Day turned to night, and everyone fell asleep, almost all with sweet dreams fluttering through their heads.
Almost all.
Raph's mind drifted back just a night back, when Valentine had blown up at him, and he at her...
~()~
Secretly, he had been thrilled at the idea of having dinner alone with Valentine. Thrilled, excited, eager...but Valentine...
"What the heck is going on here?" She'd demanded as Allie May had led her and Raph to their dinner table. A feathery winged arm stretched out to pull aside a thick red curtain, opening a quaint little world up for their usage. A simple little table, simplistically set with a white tablecloth and adorned with a slender vase supporting an elegant little rose. Its bloom was open, wafting out light rose petaled fragrances throughout the room. A candelabra rested across from it, casting a romantic glow around the private little bubble.
"Dinner of course." Allie May had replied smoothly, a polite smile on her beaked face as she waited for the two to take their seats. "A dinner for two." The smile grew a little larger.
"Uh-uh. No way. Right, Raph?" Her green eyes darted to him for agreement, darkening at the prospect. He didn't get why she was so mad about this, it was only dinner after all. A dinner for two...
"Oh don't be silly, Valen!" Allie May laughed, cutting off whatever Raph had been about to say. He took her interruption gratefully. He hadn't known what to say exactly. "This will be a wonderful evening, I'm sure of it. You two will have fun...I think. Just consider all the things to talk about and go from there!" A light giggle echoed in the room as the bird lady left, leaving Raph to do the only thing he could:
He pulled Valentine's chair out for her.
"Well, if we're gonna have dinner together." He shrugged, and Valentine took the chair gratefully. He moved around to the other side and took his seat, his gaze never leaving Valentine's warily. Val was like a wild animal, you could try to tame her, but that wildness would never really go away. She could spook at anytime, and he was at the mercy of her whims.
In normal Allie May fashion, the dessert came first. Cookies, a cake, and something in a glass came out, and Valentine picked up a vanilla looking cookie hesitantly.
"Looks like cardboard." She mused quietly, then sniffed it warily. "Smells like cardboard." Her nose wrinkled, and then against her better judgment she took a bite. "Tastes...delicious." She said, letting out a small moan of pleasure. Raph knew better than to laugh, but he couldn't help the soundless laugh that came out. Thankfully, Val didn't catch it, and the two began eating dinner together. It was almost like eating with a hostile stranger. Val practically glared daggers, he had to shift nervously in his seat from her gaze, and awkward was practically a living, breathing thing. Finally, Raph had to break the silence.
"I didn't do it, I swear." He promised her, hands up in the 'I surrender' gesture.
"Mm-hm." Valentine mused.
Dessert came and went, and then the normal entree came out. It was a nice juicy steak, cooked just right, with steamed broccoli and some mashed potatoes. A Southern recipe no doubt, concocted beautifully by the one and only bird brain named Allie May.
"So...you like the steak?" Raph had finally asked. Valentine hadn't replied at first, still fuming to herself, and then her head snapped in his direction. He imagined a wide variety of replied and retorts, but what came out of her mouth made his jaw drop.
"What the heck do you want from me?" She demanded, her eyes burning into his. He blinked, unsure how to proceed. This was one thing he had never been good with: Tact. He could do a lot of things, but talking delicately, creeping around issues, that had never been his strong point.
And Valentine Aldrin knew that.
"You really want to do this?" He had asked quietly, giving her the option to back out now. Once they started, there would be no turning back. They would either part ways now, something he hoped wouldn't happen, or they would be closer than ever, his little dream he refused to foster.
"Let's do this." She had said, a fire burning in her eyes. Raph knew his expression matched hers as he replied with the famous battle words:
"Let's do it then." Valentine took a shuddering breath, the tell tale tiny hesitation of someone who knows this is where the lines get blurred, and backing out isn't an option.
"You always follow me, you're like a stupid shadow. I can take care of myself, you idiot, don't you have a life of your own?" She demanded, glaring at him. Raph almost snorted. Her? She couldn't take care of herself to save her life.
"You'd have kicked the bucket ages ago if it weren't for me, and you know it."
"Who saved you from the big bad Shred-Head? Who's saved your sorry shell more times than you can count?" Valentine retorted, eyes narrowing.
"I can count all the times, and that isn't the real issue here, is it?" Raph replied, annoyed. He took a breath, knowing there was only one way to jump off the edge of a cliff.
You leap.
"I like you, I like you more than I ever have before. I care about you more than my brothers' combined, and Mikey really doesn't count that much anyway. I follow you because I want to be with you, even if you're judo flipping me in the dojo, or yelling at me in the street, or even rushing at me from the trees, I'm perfectly happy because I'm with you. I love how you laugh, and how you take care of your sisters. I couldn't stand it when you went to that Underground Circuit place, but I loved how you kicked that other girl's shell...er, butt. I love how you take care of business without taking anyone's garbage, and you never take any excuses." He poured his heart out, watching as Val's green eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and an expression akin to shock crossed her face. Her features froze, and Raph felt himself grow cold. I shouldn't have said anything! What kind of idiot am I? She's gonna run. But he couldn't stop himself, the words just kept coming. "That's why I'm always near you. Not cuz I think yer gonna do something stupid, or that you can't take care of yourself, but because I know how things are when you're around." He confessed.
"I-I-I-" She stuttered, her face had gone completely white. Her eyes never left his face, and if she had just turned her gaze from him she never would have 'heard' his proclamation of love...or at least like. So, what did that mean?
"You've been important to me from the beginning, even if you were kicking my shell back then." A smile quirked on his face. "I know your fears and weaknesses, I know you don't think you're strong enough, but you are, Val. I know your strengths, and I know what kind of person you are. Yer the one person who really knows me, Valentine, just like I know you. And I need to know, Valentine...do you feel anything fer me?" Valentine didn't say anything, not at first. Raph's fears escalated, afraid of her reply. Would she care about him at all? Just a smidge of a bit? Or would she burn him then and there?
"Y-You..." She stuttered.
"You gotta open up, Valentine." Raph murmured. "If not to me, then someone. You can't keep everyone away. You have to-"
"HOW THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!" Valentine yelled. "You don't know anything about me, I will not serve my heart on a plate only to have it shish-ka-bobbed! I have to be strong for my sisters, if I even start to crumble, they do too! You can't like me, have you noticed we're completely different species? You're some weird combo of genetics with a shell, and I'm human. I am normal. We could never, ever be together! That's not the way things work! What I feel is none of your business. And if I did feel even half of anything about you, what would be the point? You live in a sewer. What kind of relationship could we even have? Why did you even bring this up? You're an idiot!"
"YOU STARTED THIS! YOU FIGURE IT OUT!" Raph shouted back. "If you can't even tell what you're feeling, you're the idiot, you moron! Just tell me what you feel." Raph demanded.
"I-I-I hate you for this." She hissed, her cheeks tear stained and eyes puffy. "I hate you." She sniffled, getting up. She swiped the tears from her face. "That's what I feel. Happy? I. Hate. You." She ground out, the tears coming down in streams, and she turned towards the curtain, her puffy green eyes turning back only once, steeled, angry, and...sorrowful. Her body was racked with a sob, and she ran away as fast as she could, a trail of tears in her wake as she disappeared.
~(0)~
Raph sat up quickly, startled by the darkness and his surroundings. He quickly looked around himself, seeing the cave, his brothers, the sisters...Leo and Clarissa were sleeping next to each other, Melody was curled into a ball by the dying fire, Mikey was all over the place as he slept, twisting and turning, and Don was leaning against the wall cave. He took a shuddering breath, and stood up. He didn't look at Valentine as he exited the cave.
