This one's been in our notes for almost four friggin' years now, and it's finally out, HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS!
We wanted to post this before the end of the year but it turns out this fic is a team effort and Christmas is a busy time indeed.
As always, humongous thanks to our betas Queequegg and Theherocomplex ^3
All this stress, and Leo could not find a single moment of quiet in the bustling lair, let alone meditate. He decided to get some fresh air instead—or fresh-er at least.
Operation Foot Stomp—that's what they were calling it now—was right around the corner. Waiting was all they could do now. Except for the Donnies, of course, who always found something to work on. Shredder's lair was under their constant watch, just in case. In the meantime, everyone tried to go about their day, to distract themselves from the fact that, any minute now, Future Donnie's alarm could tip them off of the Lotus' emergence, while at the same time hoping it did before the following night. After 11pm tomorrow, they would start the mission with or without the Lotus—with or without Karai—or the future turtles would be late to catch their wormhole back home.
Leo roamed Chinatown, rooftop to rooftop, past the Chinese gate. And before he knew it, his mind had put him on a mission without his knowledge.
He looked everywhere, scanning the shadows on the streets below, every window on the buildings around him, in the chilly midnight calm of the narrowest alleys, all for signs that a ninja clan might be hiding nearby.
It wasn't like he had any real hopes of finding Karai anyway. Even if he did happen to spot her, what could he say to her that he hadn't before? She'd made her priorities clear.
But maybe, even if he couldn't find her, maybe she would see him, searching for her. Maybe that would mean something.
In the middle of a jump, he recognized the place beneath his feet, and barely just stuck the landing.
It was the rooftop where he first saw her. She'd been perched on top of that old billboard, looking down on him. The billboard hadn't changed since that night. Nobody seemed to want to renew or maintain it; like the rest of that rooftop, it was water stained and covered to the last inch in graffiti. That night, she'd hit him with blinding powder and kicked his shell, and he would never forget it.
He grinned, remembering the feeling. He'd been so excited, he woke April up just to tell her about it. She wasn't very keen on him hanging out with Karai back then. Nobody was.
Something Splinter had said a few days ago came back to him: that little tale about Hachisu's parents. Obviously he'd meant something by that, right? Nothing slipped past Splinter, after all. He'd pretty much given his consent, hadn't he? About Leo and Karai? A prickly sensation rose in his gut at this glimpse of happiness.
But it was a fantasy. Even if Leo had his father's blessing, would Karai ever…? Seeing recent events, maybe they weren't right for each other after all. Maybe Karai would never entirely belong with them, let alone with him.
It's not about that, he chastised himself. It's about saving her. The rest doesn't matter.
Raph wanted to beat the shit out of something. Lucky for everything alive around him, he had his drums.
It had been a couple of hours and the tips of his drum sticks might start giving out smoke, but the need to punch wasn't all gone. His bladder throbbed and he squeezed his legs together, causing him to miss a couple of beats, which he also took out on the drums. Hitting the pedal was becoming increasingly difficult—and dangerous—but still he'd rather wait. Just a little longer. Maybe the common room would clear out in the meantime so he didn't have to look at his future self and his… boyfriend.
He'd spent most of his day in his room, out of sight. They were out there, and it made him woozy to think they might be… doing things. Like kissing. Or groping, or caressing. Or wedging their fingers down some plastron cleavage.
Oh God, why? When? How! I don't think of Casey that way! Do I?
And then he did a little bit, and the second-long glimpse sent shivers up his spine and made his stomach rise like he was free-falling. He shook it off with a growl, and smashed his drums four more times before coming to a stop like a car crash.
This is ridiculous! he exclaimed in his head, flinging the drum sticks across the room. Why can't I just pee in peace in my own home?
He got up, slapping the cymbal on the way, and stomped over to his bedroom door, shoving it open.
There were definitely several more people in the common room, not just the two. He could hear them laughing and commenting whatever crap they were watching on TV. Heaving a breath, he made his way there.
"Hey, Raph!" Future Casey called as soon as he passed by the group, but Raph ignored him. He went around the bench area, avoiding everybody's eyes, and made it to the bathroom door without being called again.
But once there, he found the door locked, and was greeted by a call of, "Be right out!" Sounded like Sensei Future Leo.
Of freakin' course.
"You might wanna sit a while, Raph: Leo's in the middle of his evening 'zen meditation'," Future Mikey hollered from his seat, and Raph heard the other Mikey snicker.
He turned to yell at the benches, thinking Donnie would be there too. "We gotta get that second bathroom!"
But the genius was probably doing his thing in the lab with the other Donnie, because neither of the nerds was there. Someone else was though, sitting between Beatrice and his future double.
It was Casey. Present Casey. Apparently he'd been the one to call out Raph's name a moment ago, and not the older, better-dentured version of Casey at his side. Raph didn't even know he was in the lair. Why was he there, sitting with those guys? Even more worryingly, how come he didn't look the least bit uncomfortable?
They locked gazes. Casey raised a hand in greeting, then pointed at the TV.
"Wanna watch?"
"Oh no, he didn't!" Mikey cried out suddenly, and it took Raph a moment to realize it had been directed at the TV.
The other Mikey hand-megaphoned, "Nah, Bridget, don't trust 'im! We'll never be hurt again!"
Raph rolled his eyes. "No. When did you get here anyway?" he said, a little stung that Casey hadn't come to find him first, despite everything.
"Like an hour ago. But you were locked in your room," Casey replied with a guileless shrug, like a locked door had ever stopped him.
Raph side-eyed him. He couldn't help notice the others had stopped yelling at the screen, and were now clearly just pretending to pay attention to it.
Then Casey got up. Seeing him approach, Raph crossed his arms and tapped his feet, nervous.
"You okay, bro?" Casey said upon arrival, and the delicacy in his voice did nothing to reduce the overhanging awkwardness. Casey was never delicate.
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" he grumbled out, when in reality the very proximity was making him jittery, and he made to slowly scooch further away.
"You were beating your drums like they'd killed your whole family." Casey jabbed a thumb towards the bedrooms.
"That's how I always play drums."
"Okay. Hey, so anyway," Casey interjected cheerfully like he'd forgotten how they usually talked to each other. "You wanna go skate-patrolling later? I brought my stuff."
Raph scratched his snout, trying to come up with a solid excuse fast enough. He failed. "Sure."
"Cool. We'll just wait for Sensei Leo to be done with his 'meditation'." He chuckled, and took a sip of the can in his hand.
Just now noticing the oddly shaped container, Raph said, "The hell you drinking now?"
"Karai's wasabi soda," Casey replied, shaking it. "Leo said it was okay."
"Ew. I thought you didn't like that stuff."
"Well, I didn't at first. It's really weird. But you know, tastes change."
Raph gaped, stomach flip-flopping just like when they jumped off that rocket. "The hell you tryin' to say?"
Casey stared innocently back. "What?"
"Oh my God, Raph, this is our song!" cried the Casey on the benches out of nowhere.
"No it isn't, ya asshole," retorted Future Raph, over the more modern version of 'It's Raining Men', which thanks to Future Casey, was now blasting out of the very Low-Q speakers of their vintage TV. Raph looked in time to see Future Casey's good hand drop the remote, and immediately slither its way silently under Future Raph. Future Raph's stone face shifted slightly, but he did nothing to push the furtive hand away.
I can't. Too much. It's too much.
"Nope," Raph squeezed out, swiveling around and starting towards the turnstiles.
"Raph!" he heard Present Casey call after him. "Where you goin'?"
He yelled, "In the sewers!"
"Okay, I'll—I'll wait here!"
It had been almost half an hour now since Raph had noped out, and Casey was still waiting, roller skates on his shoes and hockey gear on his back.
The movie had ended a while ago and Future Raph had accepted a challenge to break his push-up record.
"Four hundred, Jones! Top that!" he panted.
"Hmm, impressive, impressive. But let's see you push this up!" Future Casey clambered on the massive turtle shell and sat there with his legs crossed.
"You call that a challenge, Jones? Hah!" Future Raph then proceeded to do like fifty pushups in one minute with Future Casey on top of him.
"Whoa-ho-hoa dude!" the latter exclaimed.
Casey couldn't help watching out of the corner of his eye. He was damn impressed. Like, dude's lifting his own weight and that big, beefy Casey like it's nothin'. That's pretty hot— I mean what?
Ugh, okay, focus, he urged himself, ignoring the wiggling in his core. He texted Present Raph again, but no dice.
He shook his head, and complained out loud. "Raph's still not back. How long's a turtle need to take a leak?"
"Bro, I don't think he's still on that." Future Casey snickered from on top of Raph's shell.
He ditched him. Chicken. Raph really had to learn not to take things so seriously all the time. Like Mikey's prank photo. Even before all this actual gay biz, Casey thought it was hilarious! Raph had gone all dark in the cheeks when Casey mentioned it, and pushed him into a ditch.
He got it, though. It wasn't like he knew what to do with this… information, he thought, looking sideways at the two lovebirds.
What the hell could've made Future Casey see Raph that way?
Well, what's not to like?
Casey blanched. Oh, shit. Oh, fuck.
He dug his fingers in his mane, as Lil' Casey stirred at the images of he and Raph—in bed, against the wall, on the ground—and the dizzying realization that he totally might have the hots for his best friend after all.
But then he stopped. Ya know? Whatever! It's all good. And if it's not two-sided, I can live with that.
The question was: could Raph? And would things ever be the same between them? Raph was being weird enough as it was. If he told him he kinda sorta might like him that way, he might just freak out and never look in his direction again. And he wasn't sure he could live with that. He decided he cared too much about Raph's friendship. And that's why he couldn't just be honest.
But he couldn't ensure that friendship if that doofus didn't cooperate!
Casey looked at the time again and growled. "Forget this! I'm gonna go find him."
His future self said, "I'd let him cool off, unless you want a mouth full o' knuckles."
"Agreed," Future Raph strained out between pushups.
I don't got the patience for this bullshit, he thought, and with a final huff, he picked up his gear and stomped away towards the turnstiles.
"You always were a masochist," Future Raph's matter-of-factly voice said behind him.
Raph ripped his t-phone out of his belt after it buzzed against his side for the thirtieth time. He gripped it so tightly his hand trembled, wanting nothing more than to hurl it over the edge of the rooftop. His finger hovered over the alternative: the mute button.
No, he couldn't entirely mute it! What if the Lotus Clan finally showed up and he didn't hear the guys calling? He ended up shoving it back in his belt with a disgruntled groan.
The night was disgustingly peaceful as well. He and his siblings busted a few criminals on patrol nearly every normal night, and word was out there were mutant monsters hunting bad guys in the streets of New York. The result: said bad guys had made themselves scarce this time around. And just when he most needed a punching bag.
He decided to change his vantage point, and moved three rooftops down the street. Come on, gimme someone to bust. Anyone. He was this close to giving that jaywalker down the street the scolding of his life, when at last he heard it, so stifled it barely registered, but he knew the sound all too well: glass braking behind cloth.
Sure enough, he zeroed in on some crook with their arm through the gaping hole in the window of the sandwich shop down the street. Finally!
He made it there and slipped silently inside. The burglar was already at the cashier and didn't seem to notice him. Raph could've immobilized them before they'd even know he was there. But he was in no hurry tonight, so he stepped into the beam of dirty orange light coming through the windows, aching for some sport.
The burglar jumped with a yelp, dropping the foot-long sub they'd been holding on the floor. "Qué mierda?"
"Hi. Kitchen's closed, in case you can't read." Raph pointed at the 'We're Closed' sign, having just recognized the tubby girl in a cheap cat-suit and a raccoon ski-mask. From the look of annoyance on her face, she recognized him as well. Understandable. She was a relatively new low-life in the neighborhood, but this had to be the fourth time they bagged her.
"Not you again, tortugo pendejo," she whined, whipping out her tonfas.
He could tell she'd been practicing with those since last time. With that and her size, she could probably hold her own against your regular punk now. Of course not against Raph. Even though he went easy on her, the fight still didn't last long, sadly. A minute later he decided she'd had enough, and saran-wrapped her to a chair.
"Stay still, Meeko."
"It's Raccoon Claw."
"Lame."
"You're not gonna hand me to the cops for a silly sandwich shop, no?"
"You stop stealing from small family businesses, I'll stop handing you to the cops."
"I gotta make a livin' somehow, papi."
"This isn't how you make a living! And don't you call me papi!" he yelled, making the next saran-wrap loop tighter.
She snarled in complaint. "You're in a bad mood tonight. Is it because of Flaco? Your boyfriend, where is he?"
Raph took a deep breath, holding back a punch to the woman's stupid ski-mask, and settled for squeezing the final knot extra tight. "He's busy."
"He don't look so busy to me," she wheezed.
Raph followed her gaze and pointed his sai towards the shadow at the threshold.
"I've been tryna call you, you jerk!"
Raph lowered his sai and raised his voice. "Now's not the time, Casey!"
"You said we'd patrol together! You left me hangin'! Why didn't you wait for me?"
"I felt like taking a walk, so what?"
"How 'bout we cut the bullshit, huh Raph? You been avoiding me ever since we saw those two idiots kissing!"
Raph stiffened, trying not to let the shiver show. That wasn't kissing, it was prospecting. "You're paranoid, Jones."
"You're paranoid! You're actin' like you expect me to jump you at any moment!"
"Wouldn't be surprised! I can't believe you didn't tell me you were gay!" Raph blurted out at last. He'd been holding onto that one for two days.
Casey mouthed a bit before squeaking, "I like girls! And what about you, huh? Why didn't you tell me you were gay?"
"'Cause I'm not!"
"Well, how can I know? I never seen you with a girl!"
Raph was about to pull his mutant card, but Raccoon Claw interrupted him.
"Yeah, and I never seen him 'appreciating beauty' if you know what I mean,"—she tipped her chin downwards at herself,—"and between you an' me, I think that's a little susp—"
Raph grabbed a big napkin off the counter and stuffed it under Raccoon's ski-mask and in her mouth before she could go on. She might be pretty easy on the eyes, but she was also mostly a huge pain in the ass.
"You shut up while I yell at this other asshole!" He turned. "Don't try acting all clueless now, Case! Think I'd forget your little innuendo back there?"
"What?"
"You said 'tastes change'! When I asked you about that stupid soda crap!"
"I was talking about the soda crap, duh! Stop reading so much into stuff! You always take shit way too seriously!"
"Oh, sure! I see myself from the future goin' at it with you, on the ground—and the couch, and the dojo—and I'm just supposed to, what, ha-ha it away like you do? Well, I can't! It's burned! Right! In there!" Raph jabbed himself three times between the eyes.
"Damn, I feel like I should be offended here," Casey said, putting on a dejected look. "'Cause just the thought of future you being with me's so revolting to ya, you can't even look me in the mug anymore."
"It's not that!" Raph protested, not looking him in the mug.
"Then what the fuck is it?"
Raph snarled, because what the hell did he know? How could he explain what he couldn't grasp? All he knew was what he could never say out loud: he was terrified. He had no idea why, but this shit was scarier than the Shredder, the Kraang and every rogue mutant combined. What were the guys saying about him? What would sensei say if he found out?
Since the harbor, all those 'no-homo' moments from Casey had been coming back to Raph. There'd been a lot of them—groping his bicep in admiration; all those drawings of him in his sketchbook; asking to see his junk out of 'curiosity'; the entire Tipsy Moose scene the other night—but he hadn't taken a single one too seriously until now because… well, it was Casey. Casey was a jackass. In no moment did he think he was being serious.
And the most alarming thing was that a part of him was very curious and a little jealous of future them, and he did not know how to deal with that. Did he like Casey that way? How did it happen? What did it take for Raph to want to…?
He had to shake the pictures off his head. His guts were squirming out of control, and he wasn't sure whether he liked the feeling or not.
He'd never actually even thought about it! And anyway, what did it matter? Unlike his brothers, he'd never had any delusions. He always knew there was no happy ending in a love story involving someone like them. He always hated seeing Donnie pine for April, because he knew nothing would ever happen. He hated seeing Karai flirt Leo's sense away, because he knew she was just taking advantage of his attraction for her. No human in their right mind would want them, really.
But Casey... could? He actually had—or will, or would, whatever. For some reason, he'd chosen Raph. Out of all people. Out of all the normal fucking people on this planet, Future Casey was with Future Raph. And they seemed… happy.
But Raph knew, that was not possible!
"Dude, Raph, just spit it out, will ya?" Casey said, snapping Raph out of it.
"I just—" he began again. His voice threatened to crack, but he refused to let either of these two hear him clear his throat. "I just need to air out a bit, alright?"
Casey threw his hands in the air in despair. "How much more air you need, man? If you had any more air, you'd be a parade balloon."
"I'm pretty sure those are helium," Raph said, but Casey didn't bite.
"Whatever, man! We were going skate-patrollin' together!" he whined. "Why can't we just do that? Let's just go! Take it out on some low-lives. Like we always do!"
Raph stammered about, bit his cheek, indecisive, unable to either accept nor reject the offer.
He heard a muffled sound to his side, and he looked to see Raccoon Claw trying to speak through the cloth. "Mm-mf, mmf." It seemed urgent.
Raph yanked the napkin out of her mouth. "What!"
"Yo, I just wanted to say, a friend of mine, he came out last year, yeah? And he hadn't figured out he was gay until then, an' it was a shock for all of us, 'cause we didn't suspect anything but, like, it can be tough, but the important thing is you gotta show them your support, and you gotta accept the truth! Embrace it! Love yourself for who you a—"
Raph crammed the napkin back in. "You're not in a position to give out life advice!"
"Trash Panda got a point though," Casey said. "I don't give half a fuck what you are, 'cause it's not that big a deal. You could be into lizard people for all I care. It shouldn't matter. Dude, Raph, all I want is for shit to go back to the way it was."
Raph regarded him. He wanted that too. But could things be normal anymore? What if Casey really did want something with him?
Police sirens wailed in the distance. And they were getting closer by the second. Saved by the bell...
"That's my cue," he gruffed out. Raccoon's eyes sparkled with interest, and looked between him and Casey as though begging them not to leave. "Don't let me catch you around here again," he threatened with the tip of his sai. But more than afraid, she seemed sad that the conversation was definitely over.
Raph ran right past Casey to the exit, ignoring his face of frustration, and Raccoon's muffled whimper of disappointment.
Casey clambered up the fire escape in a hurry, barely keeping up with Raph's acrobatics, as the turtle took the shortcut straight up the building's facade.
"Raph, wait up!"
"We should just get back to the lair," Raph said over his shoulder before jumping to the next building like a very beefy gazelle. Even on skates, Casey barely made the jump.
"Jeez, will you stop?" he cried once he was on firm ground, and threw a bat at Raph's shell. It hit its target with a hollow bonk.
"Hey! You watch it!" shouted Raph, turning around to snarl at him.
Casey panted, finally catching up to him. "Stop running away, you coward!"
"Leave me alone, man!" Raph said, giving his back to Casey again.
He chased after him. "Nah! You know what? I'm not gonna leave you alone! Not until we're clear! Come on, dude! Is this what it's gonna be like from now on? Are we not gonna be able to be in the same room?"
Raph did as though he wanted to jump across buildings and leave him there. But if he hadn't already, it meant he didn't really want to. Just like if he'd wanted to disappear, he'd go ninja mode and he'd be gone. Poof! Something was holding him back.
Taking advantage of the pause, Casey picked his bat off the ground and stepped closer. He needed to calm Raph down. Otherwise they'd get nowhere.
"You think I've been running with ya all this time because I wanted to bang? 'Cause that is so not it, dude! I swear I'd never thought about you that way at all," he said trying to reassure, and the stress on those two last words seemed to at least have an effect.
On Raph's brow, a little crease appeared that was hard to interpret. "You said I was awesome-looking the other day!" Raph accused him, probably referring to Casey being drunk. "You said I had muscles, and—and green eyes!"
"Well, you said you loved me!" Casey shot back.
"'Cause you said it first!"
"I was drunk! And— I was talking about friend love, man. Also I was kidding—I barely even remember what I said!"
"You also said if only you were gay! And that I could wear white to our wedding!"
"I did?" Laughter escaped him for half a second before he caught it and swallowed it back down, seeing the irritation on Raph's face. "That was clearly all a joke, dude! I would never have said any of that seriously."
Raph crossed his arms, like he always did when he needed to play tough guy. But his gaze was downcast. "Right, I mean… Who would?"
"No! That... I'm not saying you're not… a-attractive…?"
Raph gazed worryingly at him. "Well... Are you into me or not?"
Casey reeled. "No! I mean, I dunno…"
"You don't know?" Raph cried out in distress.
"I told ya, I'd never considered it before yesterday, alright?"
"Fuck. I always suspected you'd be into some weird shit, but I didn't think you'd be into…" He cut himself off.
"What, guys? Even if I wasn't— or if I was, whatever! Anyway, that's homophobic, dude!"
"I didn't mean guys! Or… not just! I meant, you know..." He motioned at himself. "This shit!"
"Dude! If I was into dudes, you'd be the dude! You looked at yourself? You're like mutant Dwayne Johnson!"
That seemed to catch Raph off guard as his lip trembled, brow alternating from frown to surprise before settling back on pissed.
"So then you are into me!"
"No, I—" he tried to say, but Raph didn't let him.
"Shit, how long's this been going on, Casey?" he demanded, distressed. "All this time you been thinking about it? What, like… fantasizing? Huh?" he cried, accusingly, as though Casey had just ripped his clothes off.
Jesus, talk about goin' in circles. They'd been on this carousel long enough, and Casey was getting dizzy. Screw being reasonable! Raph just needed to punch it out!
"Me fantasizing? What about you, Raph? I seen where your eyes're going lately! You're the one who can't wait to get my pants off!" he prodded.
Raph seethed. "What?"
"That's why you're hiding, isn't it?" Casey laughed. "Can't look at me without getting the vapors!"
"Are you nuts?"
"Yeah, nuts, that's all you can think of now, isn't it!"
"Shut up!" Raph shoved him, making him stumble backwards three steps.
Good, good. Getting there.
"Face it! You're the one who's always worrying about me like I'm already your girlfriend! I accidentally hit the emergency button and bam!, you're swoopin' me up in your arms. You lo-o-o-ove me!"
Raph tackled him, ramming him backwards into the ground. Casey grabbed him in response, and rolled to get him underneath, reaching for tender spots on his sides to poke and punch. Raph clawed and thrashed.
"What are you doing, Raph? Can't get your hands off me, can you? Ow!"
"You're enjoying this?" Raph accused between grunts.
"Are you?" Casey huffed, latching onto him like a baby sloth.
"Hands off, you... pervert!"
"What're you gonna do? Make out with me?" Casey cackled.
Some friends played videogames. Some friends got stoned together behind the school dumpster and giggled at pigeons. Casey'd had those friends, but with Raph it was wrestling, either with or without real motive. Giving each other bruises was just a part of their daily socializing. And because Raph beat him in damage and armor points, more often than not it ended in Casey getting hurt somehow. And this time Raph was angrier than usual.
One moment Casey had his arms around Raph's neck, the next he was soaring. Suddenly he was face up on the ground not knowing how he'd got there.
As soon as he regained feeling, he registered a sharp pain shooting up his hip, straight up his spine to the back of his head.
"Oh shit! Casey! Casey, you okay?" he heard Raph fussing and cursing, and felt his shoulders gripped.
He blinked. "I'm seeing stars… Wait, actually they're more like Christmas lights."
"Shit. I—I didn't mean t… I went too far, I always-"
He felt Raph's voice real close, three-fingered hands fumbling about him. Is this where we kiss? Casey thought, and had to fight the urge to say it out loud. Or even do it. Go figure.
Even though he could barely move—or see—Casey laughed uproariously.
"What the fuck is so funny?" Raph squawked above him.
Drowning in breathless giggles, Casey eventually said, "'Cause! This is all so stupid, Raph!" He blinked some more, the Christmas lights going out one by one, and Casey could finally see his partner's face of incredulity.
"You're stupid!" Raph said, and him sounding so serious only made it funnier, and Casey laughed harder. "Dammit Jones, can't you take anything seriously?"
Casey couldn't tell if the tears were from pain or laughter, but whatever. Raph helped him sit up, propping him against the wall with the metal door, and Casey totally saw him trying to hide a smile.
"You're insane, you know that?"
"Sure," Casey replied, slowly catching his breath, and gave him a playful shove. Raph returned it, but so carefully Casey barely swayed.
"You're right, this is ridiculous," Raph said sheepishly, which meant now was the right moment to actually talk.
"Yeah. But seriously though. You're my best bro. I don't want it to be weird."
"I think it's a bit too late for that."
"Okay fine, but we shouldn't stop hanging out, all 'cause of those two jerkasses."
Raph nodded impetuously. "Yeah, yeah, I… I agree. I just…" he drifted off, avoiding his eyes again and anxiously rubbing his knuckles.
Nah man, Casey refused to go down that road again. He got an idea. Whether it came from his brain or his groin, he'd stopped caring at this point. "I know how we can settle this."
"How." Raph frowned suspiciously at him.
"We actually kiss."
Raph recoiled, practically jumping to his feet. "What?"
"Nothin' much, man. Just one kiss on the pie hole to prove we're really not like the future jerks."
"Why the f- How would that prove anything!" Raph squeaked.
Casey stood up after him, ignoring the bout of nausea. "We'll prove it does nothin' for us 'cause we're not into each other! Go ahead! On the mouth." He opened his arms, and tipped his chin forward.
"I'd rather kiss your moldy bathmat!"
"Great, 'cause I'd rather kiss Pigeon Pete!" Casey lied. "But if we gonna get over this, we gotta take the goalie by the jockstrap!"
Raph stammered. "Forget it, Case!"
"You know what I think, Raph? I think you're scared shitless," he said, and waited. It was super effective.
"Scared?" Raph repeated through his teeth.
"Yeah, you're just terrified you might actually like it!"
"You wanna go again, see who's terrified?" he threatened with a fist like a maze.
"See, you don't even have the cojones to kiss me as a joke, man. What, Casey Jones too much for you?"
"Blow me!"
"You wish!"
For a second Raph looked confused, but once he'd processed that, he squeezed his eyes shut, burying his face in his hands. "Aghh! Are you craz—do you have a deathwish tonight, Jones?"
But Casey crossed his arms, so very not intimidated, and so very confident of his plan. "Either you prove you can kiss me and keep it in your shell, or you admit that you're totally crushing on the Jones."
Raph pushed him again, and Casey stumbled backwards into the metal door. "You're an asshole!"
"Dude, whatever! I'm just sayin', it's the only way to shove past this whole thing," Casey said, calmly this time. Pull a little, release a little. He'd be a damn good salesman—if only he didn't have to wear a stupid suit and cut his hair and shower everyday.
Raph seemed to actually ponder. He took a step backwards, then forward, as though balancing on a literal fence. He started to turn with a growl and Casey thought that was it, and started to cluck his tongue. But then Raph backtracked again, and glared at him.
Casey opened his arms. Bring it on, tough guy, it said.
Raph's eyes flicked from Casey's eyes to his mouth, breathing heavily. And mentally, Casey found himself begging.
"Close your eyes," Raph said all of a sudden, and Casey quirked his brow.
"Why?"
"I don't want you lookin' at me, alright?"
"Alright," he agreed, and closed his eyes.
He heard Raph grumbling under his breath, his feet shuffling nervously. Then, he felt him lunge, and all at once his big blunt hands snatched him by the hoodie, yanking him forward off the door, and his mouth smashed against Casey's.
It took barely over one Mississippi. Raph broke contact almost immediately, shoving Casey off, and his back hit the metal door with a clang.
"I don't- I don't even know how to do this!" Raph protested bashfully, like some middle school kid who'd been picked first to tango with a girl classmate in front of all his friends. "I've literally never had to do this before!"
Meanwhile Casey was putting all his effort into keeping his cool, because goddamn, his heart was pounding in his ears. Was he just shaken or did he really like it? Either way, no harm in repeating the experiment, just to be sure...
"Here, I'll show you," he offered, and stepped up to his partner.
Raph actually stayed frozen still as Casey placed his hands, barely touching, on both sides of his wide, muscular jaw, and leaned forward.
It lasted longer this time. Raph didn't move, eyes squeezed shut, but allowed Casey to do his thing. Feeling bold—but most importantly curious as hell—Casey shortened the remaining inch between them and placed himself flush against Raph's plastron. He moved over him, his mouth playing with Raph's, corner to corner, upper lip, lower lip. Eventually, miraculously, Raph started to move with him, experimentally, his head tilting in search of his mouth.
Something slithered around in Casey's guts, and the closeness, and the movement, and the smell of Raph all up in his palate, were making his pants tight. Casey whined, because it was time to stop before...
Slowly, reluctantly, he pulled back, their lips parting with a tender, slick, chh. They stared at each other, inches apart. Catatonic.
Finally, as though someone had blown a horn, they broke away.
Raph cleared his throat. "Well, there y'go!" he said, theatrically rubbing his mouth clean. "Nothing!"
Casey's heart tripped a little on itself, but he straightened up in kind. "Right! See, told ya!"
"I didn't like it. You?" Raph asked, hands on his hips.
"Nah, it sucked," Casey lied, again. Raph was lying too, like, for sure. Just look at him floundering. But he had enough brain cells active not to point it out. "So now we good!"
"As long as we're clear," Raph said, clearly wanting to sound stern. "Yeah."
"Oh, we're clear," Casey said, nodding. And then he nodded some more, trying not to grin, because all the blood that was supposed to power his brain had collected somewhere else. Casey was sure glad he was wearing his jockstrap.
"I mean, they are from a different timeline! It doesn't have to happen for…"
"For us, yeah," Casey managed to finish. "But dude, like… if you ever feel, y'know… You can just tell me, like, it's okay."
"Oh, no, no, don't worry." Raph huffed as if the very notion was ludicrous. "But... yeah, same to you."
Casey was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he'd just shared a full-on mini make out session with his best friend. He wasn't sure about Raph—although he had his suspicions—but that was at the very least the most exciting thing he'd ever done. More than kissing April.
Oh shit, April! That whole thing was still hanging! They hadn't talked since their fight at school, and Casey felt pretty shitty for having said those things to her, which had lead to him taking on the entire bottle of Tipsy Moose solo. He'd completely forgotten about that whole beeswax, what with future Raph and Casey… He should probably, like, text her or something.
They heard a commotion down the street, and approached the ledge. They watched as the cops got the ever-chatty Raccoon Claw out of the sandwich shop, now a couple blocks away, in handcuffs. Some curious neighbors had shown up to look from their windows as well.
"So…" he said to Raph once the patrol car with Raccoon had driven away and the sirens had been turned off. The bulge between his legs was slowly shrinking back to its normal size as well. "You still game to a bit of patrolling?"
"Alright. I gotta warn ya, though. It's pretty boring tonight around here."
"There's always some pothead we can scare," Casey said through a mischievous grin.
As they stood up, Raph said softly, "Hey, Jones."
Casey held his breath. "Yeah?"
"If any of this gets outta this rooftop, I'm gonna rip your balls off. We clear?"
Secretly both relieved and disappointed, Casey retorted, "Right back at ya, honey-boo."
"Hey, stop that," Raph snapped, aiming at him with a warning finger, and Casey raised his hands in surrender.
"Alright, alright." He snickered, and offered Raph a brofist. Raph took it, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. Maybe Casey was just in the mood, but something flashed in Raph's radiant green eyes before he quickly took them away.
As they got going, Casey grinned to himself. I'm gonna make him my boyfriend.
"What's so funny now?" Raph said, eyeing him sideways with one of his angry half smiles.
Casey waved him off. "Nun', man."
He put on his hockey mask, needing its concealment now more than ever, and shot off by Raph's side.
Hachisu-no-Hana never lost sight of the pendant. Karai had been looking for a chance to get a hold of it, but no dice. She'd seen the little box in Hachisu's hands the previous night, and could swear she kept it in her sash the whole time. She had refused to even let Karai hold it, and now seemed to suspect her. Constantly surrounded by her soldiers, she was never found alone.
It didn't matter. Once Karai killed Oroku Saki, Tang Shen would be free. And she would be proud of her.
In the quiet of night, on the cold cramped floor of that storage basement, surrounded by these strangers resigned to their fate, Karai remembered the lair with a pang of sadness. The unique combination of smells—pizza and leather, incense and motor oil. Her mind conjured up the night ambience, the echoey silence of the tunnels, broken occasionally by the jingle of the pinball machine; the deep rumbling of the subway through the brick walls, the hum of the fridge, or the guys' happy snores... Who would know she'd miss all these things?
She felt cold all of a sudden, and longed for one of Mikey's bone-crushing hugs. She could really use Donnie's overblown words of encouragement, even Raph's brutally refreshing honesty. And Leo... He'd tried hardest of all. Now that she was so far away from home, she wanted nothing more than to go and knock on his door, sneak in his room and just… just let herself be there. Let him be there.
And then, after all that, she would kneel before Splinter, and she would let herself be his daughter.
If only.
But it was too late now. They didn't understand after all. It occurred to her that Shredder himself would have understood.
She grimaced in revulsion at the cement ceiling. It was all to do with Shredder. Shredder was the root. Shredder was guilty of all the pain her family had endured, of everything rotten inside her.
At least this hatred gave her purpose. He had to be stopped. She had to make sure, personally, that he was stopped. She wanted the Foot Clan gone, but most of all she wanted the Shredder dead.
RASEY'S SO MUCH FUN YOU GUYS. What did you think of their first kiss? No homo.
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