[EDITED] Ok, this one of the longest and quickest chapters I ever wrote. Try to keep up with this chapter, it goes by fast.

starrat: I love your reviews!

lashayluv: If Ian liking Raph shocked you, get a load of this chapter.

WARNING: Some explicit content towards the end! Skip over it if you don't want to read!

Enjoy!

Song for this chapter - Cinderella (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) ~ Mac Miller

Welcome Home!

Three months later…

~Lilly's POV~

"Lilly! It's on, hurry up!" My mother yelled for me.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back, finally being able to close my suitcase. I quickly left my room and sped downstairs. "Is he on?" I asked before I even got to the living room.

Everyone was sitting around the t.v, including the servants. Ian sat next to Christine who sat next to my mother. Barry's mother sat far away from everybody with a tissue in her hand just waiting to see her son on that t.v.

There was going to be a press conference about the situation in New York, to see if the invasion was officially over, if business would resume, if airways would be open up and apparently Barry was going to give the conference come out and say everything about the E.P.A even.

My mother was now five months pregnant and showing, she was glowing more, eating more, and more emotional. About a week ago she told Barry's mother that she was pregnant since she was constantly telling my mother how fat she was getting. My mother just came out and said, "Maybe it's because I'm carrying your grandson" which lead Barry's mom to ask for a paternity test which lead to a huge fight. They are not on good terms now. Barry called yesterday telling us to pack our bags and get ready to go home because the Krang were defeated.

That's not all…

Barry told us that he was at the frontline of the battle, fighting alongside some unlikely heroes. Barry said that he was getting intel from Leo and the guys which helped out the E.P.A a lot. My mother and Ian couldn't believe it when Barry told them. I could though…

Speaking of, Raph told me about going back into the city a month and a half ago. He hasn't contacted me since. I think this has been the first time ever since my father died, that I prayed. I prayed that everything would come out right. I've contacted everyone, telling them how much they meant to me and how I hoped they were all safe.

I went over to sit next to my mother, she immediately grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Here we go,"

When Barry appeared on the t.v, my mother sighed while Barry's mother whimpered how handsome he looked. I thought he looked tired and stressed.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Barry took a deep breath. "It's been a while since I've done these press briefings and I'm not lying when I say it is really good to be back." He chuckled nervously before continuing.

My mother sighed, "He looks…so bad." My mother laughed, touching her lips with her fingers to hide them as they trembled. I placed a hand on her back and smiled at the tears in her eyes. She cocked her head to the side and let a tear fall.

I rested my head on her shoulder and watched.

"It is with great happiness that I say that the life forms, which we now know are called the Krang, that have tried to invade this earth, starting with the state of New York...after a long, restless, continuous fight with the United States military, the NYPD, and the Earth Protection Force, over the course of three and a half months, have been defeated and have left-" he was cut off by an applause by the press. Barry stopped and just nodded while they continued.

My mother wiped the tears away, "Thank God," she whispered before turning to kiss my temple. "Oh thank God..."

Ian laughed, "Man, I really wish I was in the Marines right now."

Christine pushes him, "Are you dumb?"

Ian shrugged, "What? I would. I wanna fight those alien pricks."

"They're gone now. You can't fight them. Barry is one thing but you-" Christine suddenly stopped herself and straightened, looking back at the t.v instead of at Ian.

All of us looked at Christine, including Ian who had a cocky smirk on his face. "What are you trying to say, babe? You trying to say you'd miss me?"

"No, in fact, I think you should leave right now," Chris said, a hint of blush on her cheeks.

My mother tapped Christine's leg, "Oh shush, you know you would."

"No, I would not."

I laughed, "Mm-hm..."

"Shut up, Lillian." Chris snapped.

We all turned our attention back to the t.v as Barry continued finally when the clapping and cheering were over with. "I'm happy to say that all airports will be open immediately and all modes of transportation into the state of New York will be permitted and open. Unfortunately, many buildings have been condemned, including in the epicenter of the invasion, Manhattan."

I sighed, "I guess that's to be expected."

"Camps and shelters are being put up all over the state to house those who do not have a place to go. For the citizens that left the state, or that were out of state during the invasion, it is now time to come home and continue life here." Barry looked straight into the camera and smiled.

My mother squeezed my hand once again, I knew why. Because he was talking to us.

"I will not lie to the public, it will be very tough for the next couple of months as we attempt to resume the life we had before the invasion. A curfew is being set statewide-"

"We're going home now...right mom?" I asked.

My mother nodded, "We're going home now."

New York...

It took us a while, but we're home again. Oh man, it's great to be home again. We were all so happy to be home, but I think Christine was more happy to be back than any of us. She just wanted to see if her salon was okay.

Barry was waiting alone at the bottom of the escalator with the biggest smile on his face. He still looked just as tired in real life as he did on television. I was holding onto my mother's hand but as soon as she saw Barry, she let go of me and ran to him, jumping in his arms and throwing her arms around his neck. Barry held my mother tight, like he was going to leave her again. Although I had a feeling that he wasn't going to leave her anytime soon. When they pulled away, the shared a passionate much-needed kiss. I...had to look away, because...eh...

Barry pulled away, wiping my mom's tears before he looked down at her stomach. He then dropped to his knees, pressing his ear against her tummy and held her.

Ian came up behind me and sighed, "Do you think he missed her?" He joked.

I snickered, "Nah..."

After a while, Barry stood. My mother wiped his tears away. He gave her another kiss and told her how much she missed her. Barry suddenly looked over at me.

My turn for the hug and tears.

I went over to him and was immediately met with a giant hug. When I hugged him back he picked me up and twirled me around. "Oh, I missed you, Lillian." He muttered before kissing my head. "I missed you guys so much."

After I told him to put me down and he did, I chuckled. "I missed you too." I was wearing makeup, so I just gently dabbed the tears away from cheeks.

After me, Barry went over and gave Ian a hug and Chris a hug and a kiss on the cheek before eagerly going back over to my mother. "You guys look...great. My family..." he stared at my mother before he leaned in and rested his forehead on his. "My wife..."

It was touching to see him so in love with my mother. To see him so emotional, it made me emotional. I was happy to be home.

Barry kisses my mother's forehead, "Let's go get the luggage then or do you want to go home and I'll have someone send it over?"

My mother shook her head, "Let's go get the luggage."

Ian nodded, "Yeah, let's get it over with before anything. Then we can go home and nap."

Chris snorted, "Nap? I want to see if I still have a job. Fuck sleeping."

"Ok then, we'll drop the luggage off then go see if the salon is okay. Just you and I." Ian said before wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Barry blinked, "Um... You two...dating now?"

"Yes," Ian said.

"No," Chris said.

They both looked at each other before looking back at Barry.

"No," Ian corrected.

"Yes," Christine said before looking at Ian again. Both sharing a confused look before answering once again.

"It's complicated," they both said, clearly embarrassed.

Barry raised a brow in amusement, "O...kay." He grabbed my mother's hand, lacing his fingers with his. "One thing I have to say before we go anywhere." He pointed towards the exit. "The press has been following me everywhere. So, stay close and just ignore them, okay?"

Ian nodded, "Lilly, ven," he ordered, so I went over to him.

So much for privacy, I guess...

~Raph's POV~

"Hey! I was watching that!" Mikey yelled.

I continued to click through the channels, "Now you're not."

"There's nothing on." Leo pointed out. "Just news about how New York is doing so far."

"Yeah..." I mumbled. I knew there was nothing on but I wasn't about to watch Mikey's stupid cartoons. I stopped at a news story about Barry.

Casey snapped his fingers, "Look, they're talking about Lilly's dad. Turn it up." His mouth full of pizza.

April came out of the kitchen with her slice of pizza along with Donatello. "Lilly? What about Lilly?"

I grunted at the mentioning of Lillian. I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly wanting to change the channel. I haven't gotten a call from Lilly. As far as I know, she could be flying back. I mean she should be, all airways were open again. Everything was slowly getting back to normal. I just...I wanted to talk to her.

"Commissioner Anderson has won the hearts of millions by helping any way he knows how. His father, an eccentric billionaire, Richard Anderson, owner of Anderson Enterprises, has also been very generous, paying over 10 million dollars in hospital bills for random citizens while his construction company is helping build and fix any building that needs to be, buying property so that families can live for free temporarily."

Casey's jaw fell open, "Did they just say...billionaire?"

"I told you guys he was extremely rich," Donnie said. "He's like top 10 richest men on earth. But he constantly gives his money away like that so he's never in like top 5."

"10 million dollars in hospital bills?" Casey said. "How many people is that?"

"Like four." I joked.

Casey snorted, "Yeah probably,"

Leo suddenly sat up straight, "Wait Raph, turn it up."

I reluctantly turned up the volume.

"Here's a video of the commissioner picking up his wife and stepdaughter from JFK, along with other relatives of theirs, earlier today. Commissioner Anderson refused to speak with the press about anything specific, instead, he just thanked everyone and headed to what we believe is his home."

I stood up immediately. My eyes wide when I saw someone familiar. All I saw was her brown hair, her face was being covered by...Ian's hand. That Lillian! She's on tv! She's...in Manhattan.

"Lillian's...home?" Mikey said softly. The room growing quiet as everyone had their eyes on me to see why my next move was.

They all knew what my next move was.

Without even thinking, I bolted out of the lair as fast as I could.

"Raph wait!" Leo screamed behind me.

Fuck no I'm not waiting for anyone. I knew where to go, I knew how long it was going to take me to get there at the speed I was going. I was going to see Lillian for the first time in too long...she was finally home.

I'm going to see my girl.

~Lilly's POV~

"Lilly?" My mother called from downstairs.

"Yeah, mom?" I answered, continuing to say place my clothes back in my dresser. Unpacking was more annoying than packing.

"Could you come here?" She asked.

I stopped what I was doing and began to walk downstairs, "Where are you?"

"Kitchen," she said.

I went over to find her literally emptying the refrigerator and throwing everything in the trash. I chuckled, "What are you doing?"

"Barry never came home, so everything rotted. I'm throwing it all out. When Barry comes back from work he's going to bring as much groceries as he can." As much as he didn't want to, Barry had an emergency meeting with the E.P.A. He told my mother he wouldn't be long and that when he came home he'd bring groceries. "Ugh, I have to clean this fridge. It stinks!"

"Is that what you need help with?"

My mother threw and chuck of...cheese I think, into the trash. "No, I actually wanted to ask when you were going to see Raphael."

I blinked in shock at hearing his name come out of her mouth. My heart almost stopped, "Um...well, I was going to surprise him tomorrow. I kinda wanna sleep right now." I said softly.

"Oh okay, I was going to tell you to wait at least a day to get rid of the jet lag. Does he know you're here?" She asked, reaching back into the fridge.

"He shouldn't. Unless he watched us on the news. But Raph never watches the news so I doubt it." When my mother grabbed something out of the fridge, she suddenly gripped her stomach and let out a breath of almost pain. "You okay?"

She nodded and rubbed her pregnant belly, "I'm just hungry and I guess someone is too."

"Are you supposed to feel stuff by this time?"I asked with a worried smile. I reached over and touched my mom's belly, and to be honest, it was weird to see my mom pregnant. A good weird but weird nonetheless...

My mom shrugged, "I don't know. But I felt something." She rested her hand on mine and I smiled.

"Have you figured out what you're going to name it?"

My mother nodded, "Barry and I decided, Emily if it's a girl after his grandmother. And if it's a boy, Anthony..."

My eyes widened, "Really? Barry let you do that?"

"He insisted once I mentioned it. He said it'd be like a little reminder for us and a reminder for him of what he has." She explained, her smile seeming more motherly than ever before when she looked down at her belly.

"What do you want it to be?"

She shrugged, "Another girl would be nice...but I'm hoping for a baby boy."

"Me too..." I paused for a moment, before grabbing my moms arm and kissing her cheek. "I'm going to go nap. You try to too."

She nodded, "I'll try after I eat something." She frowned and sighed. "But everything is rotten."

"Do you want to go out? I can put my shoes on and we can go grab something."

She shook her head, "No, I'll just wait for Barry. He shouldn't be long." She suddenly snapped her fingers, "Oh, but when you see Raphael, could you bring him here? I want to tell him something."

I stopped for a moment, before going up to my mother and feeling her forehead. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked. She's never even said his name in a nice way...now she's asking to see him? Something must be wrong.

She pushed my hands away and rolled her eyes, "Oh would you stop? Just bring him or don't. Whatever."

That sounded a little more normal... "Sure mom..." I said slowly before going over to the stairs. Before I began to climb them though, I heard a weird banging noise coming from upstairs. My mother gave me a confused look so I assumed she heard it too. "What's that?" I asked, my mother just shrugged. I was just going to ignore it until I heard it again, I quickly made my way up the stairs and just stood there waiting for it to happen again. When it never did, I again chose to ignore it. I turned around and saw my mom at the bottom of the stairs. "Whatever..." I told her.

"Lilly?" I heard someone say.

My heart dropped at that voice. I held a hand to my chest before inching my way to my room. I stopped when I heard footsteps and soon saw him. He came rushing out of my room so fast that it scared the living shit out of me. I gasped in shock. "Raph?" I said softly. It's been a long time since I've seen him, so long that seeing him here was almost...not real. We just stood there for a moment before I took a step towards him, his eyes looked up and down my body. I let out a sob before I launched toward him, "Oh my God!"

His arms have never held me so tight before. I guess he did watch the news. I felt him pick me up off the ground and without even thinking, I wrapped my legs around him. He held me there against him, his arms wrapping around my waist before I felt him drop to his knees. "Oh God, I thought you'd never come back." He said before burying his face into my neck.

I was just crying, letting out little sobs and praying that this wasn't a dream; hoping that this was reality. All those phone calls, hearing his voice for the first time after the invasion, all of that was nothing compared to this moment right here. When I pulled away from the hug, I stared at him for a moment before letting out another sob when I realized that he was right here in my arms. I smashed my mouth on his and my heart jumped into my throat. I missed his kiss, his touch, his taste. I just missed him.

Raph leaned into the kiss so much that he leaned forward and placed me in the ground. I never let go of him meanwhile he placed his hands on the ground just trying to get comfortable I guess. I didn't want to let go of him, because what if I did and it wasn't real? Then I'd lose this moment...

My hands cupped his face, letting tears fall from my eyes. He was already kissing me hard, what's the point in wondering if my tears would ruin my makeup, he's probably ruining it right now. But that's okay. I didn't really care at the moment.

"Lilly? What is it?" I heard my mom from downstairs. "Lilly?"

I didn't want to pull away from his kiss but I had to, "Nothing mom, everything is fine." I said quickly before going back to kissing him. I knew I had to be careful if I continue kissing him like this, this was going to move into something else real quick. And it's been so long that I'd let it happen.

"Well, what was that noise?" She asked.

I sighed before pulling away from him one more time, to answer her. "It was Raph," I said with a smile, biting my lip again before giving him a quick kiss.

"Raphael? He's here?"

Raph wrapped an arm around my waist before standing up. He let me down, "God, I missed you." He whispered before giving me another hug.

"I missed you too." I whimpered, tears falling from my eyes.

He tapped my tears away, "You're crying."

I laughed, before wiping his eyes. He'll never admit it, but I could see the glistening of the tears so I wiped his eyes. "So are you," I gave him one more hug. "My baby..."

"God, you look great, you feel great," he took a deep breath. "You smell great..."

"How'd you know I was home?" I asked, my fingers twirling around with the ends of his masks.

"There was a news story about Barry and they showed a video of you guys leaving the airport. I just ran out of the lair as soon as I saw that." He cupped my face. Man, I missed his deep green eyes.

"So you just ran?" I laughed before giving him another hug. "My mother wanted to see you," I said softly. "She's downstairs," I said excited, grabbing his hand.

Raph didn't budge, he just stood there with an unamused smiled. "Ha. Ha. Very funny, you didn't lose your sense of humor I see."

"No, I'm serious. She wants to talk to you." I laughed. "I was shocked myself, to be honest. I don't even think she ever said your name." It took all the strength I had to pull Raph downstairs. "Mom, look its Raph."

"I know you've told me that already." She said appearing at the bottom of the stairs. She smiled, "Were you the one making all that noise?"

Raph squeezes my hand, stopping right in the middle of the stairs. He waited for the rude remark and was more shocked that it never came. I pulled my down just so he can take another step, he was like a puppy, on edge, slowly coming to terms that he was safe. "Um, I was trying to...the window was stuck..." he looked at my mother for a quick second before his eyes widened. He finally walked down the stairs. "You're...you're showing."

My mother rubbed her belly and smiled, "I am. I'm five months along. Lilly and I were just picking out names. Come with me to the living room. We need to talk."

Raph went up to my mother and grabbed her hand. I held my breath when my mother pulled her hand out of his grip. "What are you doing?" My mother asked.

"Just trying to help," Raph said.

My mother shook her head, "I'm not that big. I can walk."

Raph stayed close to my mother as she walked to the living room and I watched as my heart warmed at the sight of both of them getting along. "I gotta say, you're practically glowing. I mean, you look..." he paused for a moment to find the right words. "Youthful..."

"Youthful? You mean young?" She chuckled. "Thank you. Flattery will get you everywhere." My mother finally sat down. Raph sat beside her when she instructed him to sit. I sat on the opposite side of her, holding her hand. "I wanted Lillian to bring you but since you dropped by at the best time, I just wanted thank you for working with Barry on saving the planet. On behalf of me, and my family, thank you."

Raph's eyes widened at this along with mine. I wasn't expecting a thank you. I mean my mother doesn't even call Raph by his name, she calls him 'that thing' or 'freak' something rude like that. I mean hell must be frozen over.

"Uh…no problem." Raph's chuckled shyly. "No offense, ma'am, but you hated me a couple months ago. What changed?

My mother sighed, "Well…I met Barry's parents,"

I groaned, resting my forehead on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know..." my mom snickered. "I met his parents, right off the bat his mother did not like me, she did not like Lillian, Ian, Christine, they did not like our family. To her, I was just a gold digging whore after their money."

"No offense, but she's a bitch. As long as you and Barry are happy, they don't matter." Raph's growled softly, placing a comforting hand on my mother's knee before promptly taking it away.

My mom nodded, "But it got me thinking, and then I realized that..." she took a deep breath, almost as if she were trying to find the words. "I owe you and Lillian an apology."

My eyes along with Raph's eyes widened in shock once again. This is fucking insane.

"I am going through what you guys are. I don't accept you, Barry's parents don't accept me. I know you two are in love and please don't let me stop that. However, you have to understand, you're not human." She said. "I'm not used to you. I'm not open-minded like she is. I still don't know why she's dating you."

Raph chuckled, "To be fair ma'am...I don't either."

My mother smiled, "Because she loves you." She grabbed Raph's hand, making him visibly uncomfortable. "She tells me all the time but it's only now that I see it because I'm in her shoes."

Raph smiled nervously, "Well I uh..."

She took her hand away, "Don't hurt her, okay. The last guy she was with for this long was just a total..."

Raph sighed, "I'd never. She knows that. I know that. Everyone knows that she's my life."

I smiled, my heart fluttering in my chest.

My mother sighed, "That's beautiful."

"Lilly?" I heard someone call from upstairs. "Lilly!"

Raph stood up immediately before groaning once he realized who it was. "You've got to be kidding…" He mumbled.

Soon, Mikey, April, and Casey all came rushing down the stairs before stopping when they saw all of us together. Mikey let out an 'oh' before pushing everyone back upstairs. "Go," he whispered.

"Mikey, what the hell are you doing here?" Raph growled.

My gasp stopped everyone in their tracks. "Mikey!" I yelled, pushing Raph out of the way so that I could run up and give Mikey a big ol' hug.

"Lilly!" Mikey yelled back, hugging me just as tight as Raph did. "Oh you feel like you don't weigh a pound, didn't you eat when you were in California?" He lifted me up and twirled me around. Why is everyone doing this to me? "They don't have pizza in California do they?" He asked, pulling away from me.

"I was just so…worried about you guys, I was never hungry." I gave him a kiss on the cheek before going over to April, who was already crying. "April, oh I missed you."

"I was so glad you weren't anywhere near here," April said, she wiped her tears away. "I missed you so much. So much has happened since you've been gone."

"I know, I watch the news," I said, giving her cheek a kiss. I looked up at the stairs. "Oh everyone came! This is great."

Casey was the next to come over and give me a small hug, "How was Cali?" He asked.

I smiled, "It was okay. Packed with people."

I moved to Donnie, reaching up to give him the best hug I could. Luckily, he bent down a bit so I could hug him better. "Donnie, did you get taller?"

He chuckled, "You just got smaller."

Leo just gave me a smile, "Lillian,"

"Leo,"

"Glad you made it home safe."

I nodded, "I could say the same to you guys. I missed you all so much. You have no idea."

"We missed you too," Mikey said. "We couldn't even talk about you because then Raph would be all 'shut up, Mikey' or 'pipe down, Mikey' or 'I swear to god if you don't stop talking I'm gonna slap you into next week, Mikey'. It was nonstop."

"Come down, come meet my mom, you guys," I said, grabbing Donnie's hand and pulling him down the stairs. When I turned April was already giving my mother a hug, my mother, on the other hand, was sorta…frozen, just staring at everyone. "Mom, this is everybody."

My mother nodded, "Uh-huh… Lilly, come here." I went over to her quickly. "Everyone is a mutant?"

"Mostly… Too much?" I asked.

She nodded, "A little…" She said with a smile. "But its okay, I guess." She moved me to the side a bit. "I wish I could serve everyone refreshments but we are all out of everything. Although, Barry should be home any minute now if you guys want to wait."

"Thank you very much, ma'am. But we won't be here for very long." Leo said.

"Although you already look full," Mikey said with a little chuckle before putting his hand on my mother's stomach. "How many of them are in there?"

My mother jumped at his sudden rashness, "Oh uh…"

Raph immediately went up to him to push him off, "Personal space, Mikey. Don't touch without asking." He growled.

My mother chuckled nervously, "That's alright Raphael." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's fine. I only have one in there."

I smiled at everyone, it certainly was nice to be back home.

Couple hours later…

~Raph's POV~

"You guys can go ahead, I'm gonna stay here," I told the guys.

Casey laughed, "Yeah you are!" He said before giving me a high-five. I just stared at him oddly with a confused smirk. "You dog."

Leo rolled his eyes, "Geez… You'll be home tomorrow then. Sensei won't like that."

I nodded, "Yeah, I'll learn to live with that." I turned around to find April and Lilly in a tight embrace, almost like they didn't want to leave each other. I smiled going over to Lilly, who held out her arm so that she could wrap it around my waist while she continued the conversation with April.

"So, I guess…I'm just confused is all," April said, wrapping her arm around herself.

"It's super confusing. Immensely confusing, it's so confusing that it's frustrating, but I think the less you think about it, the fast you realize what you're true feelings are. You just have to give it time." Lillian told her. I was confused for a bit but I didn't really think about it too much because I knew whatever this was about, Lilly was going to tell me about it later.

"Come on, April," Casey said.

April turned and nodded, "Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Absolutely, I'll be here," Lilly said, letting go of me so that she could hug April again. "I'll see you tomorrow." April waved at both of us before turning and heading home with the guys.

Lilly grabbed my hand and led me down the fire escape and back into her bedroom. "It was so nice to see everyone. It's so nice to see you again." She said, pulling me close to her. I wrapped my arms around her now small waist. She rested her forehead on mine and sighed. "I missed you so much. I was so scared that I was never gonna see you again." She said, closing her eyes.

I smiled at her, my heart racing at her confession. I'm all honesty, I was in the same position. There was a point where I didn't think we'd be able to save the world. But we did. And I'm glad. I raised her chin with my finger. "Hey," I said gently before leaning in to kiss her softly. I didn't want to rush into anything. Lilly just got back from traveling so she must be a least a little bit tired. "You tired?"

She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Little bit, I'm not gonna lie." She went over to her door, "But," she shut her door and locked it. "Almost four months?" She went over to her bathroom door and locked that one, since there were two doors to that and anyone could walk in as soon as they realized she locked her bedroom door. "Too long."

"Won't your parent notice that-"

Lilly shrugged, "Maybe, but I don't really care." She came up to me, pushing herself against me. "Don't you want to?"

I snorted, "Dumb question,"

"Yeah, I know." She giggled. "I can't believe my mom was nice to you."

"You can't believe? I almost fainted. I don't know if I like it. Seems to good to be true." I chuckled. I didn't know how to react when she called me by my name. "Do me a favor though. Tell her to call me Raph. Raphael seems too...grown up."

She nodded, "Ok, I'll be sure to tell her."

"What were you and April talking about?"

Lilly sighed, "Feelings. She's having feelings and they're confusing her."

"Feelings about?"

Lilly stares at me suspiciously, "I don't know if I should tell you."

I frowned, "You said no secrets."

"This is different." She shook her head. "This isn't about me it's about April and...someone you know..." she bit her lip, instantly looking like she said too much. "Anyways, unimportant, take off your equipment."

"Whoa whoa whoa, someone I know? Casey?" I asked with a small smile on my face. Lilly ordering me what to do was really cute, especially since she basically telling me to 'undress'.

She pressed her lips together in annoyance, "Raph? Can we not talk about April right now?"

I nodded in agreement, "Okay, come here," I ordered before pulling her in so I could kiss her cheek, slowly moving my way down to her pulse. She giggled in response. Her hands went down to the knot of my equipment belt, quickly untying it and letting it fall to the ground. I grabbed her shirt and pulled it up and over her head, revealing a...different body than I had remembered. Lilly was never a super skinny girl, she was fit, she had meat on her bones. But now? She...looks like she hasn't eaten for the past three months. My eyes widened a bit while my mood shifted from desire to worry. "Lilly..."

She stared at me with a confused stare, suddenly taking a step back. "W-What's the matter?"

I looked up at her, "Why are you so skinny?"

She blinked, "Huh?" He tone was defensive.

"Did you eat at all while you were gone?"

"Well, funny thing," she said with a sarcastic chuckle. "I was sorta busy worrying about my boyfriend who could have died."

"Lil'..." that's not the only thing that has changed about her. She was tanner than usual, her small stretch marks forming at her hips were less visible than usual, and the light peach fuzz her stomach was covered in was gone and nothing but soft skin remained. "You've changed so much..."

"Summer in California will do that." She bit irritatedly. "I also got laser hair removal all over my body..." she shrugged. "Well, mostly..."

I sighed, my hands grabbing her hips, "Are you happy?"

She seemed taken aback by the question but soon after smiled. "I am now." She leaned in to kiss me before pushing me onto the bed. "Are you?"

Couple of hours later…

"Please, one more time." She giggled.

"No, I'm not doing it anymore if you're just going to make fun of me," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Please! I promise I won't make fun of you." She begged.

"No. You said that last time."

"Okay but I mean it this time. Please, Raph!"

I sighed, of course, I was going to do what she wanted because I always do what she wants. I always cave. Call me weak, call me whatever you want to call me, she's under my skin, knows what buttons to push and I love it. "My brothers always gettin' me tight, like dead-ass."

She laughed, sitting up from the bed. "You do it so well! I have no idea what you're saying though."

"I'm saying my brothers are always pissing me off," I explained. "It's not like you haven't heard it before."

She leaned in forward, "I love it when you do it though." She said huskily before giving me a sweet kiss. "A Brooklyn accent on you makes my toes curl."

I felt my ego start to grow bigger and bigger the more she complimented me. "Maybe I should uh...start talkin' like this from now on, huh babe?"

I watched as her eyes rolled back, she sighed, "It's better if you talk normally. Otherwise, I'd have to jump on you every time you talked."

"I'm okay with that."

I don't know how many hours we've been together, but it only felt like a couple of minutes. We decided to take a little break from sex and just catch up. Now, as she's laughing in front of me, completely naked, I just had to take a moment and admire her.

She tossed her hair, which was longer than I remembered, over her shoulder and out of the way so she was able to rest her head on my chest. "I really missed you."

"I know," I chuckled. "You told me multiple times."

She shrugged, "I couldn't help it." She shut her eyes and sighed, "I'm really happy."

"I am too." My hand went into her soft curly hair, my thumb caressing her temple. "So much has happened, Lilly..." I said softly, causing her to open her eyes. "I mean... We all thought Splinter was...gone. Leo got hurt really bad. Every night I needed you there with me and to know you weren't… Do you know how much that...sucked?"

She just nodded.

"Of course you do..." I chuckled. "I mean we were literally in the middle of buttfuck, New Jersey. April's family place was like abandoned, the closest store was five miles away from it and it was just like a tiny gas station. That's how we got our food though. Well, that and the animals that were there."

She lifted her head, "You killed the animals?"

I shook my head, "No, like eggs and milk and shit. Are you kidding? I'd never be able to kill an animal."

She laid back down, "I was going to say."

"I took care of Leo for as long as he would let me."

She reached over to touch my cheek, "How sweet..."

"I had to. That's my brother. I love him." I kissed her palm. "Then when we came back and found Splinter...I felt like a traitor. Like I betrayed him..."

She frowned, "Why?"

"Because when I saw him it was like 'of course he's alive how could I think he wasn't?' I didn't have faith in him."

Lilly shook her head, "How could you not think he was gone if you saw him get hurt and then never saw him again until after the invasion?"

"I know I know...it's stupid."

She sat up, "Its not stupid, Raph. I just don't want you to blame yourself in any way."

"Well...I don't know." I sighed. "I talked to him because he noticed I was very distant and he understood everything."

She smiled, grabbing onto my hand, "I'm glad."

I know she hates it when I stare but at that moment, I couldn't help but just look at her. God, I was so happy that she was finally back and this time I won't ever let her leave my side again. I brought her hand to my lips, watching her blush softly. "Did you like your stay in California?"

She lay beside me, picking up the covers so she could shimmy underneath them. "I guess. It was just very quiet after the invasion." I turned on my side to face her. "It was so scary. The city is never quiet. Barry's mother wasn't really welcoming either. I mean, she offered to stay in her house but after a while, none of us wanted to. Se would constantly fight with my mother and man I wanted to shut that bitch up. All we did was worry about the invasion though. We tried not to for my mom but…" she shook her head. "It was surreal."

"I was happy you weren't in the city. I knew you were okay. I was glad you didn't have to see any of this." I told her.

I saw just how much she loved me when she just stared into my eyes. She had this look of admiration that just made me want to melt. "I love you." When I said nothing she smiled. "I don't think I ever want to leave you again."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." she grabbed my hand and shivered. "I've never felt like this for someone. You make my past disappear...no one has ever done that. No one has ever made me forget and I do with you."

"Wow..." I breathed. "You know, you're really cheesy now. I kinda miss the old you."

She playfully pushed me, "Shut up."

I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close to me, "You're the only person that makes me feel normal." I admitted. "I want you to know, you make me change every opinion I have about everything. You're the only person who's made me feel human. I feel like...maybe I am good enough."

I saw tears begin to fill her eyes. She grabbed the pillow and covered her face with it. "You cheesy butthole." She mumbled.

"Are you crying?"

"No."

I pulled the pillow away from her face, revealing that she was, in fact, crying. She quickly tried to wipe her face, "I don't even know why I'm crying!" She laughed.

I wiped her face, "I love you." I brought her face towards mine and placed a kiss on her lips. I pushed myself up and moved over so that I was hovering above her, never breaking the kiss. Lilly's arms came up and around my neck, pulling closer to deepen the kiss. She sighed, letting her legs spread so I could comfortably stay between them. When I opened my eyes and pulled away from the kiss, I rested my head on her chest and just let her caress it softly.

I listened to her breathing, I listened to her heart...and I was thanking God or whoever is in charge for blessing me with such an amazing girlfriend. My life may suck in some aspects, like the fact that I'm a complete outcast to the world, but she makes up for all that. The mixture of her fingertips softly grazing the side of my head, and the steadiness of her breathing made me very sleepy very quickly.

"I'm gonna fall asleep if you keep doing that," I mumbled.

"That's okay," she giggled. "I'm getting a little tired too." I felt her kiss my head. "I mean we did just have...hours and hours of sex."

I laughed, "Your family is probably like, 'who the hell is making those noises'."

"No, Ian would have rushed in here if he heard us." I finally pulled enough energy from somewhere to roll off of her. She gasped, "Finally! I can breathe again!"

I pulled her close to me, burying my nose in her hair before sighing, "Night, babe."

"Night, babe." She repeated.

I smiled, "That's weird."

"You're weird." Was the last thing she said before we both fell asleep...

Okay, they're back together! Next chapter you may find out what April was talking about but idk you have to wait I guess. Byeee!