello uninvolved.

Heat was already radiating off of him, as he had little to no organization of his thoughts. In honestly, he was in absolute terrible shape to be going toe to toe with Leonardo on this. He barely understood what was happening and could only rely on Leonardo's own since of astonishment.

It was a stupid thing for Raphael to do. He got too close, and for heaven's sake had no idea why. Tensions were high, words were flying, and he just slipped from control. A control he always vowed to keep around his brothers, for their protection; protection from violence usually, not… whatever last night's episode was turning into. And control slipped away at the worst possible moment. It was a moment of weakness. And it would cost him dear.

Without even a smart ass announcement of his arrival, Raphael kneeled in front of Leonardo so their … negotiations could commence. The candlelight was actually comforting. He could easily read the expressions on Leonardo's face and body. Of course, Leonardo was granted the same privilege. But also, the idea of bright lights did not set well with Raphael at the moment. The less like an interrogation this felt, the easier he could deal. No doubt, that was Leonardo's intentions. Because Leonardo was an expert at this game, too.

Raphael took the opportunity to clear his mind. The silence was a clear invitation to do so. It was difficult, but some of the clouds were lifting. He felt he had a mission and the path illuminated. As one of the oldest, he had to be the responsible one. And he had to do whatever Leonardo wanted to save his family. To save Donatello. Anger would push him through, somehow, as his battery and strength, but his absolute loyalty to his brothers would make it possible.

Even Leonardo. Because what Leonardo was doing was right.

"Confide in me, Raphael." Leonardo started off, his voice serene and calm. He obviously practiced all morning. "Tell me everything that has happened."

Raphael hated his position. He hated it so hard. "You'll think I'm lyin, but nothin." He played his voice, just right, sounding as humble as he could make it. He could not hide the subtle hints of feeling dejected, though.

Leonardo opened his eyes. "There is something."

Raphael took a deep breath and let it out. "I didn't know. I didn't know I was gonna do that." Raphael truthfully blurted. He was careful in his words, to the best of his ability, but frustration and the feeling that he could actually have someone to talk to about it waged an internal battle. Leonardo was not his enemy, but as the semi-head of the family, he was authority. Raphael naturally sought to dismantle authority.

Leonardo kept staring at him, waiting for Raphael to take action. But the turtle remained still, as Leonardo did not fully understand his brother's capabilities. Raphael rarely acted without a determining factor. He had to be provoked. He had to offer a reaction to an action. It was Leonardo who always performed such actions and now, as the eldest sat back to watch, very little was occurring.

Raphael completely realized that he was being so vague and sounding fuzzy on the details. He had nothing of significance to report to Leonardo of his interactions with Donatello. But the turtle could not bring himself to spit out useless details or even try to tell of the events that led to the night before. He could neither order them chronologically nor spin them like a fairy tale. Raphael was naturally defensive, and part of that was to maintain information on a need to know basis; keep everything close to the chest until he had to absolutely give it up.

This caused a problem. The entire circumstance sounded worse than it really was. There was an 'almost kiss' and nothing more. Raphael's inability to accurately state that one simple sentence was practically telling Leonardo there had been more intimate sessions. The hothead fully realized this, but all he could do was fume, grit his teeth, and stare at the floor with nothing else to say.

Leonardo stared emotionlessly at his younger brother for quite a while. Raphael could feel his brother's eyes moving over his body, waiting for any slip up. "You understand that it's not… natural." Leonardo let out his first indication of stress as he paused to consider his words. "We're bro-"

"I know. I know." Raphael's aggression raged inside his body, heating the room around him. "It was a mistake."

"Brothers." Leonardo felt it was impertinent to finish the statement. Raphael visually disapproved. Like hearing it lashed at his inner morality.

"Has there been any –" Leonardo started and Raphael basically read his mind.

"Damn it, Leo. No." Raphael grew disturbed with the questions. He knew exactly what Leonardo was trying to ask and he could not hold everything in for that. He would never do anything so perverse with Donatello. At least he seriously thought that until last night. Raphael growled and bit his tongue, not to say anything more. He was at Leonardo's mercy and it would do him good to remember that. Leonardo was the leader of the family and also the thin wall between what happens in the household and what their father found out.

Raphael said nothing. He kept his gaze at the ground between them, grinding his teeth each time he felt the urge to interject or stab Leonardo in the face.

"I would like to talk to Donatello about it." Leonardo said after a long pause.

"NO." Raphael shouted, the first time in their conference. "No, Leo." His second go around was almost more of a plea. The turtle constantly avoided eye contact as Leonardo attempted. "I'm supposed ta be the responsible one." He added with more gall. "Leave 'em out of this."

Leonardo looked to the side, no longer assaulting Raphael with his gaze. Raphael, on the other hand launched a murderous stare at Leonardo. He could not contain himself on this one. "I mean it, Leo." Raphael stated it as serious as he could muster for the moment, but yet again his voice carried a certain hint of dependence.

They sat in silence for a while, plans formulating. The air started to cool as Raphael lost some of his heat. He was being extremely submissive for him. It was not his normal demeanor. Leonardo possibly did not know how to deal with the situation, either.

"I'll take care of it, Leo." Raphael finally piped up.

Leonardo glanced over. Raphael looked up. And their eyes met in silent agreement. Raphael finally understood that Leonardo did not actually want to have his hands in this mess at all. The turtle was shocked, confused, and wanted the entire dilemma to just fade away.

And Raphael did not blame him. That was what he wanted, too.

Leonardo pressed his lips together, knowing it was his turn to say something. "Then this is your responsibility." He finally concluded.

"Leave Donnie out of this." Raphael pushed forward again. He would not be happy until Leonardo promised.

Leonardo took a deep breath, a brave mood. It was obvious the two were not battling here, the field they were both so used to. They were coming to a similar finale. He was making sure at no point he had lost control. And by doing so, offered Raphael a hint of his own uncertainty towards the current events.

"I agree."

Here's the scoop: Every story needs an antagonist. Obviously with my limited characters, it is going to be a brother or father. Leonardo's a perfect candidate. But really, you can't hate the guy. And so, here he is, just befuddled and bothered by the whole thing, wanting to just make it go away. That's reasonable. He is not being a jerk. So no Leo-hate =o)