Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, except for the petshop turtles.
Chapter 9: What Women Want.
"What's wrong?" Raphael asked Venus when she didn't answer his first question.
"I just spoke to Leo," Venus said gloomily. Raphael thought about her response for a couple of seconds, assuming that something had gone wrong between the two of them for her to be so down in the dumps. Venus' confused expression returned to her face. "What were you doing on the floor?" she asked with a befuddled tone.
"I can't find my sais," he answered simply.
"Would you like me to help?" Venus suggested. The red-wearing turtle nodded plainly. Raphael watched with interest as Venus slowly bent down and started crawling around on the floor, looking under chairs and sofas as she went. Venus stopped and looked at him sharply when she found the focus of his gaze on her butt. She cleared her throat to get his attention. Slightly embarrassed that he was caught staring, Raphael lowered himself to the lair's floor once again.
After a couple of minutes of crawling around, Raph found one of his sais under the dark depths of the family living room couch. He slowly reached for it with one of his scaly reptilian arms. He yelped in pain and withdrew his hand immediately, only to find a baby turtle attached to his finger. Panicking, Raphael swung his arm around wildly, eventually yanking the little shelled creature off. The baby turtle lay dazed on the ground, but managed to crawl around again in a matter of seconds. Raphael obsessively studied his bitten finger, thankful that the little reptile's beak wasn't sharp enough to penetrate his thick-skinned fingertip. Venus looked at him worriedly from a short distance.
"MIKE!" Raphael yelled, as angry as a pig that just had it's curly tail pulled straight. The fun-loving turtle appeared in the living room, wondering what he had done wrong this time. "She bit me! Get your stupid Turtle away from me!" Raphael squawked, pointing to the tiny reptile.
"Squirtle would have never of done that! You provoked him! Now come to daddy my little hero," Mike cooed to the turtle, picking the reptile up and cuddling it as it squirmed in his grip.
Venus was about to remind him that the turtle was a female, but Raphael covered her mouth before she could do so. "Let him be. I think Mike just wanted to call it Squirtle in the first place," Raph advised her. He removed his hand and Venus kept her lips tightly shut, not commenting on anything. They both watched as Mike twirled Squirtle in the air before returning to his room along with his pet. Raphael reached under the couch yet again and retrieved his single sai. He pouted and gave Venus a thoughtful expression. "The other one has to be somewhere in my room. I've checked just about everywhere else," Raphael pointed out.
Venus followed the male turtle into his room. She sat down on his bed and watched as he jostled around, looking for his matching sai. Venus leaned back and rested her hand on Raph's pillow. She furrowed her eyebrows when she felt the soft object's irregularity. Curious, she tenderly reached underneath the pillow and pulled out the second sai. It didn't take long for Raphael to notice the metal object in Venus' grip.
"Good girl," Raphael said softly, slightly degrading the female with his choice of words. Raph moved in close to take the other sai from her hand. He placed the pair of weapons on his bedside table, not taking his eyes off Venus' as he did so. Raphael moved in to her even closer, making Venus sit back further onto the bed. He had her right where he wanted.
Unlike last time with Leonardo, Venus couldn't back away any further when Raphael closed the gap and kissed her with anxious lips. Succumbed by his animalistic personality and gentle touches, Venus laid down on the soft mattress fully, with Raphael following straight after. Venus' body seemed to remain paralysed when Raphael tediously moved his hot kisses down her cheek and along her neck; his hands quickly getting a feel of her.
"Raph…" Venus managed to say in protest, but was shushed when the male kissed her on the lips again. Her heart quickened when she felt his hands move down her plastron, her body wanting him to continue. Looking deep down into her own soul, Venus knew that she didn't want this, but for some reason her body couldn't say 'no' to his advances.
"Shh. Just relax," Raphael whispered in-between kisses when he noticed her tense and hesitate in response to his touches. He slowly and carefully positioned himself in preparation. All of a sudden, Venus was repulsed with concerned thoughts and worries.
"Raph stop," Venus said as soon as she could. Yet the male turtle ignored her, and continued to kiss her neck as though he was a vampire ready to make a kill. His right hand started to travel up along her thigh. 'Why is it so hard to resist him?' Venus wondered. 'Should I just let him have me? Does it really matter who I lose my virginity to? He's so damn hot… But I don't love him. What will happen afterwards? Will he love me? Will he stay with me? Or will he lose interest? Will I inevitably regret it? …What if I get pregnant? … I don't think he's got protection… Uh-oh!'
"Raph! I said stop!" Venus said firmly, raising her voice slightly. To Venus' relief, Raphael backed off and sat at the end of the bed. He stared at her with confusion.
"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"I don't want to do this," Venus answered.
"Why not?" Raphael asked stupidly.
"Because… I just don't," Venus said, not really knowing how to answer his rhetorical question.
"But… You broke up with Leo. I thought that meant that… you wanted me," Raphael said, awkwardness settling in.
"Well… I'm sorry that you interpreted it that way," Venus said softly. Silence entered the room and settled in-between the two turtles as they gazed uncomfortably at each other. "This isn't going to work," Venus stated simply.
"Why not?" Raphael questioned, wanting a reason.
"We don't understand each other. We can't even have a decent conversation. Let's admit it; it's all just physical attraction," Venus explained.
"You're saying it like it's a bad thing," Raphael smirked as his eyes looked her up and down.
"Well… It's not necessarily bad… I just want something more than that," Venus said, carefully thinking about what she was saying. Raphael looked her straight in the eye.
"Venus, what exactly do you want!?" Raph said more sharply than he intended. Venus lowered her gaze, gradually thinking up an answer.
"I want a partner who will respect me for who I am, and not treat me as some kind of object. I want a partner who will understand my feelings, yet will disagree on appropriate topics. I want a partner who will keep me interested intellectually. Someone who's always there for me, and I'm always there for him. Someone who I can trust with my problems and can confidently advise me on where I am going wrong. Someone I can relate to. I want a challenge, but not an argument… I want a guy who can trust me. I want to make him grow into a better person, like he will do the same to me. A person who I can make happy; who I know will be by my side by the end of each passing day. That's what I look for in a partner, and that's what I hope for out of a relationship," Venus finished. Raphael was incredibly quiet for the next couple of seconds.
"Well then… that guy's not me. Sorry," Raph said thoughtfully with a barely audible tone. Venus watched with guilt and oppression as Raphael sadly exited his room. Venus sighed slowly, still taking in what had just happened in the last couple of minutes. When she felt she was emotionally ready, she left Raph's room, only to find the red-wearing turtle frozen outside Mike's train carriage door. Curious at what he was gaping at, Venus investigated. What she saw made her gasp in surprise.
Eight baby turtles crawled around Mike's room. She stared wordlessly as Michelangelo sat in the middle of the floor, trying to feed them all a slice of pizza. Raphael, Venus, and soon Leonardo continued to gape at the sight before them. "Oh, hey guys!" Mike said excitedly when he belatedly noticed their presence.
"What… how … who's all this?!" Leonardo uttered, trying to complete a proper question, yet he still managed to fail. Mike scanned his eyes across the eight baby turtles that were walking circles around him.
"Well… that's Shelly, that's Nelly, that one there is Kelly, the smallest one is Ally, she's Elly, there's Squirtle and Turtle, while the last one is Waverly," Mike introduced, pointing to each tiny turtle in turn. Raph, Venus and Leo were still too stunned to say anything. "Oh! And there's also Jelly. But she's sick and is in Don's room right now," Mike explained. The three mutant turtles continued to stare at him blankly.
"But… Don said that the one in the tank is Waverly… and then Turtle…" Venus said, completely bewildered.
"Well… he must have got confused at some point. Maybe he saw Waverly or Turtle outside the tank with me, and thought that I returned them to his room without him knowing, therefore making him think that Jelly had changed names or something," Mike explained casually.
"This still doesn't make any sense," Venus muttered under her breath.
"…Wait… Did you think that I only had one turtle!?" Mike finally realised.
"Well, it's more comprehensible for you to be a nutcase who keeps changing one turtle's name, rather than having NINE STOLEN PETSHOP TURTLES GATHERED IN YOUR ROOM!!!" Raphael yelled, disbelieving Mike's obsession.
"Why do you have nine baby turtles?" Venus asked cautiously, eyeing the tiny nuisances as they crawled around, trying to see out of their little beady, glassy black pupils.
"Well it seemed natural to have more than one, especially when female sea turtles can lay and hatch around three hundred eggs," Mike informed her.
"THREE HUNDRED!!!" It was Venus' turn to yell.
"Heh. Venus, I'm glad you told me to stop when you did," Raphael commented with a smirk, causing Leo to glance at him suspiciously.
"I guess Don will need a larger tank," Leo murmured as Mike picked up Shelly and hugged her as she squirmed in his grip. Leonardo aimlessly looked around the rest of the den, only to find the television on mute. Curious as an alley cat, Leo walked towards the illuminated screen and froze in disbelief.
The words 'Grand Master' were displayed as the rank for the final level of the Tenchu Playstation game. "Who… who did this?" Leo questioned in astonishment. Raphael, Venus and Michelangelo looked in the direction of the television screen. Leo looked at their clueless faces, unable to find an answer. "Huh…" Leo shrugged, slightly disappointed that he couldn't complete the almost impossible task first, while also wondering who on earth had done it. Master Splinter sat at the dinner table, grinning widely behind the large newspaper he was reading.
*****
Venus stared in Donny's direction as he typed a HTML code for a new game on his computer. It was the early hours of the morning, but neither of them really cared. A small smile crept across Venus' face for seemingly no apparent reason. Don's typing paused, mainly because he wanted to take a moment to enjoy and appreciate the female turtle's constant caring gaze.
"If you don't mind me asking, who did you end up choosing? Leo or Raph?" Don asked, eyes still glued to the screen.
"Neither," Venus said simply with a smile on her relatively calm face.
"Oh…" Don uttered in surprise. "…Just wondering, what exactly are you looking for in a guy?" Don asked genuinely.
"Well… I'm looking for a person who can teach me new things, and not someone who I have agreeable conversations with on the same repetitive topics-" Venus started.
"Don't you just hate that. I always find those conversation quite pointless," Don interrupted, still staring at the screen.
"Yeah. But they're always nice to have. You get to learn about the other person a little more. But I prefer a challenge," Venus argued.
"So what else are you looking for?" Don asked, wanting her to continue.
"A person who I can trust and respect, therefore a person who trusts and respects me," Venus continued. "And since I plan on having children, it wouldn't hurt if the guy was capable of caring for them and other belongings," Venus finished. Donatello silently nodded at her choices.
"Yeah, I think all of that is fairly important," Don agreed.
"So… What do you look for in a girl?" Venus asked casually.
"Um… Someone who can maintain an intellectual conversation and can debate some of my beliefs. A person who can appreciate the things I do for them. They definitely have to understand me and my habits. And they have to be interesting, and they have to know and understand when I want to be alone to work on things," Donatello listed.
"Interested in having any children?" Venus asked.
"Eventually. Like I know how to take care of a child, I'll just have to prepare myself for the nervousness and emotional aspect of parenting," Don explained more clearly. Donatello turned away from his computer in time to catch Venus' smile. "What?" Don asked while a grin started to emerge on his face.
"Nothing," Venus said with the same expression.
"Seriously. What?" Don asked again.
"Well, when you think about it, we are both looking for the same sort of thing in a partner: trust, understanding, intellect…" Venus mentioned few. They both remained quiet for a few seconds. "You're going to need a new tank," Venus pointed out, after spotting nine baby turtles being squished inside an area that was way too small for each of them.
"Why did Mike have to get multiple turtles?" Don sighed.
"Mike said that he got a few because in the wild they would be born with hundreds of others," Venus answered. Don gave a snort and rolled his eyes. "Don?… How many children would I have? I'm not going to have three hundred am I?" Venus questioned uncertainly.
"I don't know. But you must remember that we're part human, so you might only have one. It's difficult to say because of our mutation," Don answered.
"Scarily enough, I guess there's only one way to find out…" Venus murmured.
"I like to think that life is just one big experiment," Don said, trying to lighten the mood. The two turtles gave each other a small smile before Donatello turned back to his computer screen. Venus watched him for a few more minutes as he typed in a couple of coded lines. His fingers stopped, as though he was unsure of what to do next. Then, with no warning at all, Donatello turned off his computer. Smiling with himself, he swiveled around in his chair to face Venus again.
"Did you finish?" Venus asked, slightly confused.
"No… I just remembered what you said to me the other day. Maybe I should just turn the computer off and become more sociable. Besides… I need to learn a few more things about Dragon Lord. I thought that I could just ask you-," Don explained.
"-Instead of looking up pages that could have been written by a Harry Potter fan," Venus completed his sentence. They both sheepishly smiled. Donatello observed her soft figure and gentle eyes, noticing for the first time how beautiful she looked in aqua. In an instant, Donatello knew why everyone was fighting over her; because she was worth it.
As she stared at him, a newfound sense of courage rose from the depths of Venus' soul. Bravely, she leaned in toward the purple-wearing turtle, and gave him a gentle kiss upon his soft lips. She noticed him shudder nervously when their mouths first met, but Don quickly caught on and even raised a hand to caress her cheek.
Donatello bashfully blushed when they finally broke apart, causing Venus to shyly smile in response. "Not too bad… for a gay guy," Venus humoured him. Donatello smiled widely.
"I can't wait to see Leo and Raph's faces!" Don said, wistfully hoping that he would be able to change his brothers' stereotypical views. The male turtle smiled and leaned in to kiss Venus again, this time with more confidence.
When they broke apart again, Venus took a moment to admire Don's chubby face and insightful eyes. 'Is he really the right guy?' her mind wondered. She sighed, knowing that that was a question that could never be answered in an instant. As Don said, life is like one big experiment. She would have to give the relationship a chance in order to find out if he was the right one for her. Yet Venus knew from previous experience that Don had the qualities that would make him a good partner. Sure, they disagreed on a lot of things; but then again they both knew that with time they could possibly look past those obstructions. He wasn't the hottest, the funniest or the most focused and committed; he was just Don, and that's why she liked him. They had so much in common, yet they were both different in many ways, but they were willing to give it a try, and that was the most important thing of all.
Relieved and happy at the same time, Venus gave Donny a hug and kissed him on the cheek. "See you tomorrow night Don," Venus said with certainty. Donatello gave her a large smile and watched as she stepped into the darkness of the rest of the lair. Donatello sighed with contentment and turned off his bedroom light in order to go to sleep. As he laid his head down on his soft pillow, Donatello realised that for the first time in ages, he actually looked forward to the late nights ahead of him.
A/N: I'm thinking that I might write an epilogue, so expect another update on this story in a few days time. Also, like the rest of my fanfiction stories, there will be a Fanfic FAQ about The Right Guy on my website. So that should be up whenever I get time to dilly-dally with geocities. Also, I thought you might want to know that with 'What Would You Do?' so far everyone's making Raph a very lucky guy, while just about everyone else is digging a grave for Leo! I'm not the only Leo fan out there am I?… Am I??