Sitting in the kitchen, she couldn't help her eyes wander towards the turtle currently bouncing around, throwing ingredients together for their dinner tonight. She was currently supposed to be keeping Mikey company as he cooked, but she found herself more lost in thought than anything else. She loved spending time with the boys, but it was also an exercise in self-torture. She had a crush, not just on one of them, but on all four of the terrapins. There was one snag however, and it wasn't that she couldn't, and didn't want to chose, but the fact that they were already in a poly relationship with each other. She loved them too much to ever risk messing up their relationship with each other or their friendship with her to do anything about her crush. So she left it, hoping that if she ignored the crush, it would just go away.
To her dismay, it hadn't worked, her affection for the brothers deepening with time. She was at a standstill. Not wanting to leave or distance herself, but hurting when she was around them, seeing the small touches and glances they shared when they thought she wasn't looking. Sometimes she had to wonder if she was wrong. She would catch a fleeting glance her way or they're hands would linger on her too long if they steadied her if she was reading for something high up, or if she tripped, or if they were simply handing her something. Chalking it up to wishful thinking, she kept her cool. Or tried too. Sometimes she couldn't help the blush that stained her cheeks.
Clearing her thoughts she decided that perhaps a nice cup of tea would be a good idea. Smiling as the youngest turtle bounced around the kitchen as he cooked, she moved around him, reaching into the cabinet for the tea. It had been pushed back a bit, so she had to reach up on her tip toes to try and grab it. Loosing her balance, she stumbled back a bit, accidentally brushing against Mikey, who let out a churr. Regaining her balance, she looked at him quizzically. She had stumbled or lost her balance and had accidentally ran into him before but he had never made that sound. Seeing the blush staining his cheeks made her even more inquisitive as to what was going on. Before she could ask him what was going on, a movement caught his eye.
Was that a tail? She blinked, wondering if she was hallucinating. Nope. Not hallucinating, it was still there. Peaking out from his pants, as a little tail, wagging back and forth as she had often seen dogs tails do. I wonder if he tail reacts like a dogs tail, does it wag when he was happy? She felt her free hand itch to touch it again, wondering what it felt like. Did it feel like the scales covering the rest of his body? And what was that noise he had made? She had so many questions. Had she hurt him accidentally? Was his tail sensitive?
"Mikey..."
"Did you want me to boil some water for your tea?" he asked instead, refusing to look at her. She could still see the blush that was staining his cheeks. Was he embarrassed?
"That would be great," she said instead, not wanting to cause him any further embarrassment.
"Sure thing Babe, coming right up!" The look her shot her was one part relieve and one part embarrassed. Perhaps it wasn't that it hurt, but the exact opposite. Could it be that any little touch was arousing? He wasn't yelling at her or telling her not to touch it. Was it possible he had liked it but was embarrassed about his reaction? Did the other guys have tails too? She had seen them all in various states of undress, Leo and Raph preferring to work out with no pants. The first time she had walked into the lair and found them like that had been very embarrassing. She had covered her eyes and stammered out an apology, trying to walk backwards the way she came only to trip over the table and landed on her ass. Once they had explained to her that it wasn't an issue for them, as long as it didn't bother her and the fact that she couldn't see any visible genitalia (which lead to more questions that she had never vocalized about where it was, there were some questions she figured she shouldn't ask) she became more comfortable with the idea. Besides, this was their home, if they were comfortable and they didn't care, why should she? And what good would it do her to impose her morals on them? They already had grown up with such a different life.
The whistle from the kettle brought her out of her current musings. Since her mild flirting with the boys wasn't working, perhaps this would be a way to see if they did return her affections after all. As long as she kept it discreet, and not overly obvious what she was doing, she could put the idea to rest one way or the other. The first step would to be if the others had tails.
Over the next few days she watched the guys, which was no easy feet. It wasn't easy to observe a fully trained ninja who was aware of his surroundings without being caught, but had been able to spy a tail from each of the guys. Mikey was the one who seemed to have his tail out the most, but there seem to be certain situations where their tails would come out, if they were happy, or thinking (in Don's case), or if they were relaxed. She tried to stop her brain from going down other situations in which their tail may be visible. No point in going down that rabbit whole, at least not until she confirmed a few things at any rate.
She couldn't help but wonder if she was making the right choice. Should she just leave things? But at this point, she had to know if they felt the same way. Flirting with them hadn't worked in the past, not that she was the greatest flirt ever, which may be contributing to her current situation (they probably didn't even realize that she had been trying to flirt with them). Wandering into Don's lab, she paused by the entrance. He was really making it too easy for her, always being in his lab. It made him a sitting duck so to speak.
"Hey, you ready for me?" she asked, waiting for his response. She had found an excuse to help him in his lab, needing to be close for her little experiment to work.
"Yep! Let me just grab some parts and we can get started." She watched as he walked over to a box on the floor, bending over to rummage through it, looking for the parts he had mentioned, his tail peaking out through his pants. She blinked. Was it really going to be so easy? Not wanting to waste this opportunity, she made as if she was simply trying to get past him in the little space that remained between his body and one of his work tables, making sure that she "accidentally" brushed his tail with her left hand. The deep rumbling sound, which she would later figure out was a churr, and the fact that he froze let her know that she had hit her mark. She watched him carefully, trying to make sure that she hadn't accidentally hurt him, still unsure of exactly how sensitive the tails are.
"Don, did...did I hurt you?" she asked, suddenly unsure. His reaction was so different to Mikey's and now thinking about it, had she hurt him? His response hadn't seemed pained, just embarrassed. "It was an accident, I swear." She sounded lame to her own ears, praying that Don hadn't picked up on that fact as well.
"No, no, I'm alright.' He straightened, blush staining his cheeks. He shot her a shy smile as he moved to put the parts on the lab bench. "Ready to get started?"
She nodded, allowing him to change the subject, not wanting to cause any embarrassment if she hadn't already. She remained careful for the rest of the evening to avoid any possibilities of touching his tail, despite the aching need to do it again. The blush that had stained his cheeks had been too cute. Once she could play off as an accident, she wasn't sure if she could pass off another. She was going to hell for this, wasn't she?
It was a secret thrill of hers to watch Raph work out. She had found just about every excuse in the book every time she had been over and he had been working out, to join him. She loved to watch the way his muscles moved and flexed as he lifted the heavy weights. It never failed to get her going. Today he had asked her to sit on the bench with him as he lifted weights, the only space being at the end, practically between his legs. He had said something about him needing her to spot his form, like she knew anything about that, but hey, she wasn't going to argue. His preference for not wearing pants when he worked out gave her a great vantage point and her position was conveniently right near her target.
The first time she had come to the lair and had seen one of the boys with no pants on, she had immediately covered her eyes, stammering out apologies while trying to walk backwards the way that she came. Not being able to see and being too embarrassed to pay attention to where she was had caused her to trip over a coffee table in the common area, resulting in her falling to the ground. The resulting conversation afterwards had been a bit mortifying, but she had gotten through it. It turned out that the boys occasionally liked to not wear clothes, and it wasn't as if you could see any genitalia, which lead to another whole trip down the rabbit whole as to where it was, not that she was going down that hole thank you very much, and they didn't have the same hang ups about nudity that most humans had. She figured if they were comfortable, and they didn't care, and it was there home, then why should she care or try and push human values or morals on them? She had rolled with it and now occasionally saw them walking around with no pants. Though, it was mostly Leo and Raph who preferred to wear no clothing when they worked out or spared or did anything ninja related in the dojo (which for Leo was a whole host of activities, most she wouldn't actually name).
With Raph's lack of clothing obscuring her view, she was able to spy his tail, tucked against his body. Ah ha, so that's where it is when they aren't peaking out of their pants. It made sense that something so sensitive was kept tucked close to the body. His tail did look bigger than Mikey's or Don's had and she suspected probably Leo as well. Then again, just about everything on Raph was bigger than his brothers. I wonder if tail size corresponds to the size of their... Nope, nope. Stopping those thoughts right there, she tried to stop the blush she could feel forming. Now as not the time to go down that thought train that would lead her no where good. She had a mission to accomplish and now was not the time to be derailed.
Grabbing her water bottle that was sitting on the floor beside her, a plan quickly formed in her mind. Taking a sip, she deliberately put it in the small space between her and Raph, so when she went to grab it next, she would "accidentally" touch this tail. Not wanting to seem like she was acting deliberately, she forced herself to wait, the anticipation nearly killing her. She just had to know! Deciding to wait until he did a few more reps, she helped him count, giving herself something else to focus on.
Making her move, she made sure to brush against his tail as she lifted the bottle. His response made her so glad she had waited. His churr, so much deeper than either Don's or Mikey's seemed to reverberate right through her, making her almost instantly wet. She could almost imagine what it would feel like if she was astri...no, no, she had promised herself she wasn't going down that mental pathway. Shoving the thoughts away, she tried to keep her expression neutral and innocent looking.
"What are you playin' at there, girly?" his deep rumbling voice was not helping her not get any wetter.
"Nothing," she swallowed thickly, part of her wondering if he somehow sensed how aroused she was (and oh, was she in for a surprise much later when she found out exactly how much they could sense). He eyed her for a moment before laying down and picking up his weights, continuing where he had left off. His lack of reaction left her momentarily stunned. Was she wrong in all of this? Were they simply reacting because it was sensitive? Was she misreading the looks she had caught Mikey and Don giving her after she had brushed against their tails? If she didn't get a reaction out of Leo she would give up and drop the entire issue, resigning herself to being their friend and only their friend.
It had taken her a few days to work up the courage to approach the leader in blue. She had gone back and forth with herself wondering if she was doing the right thing, or if she had everything completely wrong and was doing nothing but embarrassing her friends. Finding him in the dojo, sans clothes as was his preferred state when he did his katas, she entered quietly, keeping herself off to the side and in the shadows a little bit.
Not that she thought she would remain hidden from him, even if she wanted to. While he hadn't yet acknowledged her presence, his body gracefully flowing from one move to the next, she knew without a doubt he was aware of her being in the dojo. He was always good at knowing what was in his immediate surroundings, but she'd found that he always uncannily knew where she was, his gaze sliding to hers first when he entered a room she was in. It didn't matter where she was in the room, he always knew where she was. Lost in her thoughts, she missed his tail relaxing from where it was normally tucked against his body.
Any plan she had was suddenly shattered when he suddenly broke his kata mid stride, his movements still graceful as ever, and stalked towards her. Not expecting his sudden movement, she took a step back in surprise only to hit the wall behind her. Her crowded her, forcing her body closer against the wall. He held his body a hairs breath away from hers, silent, watching her.
"Did you know you drive me to distraction?" he leaned down, his breathe tickling the tip of her ear.
"Do I?" She couldn't stop the breathless hitch to her voice or the blush she could feel staining her cheeks. Wasn't she the one that was supposed to be in control right now? When had she lost it, or had she ever had any control the moment she stepped into his domain.
"Yes," he didn't speak the words so much as growled them, the sound, much like Raph's churr seemed to reverberate through her, sending her arousal soaring. "You test my control, but it's not just my control that you've been testing, have you? Do you know what you've been messing with?" They had known the entire time what she had been doing, well the first time truly having been an accident, but the rest, even her coming here today, had been deliberate. If they had known, why were they still hesitating? Was it not something that they wanted? Did they not want her? Her fear that she had gotten everything so horrible wrong dampening her arousal, cooling her skin which until now had felt like a raging fire. Deciding that she needed to know where things stood for certain, she raised an eyebrow at him in challenge.
"And if I do? It's not like you guys were responding to anything else. What's a girl to do?"
"Be very careful of what you say next, we won't let you go." She could practically feel his entire body vibrating. It dawned on her that he was holding himself back, not wanting to touch her without a clear invitation. Deciding that actions speak louder than words, she reached around him, and grasped his tail in her hand. She locked her eyes onto his as she gently squeezed, mindful of how sensitive they seemed to be. If this didn't communicate what she wanted she was completely out of ide...her thoughts came to a crashing halt as his lips claimed hers in a searing kiss that left her breathless. He nipped her bottom lip, his churr an answering call to her moan. His hands found her hips, hiking her up the wall and pining her there with his body.
"Maybe I don't want to be let go, did you ever think about that?" Growling once more, he carried her out of the dojo to where his brothers were waiting.