Music
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Leo hated it.
He hated the fact that every time he tried to get through the thick, hard skull of his red masked brother, they'd end up in a fight, usually they get sent to the floor in a heap of swinging legs and arms, punches and kicks all over the place, that of course, until either Mike and Don separate them, or master Splinter gets attracted to the noise they've been causing during their brawl.
Right now, Leo walked down the street, he had cooled down enough to the point of his anger thinning out of his mind, and now, his sensei had sent him to follow his brother, because their father wanted to talk. Leo shuddered, it was frightening when Splinter had a serious talk, it always made his bones rattle, he didn't know why, there was just the stern, strong character and spiritual presence of the rat that made his anger feared.
'Now where did Raph go?' Leo asked thin air.
He'd been able to track down his angered, red masked brother for some time, leading him to the park, but so far, there was no one in sight. It was winter, it was snowing slightly, and it was past sunset, the air was getting thicker and colder, the winds weren't picking up, so it was easy to get a little warm. Leo wore a thick sweater and slacks, that were designed by April to fit their turtle-figures, he also wore gloves and a cap, all in blue, but also wore a dust-brown coat on top to cover himself completely.
People were beginning to leave the park, only a few citizens, walking their dogs or chattering with their loved ones were around. At the lake side, there was a bench, on that bench was a girl, barely fourteen, maybe even younger; she had elbow long, wavy coal-black hair with a steel-tint shine, she wore rags really, the dust-pink sweater and torn jeans were clearly used up, her fingerless gloves held on to a golden-like instrument, it looked like a twisted-like horn.
'What did Don call it? A saxophone?' Leo recognized the music, it was a sweet, melodic theme, really, he didn't think he had heard the song anywhere, so he figured she had made it up from her mind, 'She's good.' He mused.
As the people surrounding her began to go away, some tossed her a few metal coins, tipping her play, some praised her and gave her better cash, she thanked them with a silent nod, still playing her instrument, and watched them leave, while other walked away without a word. When it seemed that the park was partly empty, she stopped and sat down, she picked up the red, baseball cap from the ground and started counting her earnings for the day.
Leo blinked, 'That hat looks familiar.'
After a few minutes, the girl stashed the money into a small pouch and hid it where her bra should be, with a satisfied smile, she picked up her instrument, so Leo figured she was about to leave. She didn't; she stepped at the lake, water till her ankles, seeing she's barefooted, and her jeans only covered her a little under her knees, she relaxed a little, feeling the cool waters against her toes, she began to play again.
After a few minutes, Leo felt confused, he knew he had heard that theme somewhere, he weren't very sure where. To Leo's surprise, ripples in the water began to form, slowly, like a lingering, stalking beast, shadows from under the dark, icy waters, a body slowly rose, it was huge, about a head taller, bigger than the girl, it was green, it was…
Wearing a red mask?
'Raph' Leo held his breath, 'What the shell was he doing? Swimming in ice-cold waters? Was he trying to get himself a heart attack or something? Is he crazy?' Leo fought the urge to march in there and slap his brother silly, but he knew very well, his brother would probably slap back, and they'd end up in another fight, and the blue masked turtle didn't want that.
"Yo." The red masked turtle smiled, stepping out of the waters.
"Hey Raph." The girl smiled, "Feeling any better?"
"Yeah, are they gone?" he asked, taking off his mask, he squeezed out the water.
"Yeah, I don't see anyone around, it's almost midnight." The girl said, "So? What happened this time?"
"Don't. Ask!" the red masked muttered, irritated.
"What bad, huh?"
"You don't know half of it." he sighed.
Leo stared, obviously his brother and this black haired girl know each other. He watched from where he hid behind a tree, the wet turtle stretched out and sat on the bench, brushing water away from his face, the girl picked up something from under the bench, and Leo realized they were Raph's discarded clothes. The turtle took the clothes, but didn't wear them, he just leaned in his seat and sighed.
Watching his breath form a cloud of white mist, Raph turned to the black haired girl, "How's life treating you?"
"Okay I guess, now that dad's gone, I'm the one who has to gather food and provide a good life from my younger bros." she brushed back a stray strand of black hair, "Being the eldest is a pain, but you gotta love them when they try to help, even if they do make a mess out of things." She giggled.
Raph grinned, he put his hand on her head, ruffling her hair, "Yeah, I guess."
The girl giggled again and held his hand, keeping it on her head, "Say, Raph? I've been trying to compose this new song, wanna hear it?"
"Sure!" he chimed.
The girl smiled, got up, brushed her clothes and readied her instrument.
Leo watched, Raph had closed his eyes a few seconds after the song started, he had a small, contended smile, Leo could not recall the last time he'd seen his hot headed brother so relaxed. Gradually, Leonardo relaxed with the theme as well, it was a soft, sweet, and heartwarming piece of jazz, not too loud or mixed, it was mostly long, wavy tones, like someone running through a green meadow.
Leo smiled, that was a very good musical piece.
Raph clapped, "Like a pro!" he laughed and stood up.
The girl giggled and blushed, hugging her instrument, "Thanks, Raph." She shrugged embarrassedly.
Raphael was about to say something, but was interrupted with a sneeze, "Aw shell, I think I'm getting the chills already."
She giggled, "Maybe you should go home, get yourself warm."
"And face the perfect leader? Never!" the turtle said mockingly, "I'd rather get skinned and hung out to dry."
The girl tilted her head, "His name was Leo, right?"
Raph nodded, "Leonardo. We call him Leo for short."
She smiled, "Why can't you two just get along?" she asked, "It must be really cool, having a big brother."
"You kidding me? He's a plain pain in the ass!"
"Would you still say that if he was gone?"
Leo stared, the surprised glint in his brother's eyes were amusing, Raphael actually looked doubtful.
"I don't wanna talk about this, Mag." He grumbled, "How about you play that old 'Never again' theme of yours?"
"But I didn't finish it yet." She tilted her head, "Some notes just won't come out the way I want."
"I remember something my dad once told me, he said when you're trying to make or fix something, don't force it, wait until it's ready."
'As if you'd actually do that.' Leo wanted to comment, hiding a smirk.
"I don't know, Raph." She sat back next to him, her head resting on his shoulder.
Leo stared, his brother was being compassionate, wrapping an arm over the girls shoulder.
"Relax, these things take time." He looked up at the star lit sky.
There was a moment of silence.
"Did you think about it?" Raph spoke.
"Yeah."
"And?"
"I don't know, I think I should accept, going into music school had always been a dream to me, but I can't leave my brothers at some orphanage, I'd feel like I've abandoned them." She hugged the turtle, pressing her head to his chest, tucked under his head.
Raph sighed and hugged back, "Maggie, remember when Casey and I first got you that saxophone?"
"It was the happiest moment of my life." She beamed, hugging tighter.
Raph chuckled, "Glad to hear that, it was better than having you become a druggie, right?" he reasoned, stroking her black hair, "You have the talent, you just need to improve it."
She slowly pulled back from the hug, "I need the money to keep them fed, but I still can't bare the thought of spending three years in a school, indulged in luxury, while they're stuck in some orphanage, surrounded by strangers."
Raph looked down at her, he touched the lip of the instrument, "I'm sure Pat here would do more than help, you just need to believe in you talents. You're a great kid, Maggie, you just need to touch your inner self to see it."
She giggled, "Raph, did your brain freeze over of something?" she looked at him teasingly, "You're being awfully nice to me tonight."
"Haha, very funny." The red masked turtle laughed mockingly, grabbing her in a bear hug, "If you weren't a girl I'd noogie your skull."
She yelped and laughed, struggled out of his grasp and ran off.
Stopping a few feet away, she turned to look at him, "It was nice talking to you Raph, now I gotta scramble, my bros are probably hungry, so I'll see you around?"
"Sure thing kid, you take care of yourself, and Pat." He pointed to the saxophone.
"Will do, captain red!" she laughed.
Raph cupped his hip, "Don't call me that!"
"Try and stop me!" she stuck out a tongue and dodged another glomp-attack.
"Stand still!" Raph laughed, chasing the girl across the like side.
"Nyah nyah! Turtles should have a turbo booster on their heels!" she laughed, "C'mon slowpoke!"
"You wouldn't say that if I had my rollerblades on." Raph grinned.
"Oh, I shudder in my shell at the thought."
The turtle pouted.
After a laugh from both, the girl whipped the teardrop from her eye, "Ah, look at the time, I really need to be going."
"Yeah, me too." the turtle replied, "I'd better get my shell back home before my dad sends in the watchdog."
"Namely Leo?" the girl asked.
Raph nodded, indifferent.
"You know, I think you two won't fight so much if you'd try to understand each other." She began, "I mean, when dad was alive, he always told me: 'Be a friend before you be a parent, it's the key to each others hearts.'…"
Raph pondered, "How many brothers do you have?"
"Two, they're twin boys." She wrinkled her nose, "They're troublesome when it comes to pranks, but they're really helpful when they want to be."
About then, Raph's shell cell rang, so he picked it up, "Raph here."
"Raph!" Dons' voice echoed, "Where are you?"
"Nowhere, why?"
"Is Leo there?"
"Leo? No, why?"
"Well, master Splinter sent him to get you an hour ago, he hadn't called and neither had you, Mike and I were worried."
"Ah, I'm fine Don, stop being such a worry shell."
After a short conversation, Raph ended the call, he picked up his discarded clothes and readied to leave.
Leo put the silence option on his shell cell, just in case someone called him, the ringing wont expose his hiding spot.
"Gotta scram, kid. You take care of yourself, okay?"
The girl nodded happily, "Sure. See ya."
With that, Raph nodded.
Barely ten feet away, she called again, "Raph?"
He tuned to her, "Yeah?"
She blushed a little, "Would you be my valentine?"
Surprised, caught off guard, dumbstruck and startled, different words, one expression.
Raph arched a brow ridge, after a short pause, he chuckled, "Goodnight, kid."
She giggled and waved, "Goodnight Raph, I love you!"
Raph just waved a hand, his figure retreating into the darkness of the park's shadows.
She stood there for a few minutes, musing to herself, she picked up her instrument and walked away, walking to the opposite direction, humming a happy tone to herself.
Leo smiled, 'Just like Mike said, Raph's just a softie under a hard shell.' He chuckled, withdrawing back into the nearest manhole, Leo decided not to speak of this little peek, not only will it fuse another fight, but it would wound the ego of his red masked brother; besides, Raph never did like being exposed to humans, mush less interact with them, so caching him with one, being buddy-buddy was a rare sight, defiantly worth the moment.
'If Mike was here, Raph'd probably never hear the end of it.' Leo chuckled again.
As he drew closer to his home, he could make out the voices of his brothers, clearly his hot headed brother had been a little faster than expected.
He brushed away the smile and plastered that stern, serious gaze.
He was going to enjoy this.
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A/N: no idea why I wrote this, so yeah, whatever.