One Turtle's Trash
Disclaimer- I do not own TMNT or any of the characters therein. Some VERY rich dude does.
Rating - Mature Audiences
Story Warnings- Emotional distress, Swearing, Brotherly affection, T-cest, Sexual innuendoes, Sorcery (Don't like these topics? Do not read.)
Pairings -Leo & Raph, Donnie & Mikey, Implied OT4 (Don't like? Do not read.)
Universe- 2007
Ages- All turtles are 21 years of age (I made them this age to account for time passage in the series storyline.)
Story credits - None
Summary- The brothers go on a supply run to the junkyard. What they find proves looks can be deceiving, then again, maybe not so deceiving after all.
One Turtle's Trash
**WARNING** THIS STORY CONTAINS A SEX SCENE! DO NOT LIKE! DO NOT READ! **WARNING**
"What's left on the list, Don?"
Donatello set the box of discarded electronics and tools he was holding on the ground, and pulled a dog-eared notebook from his duffle. "We need more bedding or large pieces of fabric, high grade copper wire, cell phones, laptops, and anything else with a small camera..."
"Like that box of Barbie dolls I found last week?" Mikey interrupted laughing.
"I never would have thought so, but those work perfectly for replacement security cameras," Donnie grinned back. "They're sturdier than most of the laptop and cell phone cameras we usually find."
"Must be cuz der kid toys," Raph chuckled. "What idiot thought dat up?"
"We still need some more wood to finish repairing Master Splinter's bookcase, and some extra game system parts would be handy."
"Do we have enough spare parts to keep the sewer sliders and shellcycles going for a while?"
Donnie and Raph exchanged amused looks. Sometimes their leader brother had a one track mind that refused to be detoured.
"We could use some extra brake pads for the van," Leo's eyeridges dipped in a mild frown. "But we can hit one of the Purple Dragon's chop shops for those later this week during our regular patrols."
Leo's frown vanished as quickly as it appeared, but his mind continued running at maximum velocity down it's lone track labeled responsibility.
"It'll be sunrise in a few hours. Mikey, you and Raph load the van. Donnie and I will bring in the things we've set aside out in the junkyard. After that, if we have any time left, we'll search for what's left on the list until we have to go."
Decision made, Leo headed back into the junkyard to begin bringing in their scavenged finds, leaving his brothers to carry out his orders.
Which they did, to a point.
Mikey opened the back doors to the van as Raph grabbed the box Donnie had brought in with him to set it inside. When the orange banded turtle went to grab another box of scavenged supplies, he was more than a little surprised to find Donnie still standing beside the van.
"You messing with Leo, bro?"
"No, I'm making a minor change to his... suggested instructions."
Raph paused sliding a box inside the van. "I wanna be der when ya try ta explain dat. Leo's eye's gonna start twitchin' before yer two words in."
Donnie grinned. "He's not THAT bad."
"Wanna bet?" Raph and Mikey said at the same time.
"Knock it off you two," Grinning, Donnie shook his head at his two brightly banded brothers. "I didn't get a chance to check the back corner of the junkyard because I found that spool of housing wire, and it took a while to dig it out. Since there's not too much to load right now, I wanted to take one of you with me, and search that area. I thought I saw some canvas sheeting in pretty good shape back there when we pulled up."
"We can use dat fer a lot a t'ings."
"Exactly."
"Raph, you stay here," Mikey jumped out of the van. "I'll go with Donnie," he said, grinning widely, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"Why do I have ta stay here, an' deal with Fearless' when he finds out 'bout dis minor change," Raph looked pointedly at Donnie. "While YOU are goofing around in da junkyard?"
"I won't be goofing off," Mikey said indignantly. "I'll be helping Donnie!"
"Helpin' an' goofin' off are interchangeable in yer vocabulary, knucklehead."
Donnie quickly intervened in hopes of staving off the pending fight between his brothers. "You have to stay here because Leo's going to need help lifting that engine stand he and I found."
Raph was the strongest of the four brothers, hands down, but Leo was by no means a slouch in the muscle department. Donnie was up to something.
"Why's Leo need help lifting an engine stand?" Raph asked suspiciously.
"Because the engine's still attached to it," Donnie smirked, grabbing Mikey by the arm pulling his baby brother after him as the genius headed into the junkyard.
Looking at the pile of supplies he and Mikey had scavenged, Donnie didn't think Leo would be too upset with him for disregarding the leader's orders. They had found enough material for everyone in the family to have a complete set of new bedding, including the cat, with enough leftover fabric to make slipcovers for the furniture in the main room, and to replace the blankets the family kept on the sofa. The brothers also found several boxes filled with dishes, towels, pillows, candles, and various other household goods. There was even a few boxes of books, video games, and movies.
New reading material would go a long way to appeasing Leo if the clan leader was more annoyed over Donnie's minor adjustments to Leo's plan than the genius had anticipated.
"Awesome idea, Donnie, checking this section!" Mikey held his hand out to his olive skinned brother for a high five.
Donnie gave his brother's hand a solid slap. "Here's hoping Leo thinks so too."
"He doesn't right at the moment."
Hearing their oldest brother's voice directly behind them made both turtles jump. Spinning around, they found not only Leo standing there, but their emerald skinned brother as well. But where Raph looked like he was about to burst out laughing, Leo looked like he wanted to use his two youngest brothers for target practice.
Donnie thought it prudent to play the slightly scatterbrained genius instead of tackling Leo's irritation head on. It HAD saved his tail countless times before. "You're not going to believe what all we found, guys!"
"Yeah! It looked like someone had packed up to move, and then just dumped the truck right here! Most of this stuff was still in boxes!" Having an equal investment to saving his own tail, Mikey played alone with what his brother was doing.
If the family genius thought it would work, who was he to question?
The only problem was, Leo didn't seem to be falling for it, but Raph sure was. "Anyt'in' good?"
"That depends on what you consider good," Donnie shrugged, hiding a smile. "We found a box of duct tape, chrome polish, and..." he glanced over to Mikey.
"A big ol' sheet of red leather!" Mikey finished.
Rap's eyes grew huge. "Yer fuckin' kiddin' me."
Mikey stuck out a foot and flipped open the flaps on a large cardboard box with his toe. Lying inside was a folded piece of red tinted leather. Raph looked like he was in turtle Heaven.
"How big is it?" the emerald turtle asked, running a hand reverently over the unmarred fabric.
"From my calculations, based on the dimensions of the box, and the size of the folds, I would say it's..."
Mikey's excitement refused to be held in check any longer. "Big enough to recover the punching bag, your bike seat, AND make you a brand spanking, no duct tape required, new... WORKOUT BENCH SEAT!"
Anyone would have been hard pressed to say who was happier, Mikey for being the one to tell Raph about the leather, or Raphael because he knew his baby brother had just offered, in his own Mikey way, to help the emerald brawler with the refurbishing of his sport's equipment.
"We also found a couple boxes of movies and books," Donnie leaned closer to Leo, dropping his voice. "All genres, ranging from modern titles to the classics."
With the small smile that graced Leo's usually serious expression, there were now four very happy mutant turtles standing in the junkyard. Mikey because of the movies and games. Raph because of the leather. Leo because of the books. And Donnie because he was now NOT going to have his ass handed to him by his leader brother tomorrow morning at practice.
"Good decision, Don," Leo's smile grew a little larger. "Let's load up, and head home."
"Yeah. Well, there's just one small problem with that, Leo." Donnie hated that look on Leo's face, it always meant someone was going to get their ass handed to them, and this time it was most likely going to be him. "Like Mikey said, most of the stuff is still in boxes, and there's several pieces of decent furniture we could use too, including a larger bookcase for Master Splinter." When in doubt, or your ass is in danger, play the parental concern card. "I don't think we're going to be able to get it all in the van."
Leo was reluctant to leave anything his brothers had found behind. Really good scavenging was rare, and past experience had proven if they left something behind, regardless of how well they had hidden it, the items would either be gone, or destroyed beyond even Donnie's ability to repair when they returned for them the next night.
Leo's eyeridges furrowed in thought as the blue banded ninja pondered the situation. He checked the position of the moon, glanced towards the Eastern horizon, then leaned around Raph to look at the pile of items Donnie and Mikey had set aside.
"Raph, go get the van," he tossed the emerald turtle the keys to the ignition. "We're going to use the 'Mikey Method'," Leo grinned.
The 'Mikey Method' was a phrase Donnie had pinned for the way their baby brother had packed the contents of his room during a move to a temporary lair one particularly rainy Spring.
The four brothers had been given three cardboard boxes each to pack their belongings into, and unfortunately, whatever didn't fit, didn't come. Mikey had been determined not to leave a single treasured item behind.
That determination paid off. The orange banded turtle had not only been the only one able to pack the entire contents of his room, but he also did it in just two boxes. That extraordinary feat had been accomplished by cramming things into every inch of space available, and then some. Mikey's boxes hadn't made even the smallest rattle when shaken.
Splinter had been impressed, until he went to lift them.
Now, every time a large number of items had to be loaded into a small amount of space, one of Mikey's brothers referred to the task as using the 'Mikey Method'.
Raph pulled the van up next to the waiting pile of supplies. Working together the four brothers quickly unloaded the van, then with Leo and Mikey on the inside, began to reload their finds.
Working together as a team, they managed to load everything into the van, and get back to the garage a good hour before sunrise.
"So what do you think's inside?"
The brothers had gathered in the garage right after practice to unload their previous night's scavenging. One item in particular had caught everyone's attention, a weathered wooden chest Mikey had found buried under a pile of trash bags, and soiled mattresses. It was a beautiful chest made of a dark hardwood, stained to bring out the detailed woodgrain. The lid, slightly curved, was covered in intricate carvings of woodland creatures, and mythical beasts.
It was something that would have been right at home in an Eighteenth century country manor.
The only thing out of place about the chest was a thick chain tightly woven through a series of metal loops riveted onto the body and lid at regular intervals all the way around. The loose ends of the chain were held together by a heavy padlock, keeping the lid firmly locked in place.
Leo was currently kneeling in front of the chest, working at the lock to open it.
"Dunno," Raph shrugged, looking at his overly excited baby brother. "Leo's da quickest at pickin' locks. He'll have it open inna sec, den we'll find out."
"It must be something valuable for someone to go to this much trouble," Donnie mused, watching the oldest work.
"Like a new PlayStation, or one of those hot new poly-fib skateboards!" Grinning, Mikey rubbed his hands together. "MY feet're twitching just thinking about it!
Raph scowled at the sea green turtle. That was really out there, even for Mikey. Obviously little brother's imagination was working overtime, again.
"Nobody's dumb enough ta throw a new PlayStation in da junkyard, knucklehead."
"They would if they preferred X-Box!"
Raph's reply to Mikey's question was cut off by the clink of one end of the chain hitting the cement floor.
"It's open, guys."
Mikey leapt forward in anticipation.
Leo pulled the lock free of the chain. He turned it over in his hand, running a thumb over it's tarnished surface. "Don, what do you make of this?" Frowning, the leader handed the lock to his genius brother.
Donnie's face quickly brightened with excitement. "I've never seen anything like this before. The surface appears to be etched all over, like the lid, but I'll have to polish it to know for certain. It looks more like some kind of ancient writing than drawings."
"Is the metal what I think it is?" Leo asked.
"I think so. It's hard to tell the purity with this much tarnish though." Donnie held the lock out to Raph and Mikey. "What do you guys think?"
Mikey peered over Don's shoulder. "Looks like silver to me. April's shop's full of it. But it's pretty dirty," he traced a finger over some of the lines. "And the etchings aren't drawings. The lines are too uniform. More like writing, like Donnie said."
"It is silver," Raph took the lock from his brother. "In good shape too, not all banged up an' scratched like ya'd expect just lookin' at it. Almost like it's brand new, but it's tarnished like it's decades old."
"The wood looks weathered, but this chest is sturdy, like it's never been used," Leo ran his hand over the surface of the lid. "Why would anyone put an old lock on a new chest?"
"An' a silver one at dat. Dis much silver could feed a family fer a long time. Not somet'in' anyone in der right mind would jus' throw 'way."
"They both could be the same age." Having latched onto another puzzle that needed solving, Donnie was becoming excited. "The inside surfaces will show equal signs of aging if it's as old as it appears. This may just be a visual deception for some reason. An aged appearance can be obtained by using the correct combination of stains on the wood, and solvents on the metal."
"Only one way to find out, bro," Mikey grinned, elbowing his oldest brother aside, and opening the chest.
The other three crowded in close.
"What IS this stuff?" Using finger and thumb, Mikey gingerly lifted a very dingy, white fuzzy blanket from inside the chest. "It smells like an old coat!"
"That's because it's a fleece." Donnie informed his brother.
With a flick of the wrist, Mikey tossed the blanket aside. "Why would someone put a filthy sheep's skin in a nice looking chest like this?"
"They wanted to protect whatever else they had in there, Mikey."
"It better be worth it," Raph growled, kicking the nasty piece of fabric off his foot from where Mikey had tossed it. "Otherwise Mikey's gonna be wearin' it, permanently!"
Mikey turned back to the chest, and grimaced. Boy, he sure hoped Leo would intervene on his behalf, because if not Mikey was going to look more like a Stone Age throwback than a ninja turtle.
Underneath the sheep's skin was a layer of equally dirty white cotton fabric, marred with the telltale yellowing of long dried water stains.
"Whatever's inside here must be pretty fragile," Mikey lifted an edge of the cotton fabric. "Because there's another one of those sheep hides underneath it, whatever it is."
"Den let's find out what IT is," Raph growled, yanking away the stained cotton.
To say the emerald turtle was stunned by the contents of the chest would have been a vast understatement. "Ya gotta be kiddin' me."
"Who on Earth would go to such lengths for these things?" Leo reached inside the chest, lifting out one of the items. "They're..."
"Ugly," Donnie said flatly.
"Da shit nightmares're made of!"
"Come on, guys! They're garden GNOMES!" Mikey grinned. "Everybody loves garden gnomes!"
"Den put 'em in yer room."
Mikey was horrified by the very thought. "No way! I don't want 'em! Their eyes look like something you'd see watching you from outside a window on a dark stormy night when the lights go out, and a convict escaped from jail!"
"We can give them to April," Leo chuckled at his brother's overactive imagination. "She might be able to sell them in her shop."
"Why would she want to?" Raph grimaced at the thought of helping set the odd little figurines on display in April's shop.
"She sold all of those dog and cat figurines we found a couple of months ago," Donnie reminded his brother. "Made a nice profit off of them too."
"Yeah, but doze were just..." Raph searched for the right word. "Weird. Dese are... butt ugly!"
"Some people like ugly," Leo replaced the figurine back in the chest. "The least we can do is ask her."
"I agree!" Mikey closed the lid with a loud thump. "What do we do with these creepy looking things in the meantime?"
"Why not leave them where they are?" Leo kicked the pieces of padding fabric from the middle of the garage floor closer to the chest.
"Okay, I just didn't think anyone wanted these creepy little things downstairs."
Leo was half afraid to ask. "Just WHY would these creepy little things be going downstairs, Mikey?"
"THEY aren't, Leo," Mikey grinned. "The chest IS. I wanted to replace those crates we're using downstairs with the chest. Or do you want to live through another incident where Master Splinter's tail comes in contact with them again?"
Leo blanched.
Donnie's eyes grew wide.
Raph made a noise somewhere between a whimper and a squeak.
"I thought not. Besides, we can use the inside for storage."
"That's actually a good idea," Donnie was visibly impressed, as visions of electronic projects waiting to be repaired and being stored inside the trunk danced through his mind.
"We can put video games, DVDs, CDs, comic books, all sorts of stuff in there! The possibilities are endless!"
An emerald arm draped itself across Donnie's shoulders. "Dat took yer idea, whatever it was, an' tossed it right out da door, didn't it?" Raph chuckled.
Donnie sighed, shaking his head.
"We can take it downstairs now, call April to come over and look at them, then when she's done, we can clean it out, and put whatever we want inside."
"Sounds like a plan, Fearless," Raph reached down and grabbed a handle. "Someone get da other side. Da sooner we get downstairs wid dis, da sooner I can grab somet'in' ta eat."
Splinter stared at the chest his sons had brought down from the garage, his expression wary and guarded.
This was not the reaction the turtles had expected from their father. "Sensei, something wrong?" Mikey asked.
"I am unsure, my son," the ninja master stroked his beard, slowly circling the chest. "There are strange energies coming from this chest." He looked up at Leo, his eyebrows furrowed. "Do you know what is inside?"
"Only lawn decorations, Sensei."
Mikey lifted the lid, showing their father the colorful gnomes lying inside.
Splinter's frown increased. "What do you plan to do with these... lawn decorations?" he peered in the chest, moving the dozen or so figurines around with the end of his cane.
"We thought April might like to have them to sell in her shop."
Splinter made a non-committal noise acknowledging having heard his son. "And the chest?"
"We're going to replace the crates with it!" Mikey grinned. "That way you won't have to worry about getting splinters in your tail anymore, Master SPLINTER."
The rat shuddered at the memory of his tail coming into contact with the rough wood of the crates. It had been anything but pleasant for both the ninja master and Donatello.
Mikey's brothers shuddered at the jokester's terrible pun.
"I see. What time is Miss O'Neil to arrive to look at these... lawn decorations?"
"Later this afternoon," Donnie replied. "She has a customer coming by to look at that suit of armor she has in the shop sometime around noon."
Splinter nodded. "Then we must make her feel welcome. Michelangelo, go prepare a meal. We shall invite Miss O'Neil to dine." The ninja master turned to his other three sons. "It would also be an opportune time to give the lair a thorough cleaning. Would it not?" he said smoothly.
Even after all these years, the turtles were still amazed by how easily their father played them. "Yes, Master Splinter," all four said in unison, sounding not the least bit happy.
Chuckling, their father headed back to his room. "I shall meditate on the energies coming from that chest. Something about them are familiar, yet... unsettling."
The brothers watched Splinter as the rat quietly left the room. Slightly worried, they looked at one another, then at the chest setting on the floor. If Splinter had enough reason to feel unsettled about the seemingly innocuous piece of furniture, it would be wise for his sons to heed the warning.
Which was exactly what Leo intended to do.
"Since I'm going to be cooking anyway, I guess I'll take the kitchen." Mikey wasn't too upset over the prospect of cleaning the kitchen. It had become the sea green turtle's domain by default anyway since he did the majority of the cooking.
"I'll give you a hand, Mikey. That way you can concentrate on cooking dinner instead of cleaning," Donnie offered.
"Your services are most welcomed, good sir." Mikey gave a flourished bow, making the genius smile.
"Raph and I will clean the dojo. By the time we finish, Donnie should be done in the kitchen, and the three of us can clean the bathroom. By that time Mikey should be to a point cooking that he can help us clean out here."
The other three readily agreed. Sometimes it came in handy having an anal retentive, perfectionist, older brother in charge of things.
Just not very often.
As the four brothers headed off to attend to their various chores, not a one of them noticed the lid of the chest was open ever so slightly, and with each step they took moving farther from the main room, it opened just a fraction more.
"I don't get why Master Splinter makes us clean da lair every single time April comes over." The air reverberated with the sound of a free weight being slammed down with a bit more force than necessary. "I mean it's not like she don't know we're GUYS, an' TURTLES! Wid neither one havin' much of a reputation fer cleanin'. She's SEEN Casey's apartment enough times ta know dat!"
Leo stopped himself from laughing at his emerald brother's rant, but allowed himself an amused grin since Raph wasn't able to see Leo's face at the angle he was standing. "We're all well aware how much you enjoy cleaning, Raphael. Almost as much as Mikey enjoys training." Leo was hard pressed not to laugh at the brawler's responding snort. "Just look at it this way, we get the cleaning done now, we have more time to do other things later on."
"Other t'in's like...?"
Startled, hearing Raph's deep, gravely voice directly behind him, Leo instinctively reached for his weapons, immediately feeling guilty for doing so. He turned around to apologize only to find his brother not just violating the leader's personal space, but claiming most of it as his own.
"Uh... things like covering your sports equipment," Leo swallowed, feeling the intense heat radiating off Raphael's well muscled body. "You know, things someone might consider a reward for..." Leo's brain refused to work, having to struggle against the irresistible force that was Raphael when the emerald turtle wanted something.
And right now, Raph wanted something very badly.
Leo.
"A reward fer doin' what, exactly?"
Leo hated the way every little thing seemed to spiral out of control when Raph was this close to him. So close he could see the way the tiny creases in Raph's skin expanded with each breath the red banded ninja took.
"T-taking care of your r-responsibilities."
Great! Now he was stuttering!
"Responsibilities like what? Cleanin' da dojo?"
Temporarily denied the ability to speak, Leo could only nod.
"Looks ta me like we're done," Raph leaned in until Leo could feel his brother's hot breath ghosting over his skin. "So, we BOTH deserve a reward, don'tcha t'ink?"
Raph didn't give Leo time to respond. He grasped his brother's shoulders, tipping the leaf green turtle back just enough for Raph to latch onto Leo's collarbone. Hearing Leo's shocked, but pleasured gasp, Raph smirked into the tender flesh he was sucking on.
Leo put up only the smallest amount of resistance. "Raph, we can't... Not here..."
Raph opted to bite Leo's neck instead of rolling his eyes.
He would never understand why Leo insisted on being a prude everywhere but in the bedroom? At night? When everyone else was supposedly sleeping? Hell, it wasn't like they were fooling anyone! Donnie and Mikey were having sex wherever there happened to be a flat surface! Horizontal OR vertical!
Raph knew THAT little tidbit of information for a fact, having learned the hard way to knock before entering ANY room with a door; bathroom, lab, garage, sewers. Well, technically, the sewers didn't have a door, but the lair did. Raph figured it had to be some kind of twisted reverse logic thing only Donnie understood, but still.
And yes, if the dojo screen was pulled, and Donnie and Mikey were inside, you damn well better knock before going in there too.
The sad thing was, Raphael had learned that knocking lesson all in ONE day.
Those two rabbits disguised as turtles were probably going at it in the kitchen at that exact moment!
"Yes, we can. An' we will," Raph bite down on that oh so sensitive spot just under Leo's chin.
Leo made the most amazing sounds when Raph did that.
"Sensei's meditatin', an' Donnie an' Mikey are busy," Raph chuckled when he said the word 'busy'. "We aren't goin' ta be interrupted."
To stop any further protest, Raph brought his foot up, clipping his brother in back of the knees. He caught Leo before he hit the floor, easing the leaf green turtle down onto his carapace. Raph straddled Leo's hips, and slowly lowered himself until he was sitting on his brother's thighs, effectively pinning the older with his weight.
A slow grin spread across Raph's face, perfectly matching the lustful look in his eyes. It was time for some fun.
Leo's breath came in short, quick pants. Oh, SHELL! What Raphael could do to him when he put his mind to it! A small cry escaped his mouth when Raph's hot tongue painted a wide, searing trail down the center line of his plastron. It felt so good!
"Ya like dat, Fearless?" Raph decided to take the high pitched keening sound his brother made as a yes. "Ya like it when I dominate ya? When I do whatever I want ta ya?' Needy whimpers also qualified as 'yes' at times like this. "Good. Cuz I'm gonna do all kinds of t'in's ta ya," Raph's voice dropped to a rough whisper. "Because yer MINE."
Leo couldn't stop the involuntary shudder that ran through his body. Raph was in rare form. Usually their couplings were on a more equal level, but Raph was completely dominating his leaf green lover now.
If Raph did what he usually did to Leo when in a mood like this, Leo was going to cancel both evening training, and tonight's patrol. It was kind of hard to be an effective leader after being reduced to a boneless pile of well pleasured flesh.
Raph's hands and lips teased their way down Leo's body, lightly tickling the more sensitive places along the leaf green turtle's bridges and scutes. Emerald fingers tightened on Leo's thighs, kneading the flesh in a firm grip.
Leo knew it was coming. Raph did it every time he was in one of these moods, but it still came as a surprise. He gasped, feeling his tail fully engulfed in Raph's hot mouth, crying out as his brother began caressing the sensitive underside with the tip of his tongue.
It felt too good to describe, what Raph was doing to him. Leo's eyes flew open as he fought to draw in breath. He arched his back as far as his shell would allow, and then some, pressing the back of his head hard into the padding on the dojo floor. Every muscle in Leo's body was taut, straining against the intense pleasure shooting out from that wiggling appendage being tortured oh so lovingly by Raph's skilled tongue.
Emerald fingers dug into Leo's hips, keeping him from shifting even the smallest amount as Raph continued to toy with that delectable tail.
The intense sensations ran that thin line between pleasure and pain.
Just when Leo felt he could take no more, that he would surely pass out from the fire raging along his nerves, Raph stopped. The emerald turtle just... stopped!
Before Leo could draw even the smallest breath, teeth lightly grazed the tip of his now overly stimulated and very sensitive tail.
Leo's mouth opened in a silent scream as his hands slammed flat onto the floor. His cock sprang from it's hidden pocket, fully erect, and Leo literally erupted, splattering not only himself but his brother with thick, hot streams. He thought he would never stop.
After what felt like an eternity, Leo lay exhausted and panting against Raphael, trying to calm his thundering heartbeat. A smile curled the edges of his mouth as Raph nuzzled into him.
"Damn, I thought ya were never gonna stop. Dat musta been da hardest one yet."
Leo nodded. "Why," he swallowed, taking a deep gulp of air. "Why do you keep doing that to me?"
"Cuz ya like it, ya freak," Raph smirked.
The emerald turtle didn't see the grin that crossed Leo's face, nor did Leo make the smart-assed remark Raph was half expecting. Not receiving any response from his lover, something began to dig at the back of Raph's mind. Something dark and sinister, pulling up every doubt he had ever had about himself, and his brother's love.
"Ya do like it, don'tcha, Leo?"
Leo knew that tone, and what it meant. In the beginning of their relationship, he had heard it often enough from his emerald lover, nearly every night. Hearing it now, after so long, worried him.
"Yeah, Raph. I..." wanting to give his brother the reassurances Raphael needed, Leo went to sit up, but the sensitivity of his tail stopped him cold.
Seeing Leo wince, Raph jumped to the wrong conclusion. "I hurt ya."
"What!? No!" Leo took Raph's face in his hands, forcing his brother to look at him. "Raph, you know my tail's always sensitive after we do that. I just need a little time before I can sit on it," Leo held his brother's doubt filled gaze. "I'm FINE, Raphael. Just fine."
Leo watched as the worry and fear slowly drained from his brother's face, but a tiny amount still lingered in the depths of Raph's golden eyes.
"Raph, what brought this on?"
Raph shrugged. "Dunno. Just when ya asked me why I did it..."
"I always ask that. It's what we do."
Raph tried to look away. Leo refused to let him. "Ya didn't say nuttin' back dis time."
"Raphael Hamato," Leo whispered, pulling his brother tight against his plastron. "We've been through all this, time and again," he pressed a kiss to Raph's temple. "I TRUST you. I always have. I trust you to watch my back in a fight. I trust you when you dominate me during sex. I trust you to tie me up, to use sex toys on me, and to not hurt me whatever we do. And if ever you DO, do something I don't like, I trust you not to do it ever again."
Raph looked at Leo with watery eyes. Why did Fearless have to be so damned perfect? The corners of Raph's mouth lifted ever so slightly. Perfect for Raphael in every way. "Yeah, I know," he said softly. "I don't know why it hit me so hard dis time."
This had just morphed into one of those rare moments Raph allowed himself be vulnerable.
"Have you felt this way recently, before today?"
Raph tucked his head further under Leo's chin. "No."
Raphael was beginning to feel embarrassed and humiliated for breaking down in front of his lover and leader. And Leo knew it.
"Okay," Leo nuzzled the top of his brother's head, giving Raph one final kiss on the forehead. "I want us to talk about this later, but right now, we better get moving or the next person walking through that door is going to be Sensei. I don't think neither one of us want THAT," he added with a small chuckle.
Raph stood, and helped Leo to his feet, being extra careful of his brother's still sensitive tail. Leo pushed down a sigh, knowing it would take some time for Raph to lock those doubts back in their vault, but hopefully they would be smaller the next time they reared their ugly head.
As long as his brawler brother questioned his own self worth, Leo knew those feelings on inadequacy would return. He just hoped Raph knew Leo would always be there to help lock those doubts away.
"Hey, Leo. Thanks, fer... ya know."
Yeah. Raph knew.
"Anytime. That's what loving someone's all about," Leo smiled.
"Sap," Raph smiled in return.
"You like me that way."
Confident everything was once again fine, the two brothers turned to leave, and froze. Sitting there on the floor, right beside the door, was one of the garden gnomes from the chest.
"What da Hell?" Scowling, Raph picked the figurine off the floor. "How'd dis t'in' get in here?"
"Mikey probably set it in here as a prank," Leo opened the dojo screen stepping out. "You know how he gets."
"Yeah, well he's SUPPOSED ta be cookin' dinner, an' cleanin' da kitchen, not playin' pranks."
"We'll just put it back, grab Donnie, and go clean the bathroom without saying a word about it. Mikey will have to finish the kitchen by himself, and never know if we found it or if Sensei did," Leo smirked. "Pretty fair payback in my opinion."
"Yeah, I suppose."
Glad that Raph was back into his normal camouflaging grouchy mood, Leo led the way to the chest sitting in front of the sofa. He frowned, looking around the family living room while Raph replaced the figurine. Something didn't feel right. Nothing looked out of place, but at the same time it seemed as if everything had been moved just enough to be noticed on a subconscious level.
And that wasn't the only unsettling thing going on.
"If he put one a dese damn t'in's in MY room, he's gonna be cleanin' da whole damn lair fer a month! Wid his TONGUE!"
Leo turned around and quickly discovered the reason for his brawler brother's ire.
The chest was empty.
Donnie stood in the doorway of the kitchen, letting his brightly banded brother walk in ahead of him. "Okay, Mikey. Where do you want me to start?"
"You can start at the front," Mikey turned so he was facing Donnie, and shimmied his hips. "Then you can work your way to the back," he turned around, bending slightly forward at the waist and flicked his tail up in the air, again shimmying his hips.
"I meant with cleaning the kitchen," Donnie sighed, rolling his eyes at his brother.
"OH! In THAT case," Mikey hopped up on the edge of the table, leaning back on his shell, and spreading his legs as wide as turtle-ly possible. "Start with the table, then..." Mikey did a back flip over and off the table, landing in front of the range. He bent over the stovetop, hands on either side, "Work your way back to the stove," he grinned, once again flicking his tail up.
"Your incorrigible," Donnie groaned. "How about I start with the refrigerator?"
"Whatever works for ya, bro!"
Moving a chair, and the trashcan, next to the refrigerator, Donnie got down to business. "So, what do you plan on cooking for April?"
"We have those steaks in there that need to be used, and since there's not enough for us to just have steaks, I was thinking maybe beef stroganoff, or stew."
"We have all the stuff you need for stroganoff," Donnie set several items behind him on the table. "But unless you want to use these," he held up several tiny carrots, all limp and wrinkled. "We don't have everything you need for stew."
Mikey didn't even reach for the used to be carrots turned raisins, he just picked up the trashcan and held it under Donnie's hand so the genius could just drop them in.
"Why do you not clean this thing out more often?" Donnie asked, honestly curious as he tossed something black and slimy in the trash, container and all.
"Because YOU'RE always putting experiments in there, and I'm tired of getting yelled at when I finally do get around to throwing them out months later," Mikey huffed. "Speaking of, wasn't THAT one of yours?"
"No. I only use the green containers with the purple and pink swirls on them," Donnie chucked several empty mayo jars in the trash. "And I don't yell at you for throwing out my experiments. I yell at you for not letting me know they're in there BEFORE you throw them out," another jar went in the trash. "Big difference, and who eats this much mayonnaise? That can't be healthy."
"Hello! Why do you think I got you that calendar with the big ass grid? Use it, dude! And no one ate that mayo all at one sitting. I just keep the empty jars to piss Raph off when he goes to make a sandwich and can't find the full one. And speaking of Raph..."
"Nice segue," Donnie tossed a mustard bottle a good year past it's expiration date in the trash. "How did THAT end up in here? None of us even LIKE mustard."
"Thank you," Mikey grinned. "Casey. He likes it on turkey sandwiches."
Donnie blinked. "That was Thanksgiving! TWO years ago!"
"That's why it's so old, dude. You know Raph likes eating cereal out of those bowls, so why do you keep using them for your experiments?"
Donnie tossed a half full soy sauce bottle that the liquid inside looked more like chunky molasses than soy sauce, before grinning up at his brother. "Same reason you keep the empty mayonnaise jars."
Donnie finished wiping down the refrigerator completely unaware his baby brother was casting furtive glances at his ass the entire time. "All finished, but I am NOT taking out the trash. Leo or Raph can do it."
"I'll do it, I don't want Raph to see all those empty mayo jars," Mikey snickered, rummaging through the cabinets. "Man, I think I may have jumped the gun on this one," he groaned, letting the cabinet door close with a bang.
"Why's that?" Donnie asked, having moved on to emptying the dishwasher.
"No egg noodles."
Donnie set the plates on the counter to go check the cabinets his brother had just searched. "What do we have?"
"Lasagna noodles, corkscrew, penne, and bowtie."
"Can you cut the lasagna noodles smaller?"
"With the five of us and April eating, that'd take forever."
"Use the bowtie. They're flat, and would give the same effect as egg noodles."
"I guess," Mikey shrugged. "It's just..."
Sensing something was wrong, Donnie leaned in letting Mikey know he had his brother's undivided attention without saying a word.
"It's just cooking's the only thing I'm really good at, you know. I don't want to screw up dinner, and make everyone think I can't even do THAT right."
This wasn't the first time Mikey had had doubts about his abilities. However, it HAD been a very long time since those doubts had popped up, and it was the first time ever Mikey had had doubts about his cooking skills.
"Mike, you're not going to screw up dinner. You're a fabulous cook," Mikey gave his brother a skeptical look. "If you use something nontraditional in a recipe, it's because we don't have the listed ingredients, not because you don't know what you're doing. Everyone trusts that whatever you make will be delicious every time, because it always has been."
Mikey grabbed Donnie so fast it took the genius turtle by surprise. "Thanks, bro."
Although it was not unusual for him to seek comfort from one of his brothers when his confidence was shaken, it was unusual for Mikey to be upset to the point he was shaking. Mikey trembling only happened when the youngest turtle was scared, really scared, one of his brothers on the brink of dying kind of scared.
"Mikey, is something else bothering you?"
"No, just afraid of fucking everything up."
Things just kept getting stranger and stranger. Swear words coming from Mikey's mouth were as rare as swear words coming from Leo's. Master Splinter was more apt to swear than Mikey. Donnie had warning bells going off all over the place.
"You're not a screw-up, Mikey," he said softly. "You never have been."
"What about all those times..."
"No," Donnie's interruption was a good indication of how worried the genius was becoming over Mikey's unusual behavior. "You have NEVER been a screw-up. You've been inexperienced, and learning just like the rest of us, but never a screw-up."
Mikey pulled his arms back from around Donnie's shell, sandwiching them between himself and his olive toned brother. He hated feeling like this, like he couldn't do anything right. As if everything wrong in the world was personally his fault. He knew it wasn't true, that Donnie was right. All those times Mikey had messed up, he had been young and learning, just like his brothers, but ever so often, from out of the blue those doubts popped up, making him feel as if he was six years-old again, and completely incapable of doing anything right.
And just like when he was six, there was Donnie, picking up the pieces of Mikey's broken confidence, and putting them back together with the precision born of a brother's love.
Mikey didn't want to think about what would happen to him if he didn't have Donnie.
Worry and confusion won out over whatever else Leo and Raph were feeling the second the two oldest entered the kitchen and found Donatello holding a very distraught Michelangelo. Donnie glanced up, looking upset as well.
With Raph's near breakdown still fresh in his mind, and fearing the worse, Leo hurried across the room. "What happened?" he asked, placing a hand on Mikey's carapace.
A smile tugged at the corners of Donnie's mouth as Leo rubbed small circles over Mikey's shell. He wondered if big brother realized he always did that when one of them was upset. "Mikey didn't have what he needed for dinner, and felt he would be seen as..."
As Donnie searched for the right word best to describe how Mikey felt without making his little brother feel worse, Mikey decided to lend an assist. "A fucking screw-up," he muttered.
Leo's hand paused in it's movements. Raph's mouth dropped open.
"What brought dat on, bro?" Raph gently rubbed the back of Mikey's head.
Mikey tried to press himself deeper into Donnie. "Didn't have the stuff I needed. Shoulda planned better."
Mikey's brothers looked at one another, thinking the exact same thing. Master Splinter had invited April to dinner less than two hours ago. How could Mikey have known he needed to plan for anything?
"What..." Mikey flinched at the sound of Leo's voice. "Mikey," Leo tired again in a gentler voice. "What did you plan for dinner?"
"Beef stroganoff."
"Why?"
Raph started to protest, but stopped when Leo held up his hand. Big brother was going somewhere with this.
"The steaks needed to be cooked, and I didn't want the mushrooms to go bad."
"Why?"
Mikey turned his head just enough to scowl at his oldest brother, "Because that cost us a lot of money, Leo. I didn't want to just toss it in the trash."
Hazel eyes shown with amusement, but Leo managed to kept a straight face. "Mikey, do you realize what you just told me indicates skill, and knowledge about what you were doing?"
Mikey leaned back, pushing away from Donnie, with the most incredulous look on his face. "Yeah. I... I guess it does," he grinned.
With utter catastrophe twice now averted, Leo breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, it was very short lived.
"Leo, ya see what I see," Raph growled, tipping his head towards the door.
Leo looked over, and relieved was the last thing he was feeling. He wanted to swear.
Sitting on the edge of the butcher block table Mikey kept by the door was another garden gnome.
"I'm pretty sure I already know the answer, but Mikey, did YOU put that there?"
Mikey's eyes widened, seeing the gnome sitting on the table. "No way, bro. I've been in the kitchen having a nervous breakdown, remember?"
"Mikey's right, Leo. He and I have been in here the entire time," Donnie added. "Neither one of us left."
"There was one in the dojo by the door too."
"It wasn't me. That's too lame for a prankster of my caliber." Mikey didn't think he had been upset to the point of hallucinations, but he would have sworn that thing's eyebrows moved from happy to frowning.
"If da two a ya were in here, an' me an' Leo were in da dojo, den who took doze t'in's outta da chest? Cuz when I went ta put da one we found back, da chest was empty."
"Master Splinter maybe?" Mikey shrugged. "He's been known to pull a few pranks in his time."
"It couldn't have been him, Mikey. Sensei went to his room to meditate before Leo and Raph went into the dojo. They would have heard him when he came out, and if by some chance," Donnie shot his two older brothers a knowing smirk. "They were NOT to notice Sensei leaving his room, you would have seen him from your position by the stove."
"Then how'd they get out of the chest? They're just ceramic figurines. They can't walk by themselves." Mikey frowned. It looked like that creepy little thing was smirking now.
As his brothers discussed the mystery of how the gnomes had escaped the chest, Leo noticed something disturbing about the gnome from the dojo and the one on the table. He picked the little figure up off the table, turning it over in his hands. "Raph, what color was the hat on that gnome in the dojo?"
"I dunno. Red I t'ink. Why?"
"You got upset, and the gnome had a red hat," Leo's eyes narrowed as he stared hard at the little figure in his hands. "Mikey got upset, and this one has an orange hat." To Leo it looked as if the gnome's facial expression had changed from one of superiority to one of angry challenge. "It's almost as if their hat color was connected to both of you somehow." But it was an inanimate object. Changing it's expression was impossible... wasn't it?
"I guess we know who the smart one is! Don't we?"
Faster than was physically possible, the ceramic gnome Leo held sprang to life, pulling a thin metal sliver from inside it's overalls and slashing the blue banded ninja across the beak. Leo yelped in pain, flinging the animated figurine away from him as hard as he could.
"What da HELL!"
"They're possessed!"
"Leo, let me see," Donnie tried to pull his brother's hands away from the wound.
There was something more important to attend to than Leo's injury. "Guys, did any of those things have a brown hat!?"
Leo brother's caught on immediately. "Master Splinter!" they shouted in unison, running from the kitchen.
Splinter knelt in a circle of candles and incense, his body still and unguarded as his mind soared the astral plane. To anyone looking in, it appeared as if the aged rat was sound asleep while sitting up, which was exactly what the owner of the small pair of eyes peeking under the door to the ninja master's bedroom thought.
Splinter had been far more concerned about the energy surrounding the chest his sons had found in the junkyard than he let on. There was something very familiar about those energies. Something he had encountered during his former life as a simple rat living with his master Yoshi in the home of the Ancient One. Whatever that something Splinter could not fully remember was, he knew it was something to be feared.
As he moved through the uniform oneness of the plane, Splinter extended his spiritual awareness searching for his deceased master. Having been a simple minded creature when he first experienced those energies, Splinter's perspective had been influenced by not the intelligence he now had, but by the survival instincts of a rat. Splinter hoped his master Yoshi would be able to advise him, having had a different perspective.
After a time, which felt equally like a mere moment as well as an eternity, Splinter realized his master Yoshi was currently beyond his reach, but the aged rat did find the next best thing, Tang Shen. His master's love sat beneath a cherry tree, watching the sky above her as pink and white blossoms drifted through the air.
As he drew closer, Tang Shen looked his way, smiling warmly. "Greetings, Splinter," she bowed her head. "I have been expecting you."
Greetings, Tang Shen," Splinter gently landed beside her, and bowed in return. "I am very pleased to see you, though I was hoping to speak with my master."
"He was unable to meet with you, and asked me to be here in his stead."
"I thank you for that," Splinter bowed his head again. "Are you aware of what brings me here?"
"Yes," Tang Shen nodded, her expression grim. "Your family is in grave danger, my friend."
Splinter's eyes grew wide. "This danger, it comes from the chest my sons found?"
"No," Tang Shen shook her head. "It comes from the objects inside."
"How can this be?" Splinter frowned in confusion. "Those objects are simple decorations. Ugly yes, but of no true danger."
"The danger does not lie within the objects themselves, but rather in the spirits that inhabit those objects."
Tang Shen passed her hand over the surface of a large stone which lay half buried in the ground beside the cherry tree. Splinter knew the stone well, having sat and drank tea with his master Yoshi using the stone as their table many times. Now the surface of the stone turned liquid, as if someone had coated the hard exterior with mercury.
"In ancient times, oni roamed the lands," Tang Shen continued. "Many were evil, caring nothing for the humans they tormented, torturing them relentlessly with unfounded fears and destroying their confidence with doubts of their self worth. Oftentimes to the point of self destruction."
Splinter watched as images of indescribably hideous creatures flashed across the surface of the stone. He cringed, seeing the atrocities the oni committed against defenseless people. It made the rat's heart ache, and his blood boil.
"There were also kind, caring spirits who sought to end the evil oni's reign of terror upon the land." The image shifted again, showing shy, gentle beings healing wounds and providing for those who had lost their homes and loved ones to the evil spirits that tormented them. "The spirits engaged the oni in battle many times; sometimes winning, but oftentimes losing." An image of a furious battle filled the mirrored surface. "As legend has it, a great and mighty warrior journeyed to the land, only to be attacked by the oni. The spirits found him injured in the forest, and revived him. As he healed, the spirits told of their eternal battle with the oni, and begged the warrior for his help. He did, but not in the manner in which the spirits anticipated."
Within the surface of the stone, Splinter watched the warrior carve dozens of small wooden dolls, giving them hair from shredded tree bark, and clothes made from grasses and reeds.
"When the warrior had enough vessels, he sent the spirits to find the oni. When both sides were engaged in battle, he cast a spell imprisoning the oni inside the wooden dolls he had created. Unfortunately, the good spirits were captured as well. It was a sacrifice they gladly made."
Slowly the images faded from view, and the surface of the stone returned to it's original state.
"Am I to understand spirits, both good and evil, reside within the objects stored inside the chest?"
Tang Shen nodded, confirming Splinter's worst fear.
"I do not understand how these spirits can pose a threat to my family," Splinter scowled at the stone thoughtfully. "They are imprisoned within objects that cannot move. If we avoid these objects, the beings within can do no harm."
"Over time, the oni learned how to manipulate the vessels that held them through their magic. The spirits had this knowledge from the beginning, choosing not to use it, for fear the oni would imitate them. Their caution, however, was in vain."
"My sons believe those things to be harmless! They are as defenseless as the humans of the past! By coming here, I have abandoned them!" Splinter sprang to his feet, looking around frantically, with no idea what he was searching for. "What... what kind of father am I to abandon my sons?" He jumped when Tang Shen touched his arm.
"Calm yourself, Splinter. There is no danger to you here, but be warned, one of the oni watches you now, working it's evil magic. Go! Save your family!"
In the time it took between one heartbeat and the next, Splinter returned to his body. Upon opening his eyes, he immediately felt an overwhelming sense of failure.
He was a horrible father! How could he, a mere rat, have thought he had the capability to raise children?! The bodies of his four sons were littered in the evidence of his failure in the scars of battle they carried. He failed to keep them safe! How they must hate him!
Splinter's eyes burned, his heart breaking. His sons must surely hate him. He had tried. He had tried to raise them, give them love and purpose, but in the end, they were mutants in a world of humans. His precious sons would never know anything but hate and fear. He had failed in the one thing all parents MUST do... give their children a future.
He. Had. FAILED!
The ninja master looked around his room, his eyes landing on the one object that could rectify all of his mistakes. He could do nothing about his failures of the past, but he could do something about failing his sons in the future.
His sons would no longer suffer for his inadequacy.
Long, thin fingers tightened around the handle of the tanto hanging on the wall. He pulled the blade from it's scabbard as a low, malevolent chuckle filled the room.
He would do the honorable thing.
Splinter's ears twitched, hearing the unfamiliar sound in his room. Something about it reminded the rat of a time long ago. It mattered little now.
He raised the blade to his chest, yanking his kimono open with his free hand.
His failure would be erased.
Taking a deep breath, Splinter pulled the blade back to full arm's length.
His honor restored.
He closed his eyes, a single tear dampening the fur at one corner.
His sons set free.
"FATHER!"