November 21, 2007
There were a lot of things I was glad about now that I had someone who stood next to me. Someone to help me get in and out of the Shredder's Lair, be an alibi for when I go out and no news reports come out about the Night Terror, and someone to watch my back as I do hers while traveling to the turtle's place. What I didn't like about her, is that she grew up with four siblings, so privacy wasn't something she respected. So in a morning kiss, she feels the need to barge in.
"Oh my god! Seriously?" Haley exclaimed, covering her eyes and turning around in one of her fluid movements. I sat up from my spot on Raph's torso, falling into bed beside him. Raph's fingers disappeared from my hips under my shirt, tucking himself under the covers with me. Haley didn't chance it to look, even when I told her we were okay for appearance. "Ok, it is one thing to be dating him. It's a whole other thing to have sex with him."
"Woah, woah, Spice!" I shot back, hoping to stop her before she went further with that thought. Raph and I shared a glance with each other. "We weren't... I mean we've never... had sex."
Haley laughed, pointing at us blindly. "Yeah, well seeing as you're both naked, and all he'd have to do is get comfortable-"
"I'm wearing clothes, you dolt!" I interrupted her, feeling my neck turn pink. Haley finally looked over us and I pulled the covers from my chest to show I was indeed clothed in the baggy shirt and booty shorts I now kept in Raph's room.
"Well he's naked," Haley pointed out, and Raph moved under the covers. I paused, not able to deny that.
"He's always naked," I said. Raph shuffled farther into the covers, hiding his head. I placed a hand on his chest, rubbing my thumb across it. Haley chuckled, and then looked at the ceiling.
"Oh gosh, I came in here for a reason besides being mentally scarred for life. Now, what was it? Oh yeah, you have training in thirty-two minutes." She told me.
"Thank you, now please leave," I responded.
"Gladly," Haley muttered, turning around and opening the door again.
"Oh, and Spice?" I called after her. Haley poked her head back in, her black hair falling over her shoulder and on to her black foot ninja suit. "Knock next time."
Haley glared at me before spinning around on her heel, closing the door behind her. I relaxed into the bed, and Raph poked his head out. I glanced over at him, his gold eyes the only thing revealing themselves. "Come on Spiderman, show me a face."
Raph's eyes thinned as he looked at me, and he shifted one of his arms around. Some skin on my thigh got pinched, and I jumped up while yelping. I went down and grabbed at the skin he just twisted, rubbing it slowly. The pain was already sliding up my leg and starting to pulse. Raph snickered under the covers, and I hit his chest. It wasn't much help, he had a bone plate protecting the ribs, but he at least stopped his laughter. I stood up, sliding out from under the covers.
Raph grabbed my hand, tugging me until I fell backward onto the bed. Raph moved so he was hovering over me, pulling the blanket from his face. I narrow my eyes at him, pressing against his breast-plate to get him off. Raph remained stone still, unmoving against my force. He trailed a finger along my jaw, and I stopped my menstruations.
"Ya know, three months ago had anyone told me I would be datin' Shredder's commanding officer and lettin' a foot soldier roam free in my home, they'd have been turned into ta police for insanity," He murmured. I smiled at Raph, turning my head sideways to get hair off my face. Raph looked at my scarred eye, his brows furrowing.
He leaned down, and I had to close my eyes to avoid having my eye kissed. His mouth pressed against my eyelid before it down over my cheek. Following the scar, he moved farther down, until his lips were on mine again. I kissed back, enjoying the softness compared to the make-out session from before Haley walked in. Haley, training, Shredder.
Raph seemed to remember the same thing because he pulled away, letting me through. We've done this next bit a couple of times before, and it was becoming a new dance how we moved around the room. Raph gave me privacy to dress up into my uniform, and I let him have his fun with different weapons. This time, Raph was at my back before I could ask, and he tugged the zipper up. His thumb ran under my suit, like he was getting wrinkles out, but he moved languidly.
"Thanks." I murmured, spinning around. Raph looked down at me, that same look from the last time I left to train with Shredder. Eyes searching with a straight face. But I wasn't in as much danger this time around, so he was thinking about something else. "Raph?"
"What Haley said, would ya?" He asked. I attempted to raise my bad eyebrow, failed, and then raised by good one. It made Raph smile, which was all I wanted.
"Haley said a lot of things." I murmured. Raph breathed in deeply, and reached up behind him to rub his neck.
"Well, jus' now, she said... she thought we were...havin'... sex." He finished lamely. "And I was wonderin'... if ya would be willing ta... ever have it with..."
"You." I finished for him. Raph looked at me, his cheeks turning that weird color they did when they blushed.
"Yeah. Cause Haley brought up a good point. Yer human and I'm a... turtle. Jus' because we're datin' doesn't mean you'd want me... like that." He continued.
Had I thought about this? Yes. Recently. During late nights I allowed myself to relax before sleep. I wasn't brave enough to picture anything yet, but I wanted to do... everything. Anything. The longer this went the more I expected us to do normal couple things. And this was one of them. I never brought it up since it seemed so... distant from now.
I do want too." I told him honestly. Raph perked up at my response and I smiled at him. "Maybe not everything all at once, but I'd like to at least try."
Someone shouted the word 'Perfect!' through the door, and we both looked that way. That voice sounded like Haley, and she sounded happy. We glance at each other, agreeing with our eyes to check it out. Still holding hands, we walked out of the room and down the stairs. I caught the tail end of Haley's backside as she left through the front door, and I traveled to the kitchen to see if anyone was there. Leo looked up, a face of confusion on him.
"What was that about?" I asked, pointing behind me at the empty room Haley had left from. He shrugged, saying one word.
"Blackout."
November 21, 2007 7:00 PM
"Blackout?" We asked the pacing sixteen-year-old.
Haley stopped in front of the TV's, staring at the screens. They were off, so we could see her face in their reflections. And she could see ours. Haley had gone to her home before heading here, so she was dressed in what she wore at home; a light green tunic of some sort with long beige pants; she said it was called an ao dai. Her hair was down around her shoulders in straight, black blankets. She had a habit of brushing her hair over her left shoulder and behind her right ear, so it was a constant battle.
"Yeah. A city-wide Blackout." She said. She turned around, facing us. "Cut off the power in the Shredder's Lair. Turn off his cameras."
"He'd have a generator somewhere, if the power turns off, the generator will make sure there's still footage." Donnie shot back. Haley smiled, getting closer to us. She stopped in front of the table and leaned in a little closer, like she was telling a secret.
"Hey Leo, remember when I left?" She asked him. Leo's face was straight, but he nodded.
"Yeah, how could I forget you running out of our home right after shouting blackout?" He retorted. Haley smiled wider.
"I found the generator. I can have a schedule set so I'm in the Lair when the blackout happens. I can shut it off." She said excitedly. I straightened out, feeling a bit of hope appearing. We had a possible plan to get in without getting caught. "The only thing I need to know is if any of you could cause a citywide blackout?"
"Well, our brother Don here is a genius at causing citywide blackouts." Mikey said, patting Donnie's back. Don glared at Mikey, and the orange turtle recoiled.
"You make it sound like I do it for a living." He muttered. I smiled, watching Mikey's face turn slightly panicked.
"No! I mean you're a genius at stuff. I wasn't implying that you were bad. Honest." Mikey stumbled to say. Donnie smiled and rubbed the top of Mikey's head. Mikey swatted at the appendage once he figured out Don goaded him, scooting a little farther from his brother.
Haley looked between them, and then focused on Don. "You can cause a citywide blackout?"
"Yeah. I can do it anytime, now if I wanted." Don answered. Haley's eyes sparkled, and she relaxed.
"Can we do it tonight?" She asked hopefully.
"No." Leo, Raph, and I jumped in immediately, making Haley jump.
"I still have to get better," Leo said.
"I'm under severe watch from the Shredder's tower." I reminded her.
"Liza still has ta teach us some stuff," Raph answered. Haley pulled back, looking between the three of us. We'd all tried talking over each other, so she probably didn't get half of it. Raph leaned forwards from behind me, and Haley focused on him.
"Leo still has ta train, he's been out for a couple of months. Liza still has ta teach us instinct trainin' and how Shredder fights, an' she's right. She's under watch of ta Shredder, if a blackout were to happen an' his generator went out on the same night, she's gonna be the firs' person he looks for." Raph explained.
"Ok." She murmured, trying to figure out who to look at. "Then when does the plan take place?"
"Well we'll have to get kinks out of it, and we do have training with Liza. But if I have to put a time stamp, sometime around March or April." Donnie murmured. Haley looked surprised, and then drooped. She bows her head for a second, and then stood back up straight.
"I guess I can live with that. I do have to figure out how the generator works. Now, what is instinct training?" She asked, bouncing back mood-wise.
"It's how Shredder trains me. Works me till I can't mentally function, and then attacks me. It makes me rely on my instincts and ears, and not on anything else." I said, leaning farther into Raph. He shuffled with me, getting me comfortably into the crook of his arm.
"And why do they need to know that?" She asked, pointing between the four of them.
"To know how Shredder fights. To make sure he can't get in their heads. To help them understand Shredder on a personal level instead of just enemy level." I answered. Haley nodded slowly. She tucked her hair behind her ear one more ad this time held it with that hand.
"And why haven't you done it yet?" She inquired. Raph, Don, and Mikey all point at Leo, who pursed his lips. Haley looked at his shoulder, which he was tapping sub-consciously again.
"What happened?" She asked next. In a synchronized move, Mikey, Don, and Raph all moved their fingers to point at me. I ducked my head and Haley looked even more confused. "Why did Sugar hurt Leo?"
"On the night Liza got her memory back, she attacked us. Under the orders of Shredder of course." Don explained. He gritted his teeth afterward, still sore about it.
"I was out pretty fast, so I don't know what happened, but I know Leo got his shell kicked." Mikey piped in, ever the positive spinner.
"Liza's katana can split into twins, and we didn't know. She got me by surprise. Sliced me halfway across the chest before I could get away." Leo finished.
"The damned cut nearly killed him." I growled, flexing the hand that caused the wound. The first memory I have of them, the clearest memory I have of them, and I remember the joy of inflicting such a devastating wound for my master. No amount of "I'm sorry" can heal Leo, and no amount of guilt can change what I inflicted on them altogether. I had singlehandedly nearly killed two of them in the small time frame of ten minutes. It was the biggest thing I regret, and it was the one thing that saved my life. I couldn't imagine what would have happened had I killed them.
"Liza," Raph murmured, leaning forwards to tug at my shoulder. I turned when he pulled me but I didn't expect him to kiss me in front of his family. I blinked several times, staring into Raph's amber eyes. It was just a peck though, he pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine. "That's the past."
"Huh," Mikey hummed. "I never thought the brute called our brother could be so sweet." Leo reached behind Mikey, whacking him upside the head. Haley suddenly looked mentally scarred, and she responds to Mikey's innocent comment.
"That sweet brute can be pretty... handsy." She blew out, sighing deeply. Mikey and Don looked at her weird.
"When and what did you see?" Don asked, sounding like he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it. Haley opened her mouth, trying to figure out how to respond. She squinted at nothing.
"This morning... A really flexible Liza and a very handsy Raph in what I'm going to assume is a morning routine of theirs." She finally answered. I brushed my hair over my face, hiding my blush. Well, I had to be somewhat flexible if I wanted to straddle a shell. Their shells were wide, and the bridge of them was harsh on bare skin.
"What were they doing?" Mikey asked curiously. Raph pressed his head between my shoulder blades, and I felt him chuckling into my back. He had the nerve to laugh at this situation?
"Kissing. Just... kissing. I think." Haley said, though her look said she didn't believe her own words. Her expression made me smile and I bit my lip, feeling my shoulders starting to shake with Raph's. Raph wrapped his arms around my chest, and I leaned forwards on them. Haley finally got we were dying in the corner of the couch and changed the topic. "Hey Leo, can I help you train again?"
I don't know what Leo did, but Haley's legs exited my vision so I assume he agreed to it. Mikey and Don shuffled farther away from us, and I was able to recover some of my breath.
"Hey Liza, this thing should have a name," Mikey said cheerily, making me look up. I was happy for the change of topic and gave him my full attention.
"This thing? The plan you mean?" I asked. Mikey nodded, and pointed a finger like a lightbulb just lit up in his head.
"I know! Mission Blackout. James Bond Style." He hooted, and he waved his arm slowly in front of him, like he was playing a movie. I didn't know how to respond to that. Mission Blackout sounded cool, but the James Bond comment stopped me. I'd never seen any James Bond movies so I felt like I was missing something. Maybe he was quoting it.
"Yeah, that good and all Mikey," Donnie butted in, brushing his brother aside. He looked at me expectantly, and at Raph when he peeked around my shoulder. "Tell me, for science, what have you guys done? Does it work? Does being a human and half-turtle affect your relationship? If so, how?"
I dropped my head into my lap, and Raph started chuckling once more.