Chapter 14

Coming out of the Shell

Everyone was tired and eager to get back to the lair, so they decided to just find the nearest manhole and take the long way through the sewers. The atmosphere between them all was thick with euphoria as they chatted happily about this night's battle. All except Raph. He was keeping quiet, trying to figure out some kind of plan, now that he was faced with the task of confessing his feelings to Freida. He was so nervous that his mind went blank whenever he tried to summon up something to say to her that would be able to communicate his seemingly un-communicate able feelings. Finally he came to a decision. As the group neared the lair, Raph pulled Freida aside.

"What's up?" asked Freida. Raph gulped. His confidence again vanished completely now that he was faced with Freida's shining tree bark brown eyes. His throat felt constricted, and his heart was pounding so hard and loud that it seemed to obscure the laughter of the others up ahead. Freida waited patiently as Raph had a little private panic attack.

I'm so not ready for this! He thought frantically. She'll think I'm such a loser! Raph closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down. He took a deep breath.

"Freida…"

"Yes?"

"There's something…I've been wanting to tell you."

"Okay, shoot."

"Uh…" Raph gulped again. There was absolutely no way that he could put what was on his mind into comprehendible words. "Uh…I don't know how I'm gonna say this. I've always had such a hard time explaining my feelings to people." Moron! he scolded himself. Don't make excuses! Just tell her! "I…Okay .. I…Um." He was tripping over his words now. "Listen. These past few weeks, you and I have been spending a lot of time together."

"Yeah, I know," said Freida, smiling. "You're really nice to talk to."

"Right, uh, thanks," stammered Raph. "Anyway, spending time with you has…made me feel…a lot more different than I usually do." Lame! he scolded himself again.

"What do you mean?" asked Freida. Raph noticed a slight change in her voice; it was a little higher, like it got whenever she was worried about something.

"I…I…" Raph was stuttering horribly now. Say it you idiot! Say it! "I…Aw the heck with it!" he growled. Freida started a bit at his tone. "I've been feeling so weird lately," he explained, his voice rising a few notes. "I feel like my chest is gonna burst any second now; like I'm just gonna lay down and die, right now. Just die." Freida looked worried. "It's like I'm sick with a bad cold, or…or something. I can't take it. It's too much!" Freida made a sympathetic noise.

"Are you sick? Is it something you ate?" she asked.

"No! No, it's not like that," said Raph slowly. Freida tilted her head in confusion.

"It…it's a good feeling, actually." he stammered.

"A good feeling?"

"Yeah. Not really sick, more like…. It's kind of like the rush I get when I jump off a building. It's like some huge butterflies are having a party inside me! It's so uplifting, so neat! Raph exhaled loudly. "And, you know what?"

"What?"

"It's all happening because of you."

Freida gasped.

"Wh…What?" Now her voice was really high; so unlike her.

"This feeling only happens whenever I'm around you."

"Me?" she whispered.

"Yeah. Every time I see you, it happens all over again. When I feel this way, all I want to do is to be with you, Freida. It's like I need be with you. When I'm not with you, I can't get you out of my head!" Freida's eyes became very shiny. Raph's face suddenly darkened. "When you tried to fight me, I don't know what happened. It was weird. I just couldn't fight you. I didn't want to hurt you." Raph put a hand over his eyes. "When you scratched my shoulder…" Freida winced. "The way you looked at me…I thought my chest had been torn open and set on fire! That one look you gave me, hurt more than anything I've every come up against. But still, I wanted to protect you. That's why I followed you. I couldn't think of what would happen to me if you got hurt." He couldn't see the silent tears that slid down Freida's face. Raph's voice got quieter, with no less amout of emotion. "I'd do anything for you, Freida. If something happened to you…I don't know what I'd do." Freida breathed in softly.

"Raph, I…" but Raph cut her off.

"If you stop me now we'll be here all night." He chuckled. "Freida, I…"

"Raph, don't," she said, turning her face away from his. He moved in towards her, but she put a hand up to his chest and held him back. "Don't...say anymore," she said quietly, her voice trembling. "I know what you're going to say, but you shouldn't. You don't...I'm not good for you...You deserve better..."

"Shut up," said Raph gruffly. Freida looked at him for a second, then turned away again, her bottom jaw trembling. Slowly, Raph put a hand on top of the one Freida held to his chest, and gently took it off. He clasped her hand in his, holding it close to his cheek. Freida opened her eyes and looked into his.

"Freida, I love you." Freida let out a tiny sob. "But, if you don't…you know; feel the same way about me, all you have to do is tell me. Say it, and I'll leave you alone for good." Just saying the words caused him grief, but he shook it off. "I just have to know. Freida, Please tell me." Raph released Freida's hand. Still crying, she slowly brought it down to rest over her heart. He waited. Eventually her tears ceased, and she wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, smiling. In one swift motion, Freida stepped forward, placed her hands of either side of Raph's face, and pecked him lightly on the cheek. Then she stood back, smiling broadly. It had happened so fast that Raph was temporarily stunned. He blinked several times, and shook his head, bewildered.

"Wh…What?" he stuttered, unable to fathom what had just happened.

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" asked Freida teasingly.

"It might help," said Raph. Freida giggled. She took another step forward, so that the two of them were within inches of each other. "I love you too, Raphael," she whispered. Raph's eyes widened.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," said Freida. "Everything you just said to me…I've been feeling the same way. On the roof, when the Foot attacked…," her voice quivered a bit, "I thought I'd lost you."

It took a moment, but within seconds, a smile was spreading across his face.

"Lost me? Are you nuts?" he laughed. Freida frowned, confused. Raph smiled tenderly down at her. "You couldn't lose me if you tried." Freida gasped, then smiled back. Raph put his arms around her sides, and she placed her hands on his shoulders. Finally, after almost a month or so of hidden feelings and painful tension, Raph and Freida kissed.

Hold on. Before you get all grossed out, just remember: they're not humans, so they don't need to kiss like humans. For them, a really long peck-kiss was just fine. If you don't know what a peck-kiss is, go and ask your mom really quickly.

Behind the two lovestruck teenage turtles, the others had come back to see where their siblings had disappeared to. When they saw the two of them kissing, they let out whoops and cheers, clapping and hollering with glee.

"All right Raph!" cheered the boys.

"Way to go Freida!" cheered the girls.

As with most theraputic chains of events, seeing Raph and Frieda finally "together" kind of set off a spark in the emotional stability of the rest of the turtles. They all harbored feelings for each other, now it was only a matter of time before someone admitted it. Lizzie was actually the first to break the ice. She looked over at Mikey, who was laughing hysterically. The sight of his big brother actually kissing someone distracted him somewhat.

"Aww," he said, "Isn't that cute?"

"You know what else is cute?" asked Lizzie slyly.

"What?" Mikey turned turned towards her and was pulled into a short smeck! kiss. Mikey laughed, and then fell over in a typical sitcom faint. Lizzie giggled. Don, Cleo, Joan, and Leo roared with laughter. Mikey jumped up again. "I'm okay! I'm okay! Just wanted to add effect." He grinned at Lizzie, who batted her eyes at him. "You know, I didn't quite catch that," he said mischievously. Lizzie giggled, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Mikey put his hands on her shell, and they kissed again.

Don and Cleo were in such a state of laughter that they almost forgot that they were standing right next to each other. When they realized this, they blushed even more than they usually did when they were in close proximity to each other. There was only one question on each of their minds: Who was going to admit it first? They both started talking at the same time.

"Don, I…"

"Cleo, I…"

"I just wanted to say…"

"I've been thinking lately…"

"You're very…"

"I think you're…"

"What I mean is…"

"What I'm trying to say is…"

Leo sighed exasperatedly, then he walked up behind Don and gave him a little push. Don's and Cleo's hands locked together at the same time that their mouths came in contact with each other. A first, both of their eyes popped, but eventually they slid closed, and the two of them settled into the comfort of a long-delayed kiss.

Now only Leo and Joan were left. They looked at each other, unsure how to put it.

"Uh…"

"So…" The two of them were rarely put in situations where they were embarrassed, but this was an obvious exception. Leo tried his hand at making the first confession.

"Joan?"

"Yes?"

"I…well." He was having trouble putting his feelings into words. "I…um…" But Joan held up a hand to silence him.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain it. I sense what you want to say."

"You…huh?" Leo was confused.

"Remember what I said about using my chi to detect tension?"

"Yes."

"Well, my chi is telling me that your chakras are glowing at the moment, so your brain is a little muddled and can't sort out what to say."

"Oh." As a matter of fact, Leo could kind of feel some energy radiating from Joan's body. It was a warm, comforting energy; it was the energy that Leo had fallen in love with. It was Joan's energy.

"There's a simple fix for this," said Joan, looking at him intently.

"And that would be…?" asked Leo.

"Three simple words." He knew exactly what she meant. Leo calmed himself down. It was time to tell her. Leo gazed down into Joan's eyes. Every word was going to be an effort, but he wouldn't let that stop him.

"Joan, I'm in love with you."

Her reaction was not quite what he'd expected. Joan giggled and started to laugh. Leo's heart pounded. Was she laughing at him? "What?" he asked, as casually as he could. Joan stopped laughing.

"That…That was five words, Leonardo!" she said, giggling uncontrollably. Leo cocked an eye in confusion. "Five words! I said three!" Joan guffawed.

"Oh!" Leo finally got it. It was weird; he wasn't usually this slow on the uptake. But then again, nobody, not even Leo, is perfect.

"It's okay," said Joan, wiping away a tear. "You were close."

"Do I get a second try?"

"Um…no." Leo blinked. She was suddenly very close to him. "I've got another challenge for you." Leo gulped.

"Yeah?" he asked quietly. Joan grinned. She put a hand on his shoulder, and kissed him. Leo's eyes slid shut. He placed his hand on the back of her neck, and kissed her back.

I know what you're thinking. Love? After such a short time together? Well, some people are just meant to be together, and these turtles certainly were. If you believe in destiny and true love, than you'll agree with me. If not, well, you might as well just put this story down and walk away. But I'm sure you, my reader, are not someone who picked up this story and expected it to follow the rules of reality (especially not if you're a fan of the ninja turtles). So anyway; yes, this was destiny and true love.

The eight of them finally released each other, big grins settled on their faces.

"Cowabunga, dude," breathed Mikey.

"So, who wants to break the news to Splinter?" asked Don, still holding Cleo's hand.

"He knows, trust me," said Raph, his arm around Freida's shoulders.

"How does he know?" asked Leo. Joan's right arm was curled around his left.

"It's Splinter," said Raph simply. Leo nodded, still smiling. As they started back on their way to the lair, Mikey quickly whispered to Lizzie,

"Just because we're going steady now doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you when we're playing Mortal Combat." Lizzie giggled.

When the eight of them walked down the lair's stairway, hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm, or arm on shoulder, Splinter laughed and said,

"What took you so long?" At hearing the sound of his voice, they all laughed.

They spent time over dinner, telling Splinter about the night's battle. Leo recounted what Karai had said to him about the Shredder being alive. The girls weren't as shocked as the boys were, but they had gotten the idea that for this enemy to be alive wasn't a good thing.

"They were going to siphon all of the power off of the city grids and use it to…revive him, somehow," explained Leo.

"Well, that plan has been officially foiled," said Mikey triumphantly.

"But still," said Don, "I don't understand how he could still be alive. It's not possible."

"More like not probable, in this case," said Cleo.

"We should keep an eye out all the same," said Leo grimly.

Tired as they were, the turtles were still way too excited to got to bed right away. They sat around on the chairs and couches, talking away, as Mikey and Lizzie sat on the floor and watched a marathon of American Idol. Every once in a while one of the others would voice their opinions about how great, or how terrible, the singers on the TV where, after which Mikey or Lizzie would respond with their own opinions. One by one, the turtles fell asleep. Raph and Freida were asleep on one side of the couch, her head on his shoulder and his head on her head. Leo and Joan were sleeping on the other side of the couch, her head in his lap. Don was snoozing in the armchair to the right of the couch, with Cleo resting against his knees. Mikey and Lizzie were snoring on the floor, her head resting on his shell.

The week that followed turned out to be one of the happiest the turtles had ever known. Now that everyone had let their feelings out of the shadows, they were much more relaxed around each other. Every morning they'd wake to find someone waiting for them, arms open in welcome. The boys' days were no longer boring, now that they had someone to distract them from surface world isolation. The eight of them went on outings every night, be it for excersise, crime fighting, or just to have fun. If they weren't together as a group, they were off doing something on their own with new found companion.

Mikey and Lizzie actally found a way to sneek into a movie theater without being seen by anyone, although the first couple of tries were foiled by their restricting older siblings. The girls had almost completely forgotten about going home to Montana, This subject was something Raph and Mikey dreaded and did their best to steer the girls away from. Joan and Leo were aware of this, but they didn't say anything. Although she felt somewhat disloyal in saying it, Joan wanted very much to remain in New York, where she could be with Leo.

But of course, fate eventually caught up with them.