8

(…one month earlier…)

The alcohol running through Raphael's system made his limbs tingle. It burned in his gut with a pleasant familiarity and left a strong taste on his tongue. These were sensations he understood for he knew them all too well.

What he could not comprehend was the weight on his mouth or softness brushing his lips. Both feelings were surprisingly new. Their strangeness piqued his curiosity enough that he allowed them to linger.

A few seconds later, the weight and the softness vanished of their own accord.

Opposed to their sudden departure, Raph quickly pursued and captured them. The contact lasted longer this time, but its cessation was much more abrupt as a hand shoved against his shoulder, forcing him away.

The red-banded turtle stepped back awkwardly. Throwing out his arms, he was able to find his balance and remain upright. Beer splashed out of the bottle he still had clenched in his left hand. Raphael watched as the amber liquid dribbled over his fingers and spattered on the floor. Slowly, he lifted his gaze.

Leonardo stood before him, silent and unmoving. A look of horror was etched upon his face. With a visible shudder, the clan leader turned and fled from the room.

Realization hit Raph as he witnessed Leo's hasty retreat.

He had just been kissed by his older brother…

…and he had kissed back.

Raphael didn't react right away. The booze he had consumed over the course of the night was messing with his mind. His eyes returned to the bottle he was holding and he stared hard at the silver label as he tried to process his thoughts.

"…the fuck…?" he finally wondered aloud.

The sai-wielder wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and inspected the appendage carefully as if expecting some strange substance to be there. Finding nothing, he then looked to where his brother had disappeared. His forehead wrinkled in anger and he frowned. With a swig of his beer, Raph marched after Leonardo.

He didn't bother to knock on the leader's bedroom door. Twisting the handle forcefully, Raph barged inside and shut the door heavily behind him. Leo, who had been sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands, was on his feet in an instant. His entire body tensed at the sight of his younger brother and he braced for a fight that he was certain would come.

But Raph stayed where he was.

Leaning back against the door, the darker turtle cocked his head and peered at his elder. Raph could sense Leo's nervousness and knew by the slight twitch of his leaf-green fingers that Leo was ready to unsheathe his katana if necessary. A short chuckle escaped Raph and he settled his right hand on his hip in close reach of his sai. Lifting the bottle to his lips, he took another drink.

"What the fuck was that?" Raphael asked once he had swallowed.

"…I don't know…" Leo replied meekly, his face reddening.

"Ya kissed me and then ya ran away."

"I-I'm sorry."

"Shit, Leo, I know desperate times call for desperate measures," the younger of the two said, running a finger along the handle of his weapon. "But why the fuck would ya pick me?"

"I'm sorry," his brother reiterated as he cautiously watched his brother's movements. "I wasn't thinking."

Raph gave a derisive snort. "Bullshit ya wasn't. Yer always thinking. It's part of what makes ya the fearless leader that ya are." Tipping his head back, he chugged his beer until it was three quarters of the way gone. "So tell me what the hell is going through that head of yers."

Leo hesitated, contemplating on how he should respond. "…You said we'd spend the rest of our lives together and…it made sense."

"It made sense?" Raph repeated, wrinkling his beak in confusion.

Leonardo shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "After everything you said earlier…about how there aren't any female turtles and how we can never be with a human…I just thought for a second that it made sense that the only relationship we could have would be with each other when you told me that I'd have you for the rest of my life…"

Slack-jawed, Raph stared at his elder in disbelief. A full minute passed before he replied. "I sure as shit didn't mean it like that when I said it!"

"I'm sorry," Leo muttered once again, his hands curling into tight fists as the color of his cheeks grew even darker.

A heavy silence fell in the room. Too ashamed to hold his brother's gaze, Leo studied his feet, desperately wishing that he could reverse time. The intense burn of Raph's golden eyes watching him made him fidget uncontrollably.

Quickly, the hothead poured the rest of his beer into his open mouth. He set the empty glass container down on top of the small bookshelf that Leo had conveniently positioned near the door. A small click sounded when he reached over and turned the lock on the doorknob. The sound startled Leonardo who looked up to find his brother, still leaning against the door, grinning at him wolfishly.

"So…" Raph drawled. "Did ya like it?"

"W-what?" Leo stammered.

"Did ya like it when ya kissed me?"

"…I-I…"

"I think ya did," the sai-wielder decided. Pushing himself away from the door, he ambled towards his brother. "Why else would ya let me kiss ya back?"

"It was a mistake," Leo insisted, his defensive stance retuning as the other turtle approached.

"Uh-uh," Raph disagreed with a shake of his head. Pulling a sai from his belt, he gave the weapon a spin. "Yer too damn perfect ta make mistakes."

"Raphael…" the leader growled warningly when his sibling breached his personal space.

Raising his right hand, Leonardo reached for his katana. Before his fingers could close around handle, Raph grabbed hold of his wrist. The cold touch of steel brushed against his left palm and Leo chanced a glance downward, confirming that his hand was trapped within the prongs of his brother's sai and subsequently pinned at his side. His attempt to break free waned when a liquored breath blew into his face.

"Admit it," Raph commanded lowly. "Ya liked it…"

"Raphael!" Leo protested. Mentally, he was berating himself for being so easily disabled given the other turtle's current inebriated state. "Enough! Let go!"

"Not 'til ya admit it."

"There's nothing to admit!"

"Like hell there ain't," Raph argued, a growl rising in his throat. "Ya just need a little encouragement, Fearless…"

The leader's objection was intercepted when his lips were captured in rough kiss. Shock kept him frozen in place. He could taste the beer Raph had consumed. Its bitter flavor was much stronger this time compared to when they had kissed just outside of the kitchen. After what seemed like an eternity, the hold on Leo's right arm loosened and he used that opportunity to pull away.

Placing his hand flat against Raph's chest, Leo pushed as hard as he could. The effort was successful in ending the kiss, but not in completely separating himself from his sibling. Left hand still caught in Raph's sai, Leo was dragged along as the hothead stumbled in reverse. He struggled to remain upright while Raph grabbed onto his shoulder, seeking support. Their awkward dance to reestablish their balance moved them back towards the bed. The tangle of feet caused Raph to trip and he fell, his bulky weight driving his brother straight into the mattress.

Leonardo grunted as air was expelled from his lungs. How he managed to avoid being skewered by Raph's sai, he'd never know. Breathing heavily, he glared up at the other ninja lying on top of him.

The evil-eyed expression made Raph laugh. Withdrawing his weapon, he tossed it aside and it clattered loudly on the floor. His fingers instead reached up to caress Leo's cheek. Gently holding the elder's head in place, Raph leaned in for another kiss.

"Admit it," the hothead requested in a near whisper.

Heart rate increasing, Leo trembled at the touch. He had never imagined his most violent underling was capable of such tenderness, especially considering that it seemed that Raph's major ambition in life was to inflict as much pain with his fists as possible on people who pissed him off. And Leo was a prime example of one of those people.

Moving fast, the katana-wielder seized Raph by the shoulders. His muscles strained as he pressed against the heavier turtle. Rolling his body, Leo managed to switch their positions. He straddled his brother's lap, pinning a pair of emerald-colored arms to the bed.

Raphael looked up at Leonardo and grinned.

"Yer so damn stubborn," he accused teasingly. "Ya really need ta…"

But Raph didn't get a chance to finish what he intended to say. The rest of his words were muted as a hot mouth descended on to his.

"You're one to talk," Leo retorted when he pulled back a few moments later.

A smug smile stretched across Raph's face. "I take it that's yer way of telling me that ya liked it." Leaning up, he nuzzled his brother's beak. "Why don't ya tell me again?"

The suggestion made Leo blush anew. His hands lifted from the bed to rest on Raph's broad shoulders. Eyes flickering shut, the leader closed the small gap between them.

Raphael growled triumphantly and deepened the kiss. Arms snaking around his brother, he pulled Leo closer until their plastrons clinked together. Slowly, he began to lower himself back down, taking the shorter turtle with him.

They broke apart as they settled into this new position. Panting slightly, both ninjas stared at each other intently. The separation did not last long. Cupping Leo's chin, Raph brought their mouths together again.

Leonardo jumped in surprise when a curious tongue ran along his bottom lip. The rough muscle repeated the motion twice before the eldest picked up on the hint and opened his mouth. Without hesitation, Raph's tongue darted inside. As his oral cavity was thoroughly explored, Leo's only thought was that beer was an absolutely disgusting drink.

The blue-banded turtle was vaguely aware of two hands sliding off of his shell. His attention to them grew more focused as they began to wander all over his body, lingering on the more sensitive areas. Leonardo hummed pleasurably when the fingers dragged up and down his exposed sides. In imitation, his own hands slipped off of his sibling's shoulders to trace the edge of Raph's plastron.

Another approving growl issued forth from the hothead. Their impromptu make-out session intensified. The temperature inside the room seemed to have gotten hotter. Leonardo could feel sweat beginning to bead upon his forehead and a pressure building within him.

Surprised, Raphael released his brother's lips. His breathing was heavy as he looked into a pair of dark brown eyes. Something was pressing against his thigh. Wedging a hand between their bodies, he felt the bulge in Leo's lower plastron. While the leader gasped in embarrassed shock, Raph grinned.

"I guess ya liked it a lot…"

XXXXX

Raphael groaned and rubbed a hand across his face. Lifting his head from the pillow, he squinted and looked around the dimly lit room. The movement was enough to alert him to the pounding pain behind his temples. A string of curse words ran from his mouth and his head flopped back onto the pillow.

Still grumbling, the sai-wielder tried to roll over but found himself pinned. He reached towards the thing immobilizing him and encountered a body. Opening his eyes again, Raph glanced down to see Leonardo slung across his stomach. Completely naked, the leaf-green turtle was sleeping soundly.

As Raph watched his brother's chest move in the rhythm of breathing, fragmented memories flashed across his mind. The more he remembered, the more he understood - like the reasons why his hips were so sore and why there was a stinging sensation beneath his tail.

"Leo…" the hot head whispered. He gave his brother a nudge. "…hey, Leo…"

The leader stirred, but his eyes stayed closed.

"Leo."

Raph shook him a little harder. Growling, Leo batted the offending hand away and snuggled closer to his sibling.

"Leo!"

"What…" Leonardo grunted irritably, still refusing to open his eyes.

"Wake up."

The eldest mumbled incoherently and squirmed about, unwilling to obey. He shifted his head until his chin rested on Raph's plastron. Eyelids fluttering open, Leo stared up at his sibling tiredly.

"What?" he repeated.

"Did we seriously do what I think we did last night?" Raph questioned.

Leonardo was awake in an instant. He bolted upright, shrugging the covers off of his shoulders. Looking around frantically, he observed the condition of his room. His katana lay on the floor, not too far from one of Raph's sai. The other three-pronged weapon was on the opposite side of the room by the desk. Their gear was scattered everywhere and the rumpled sheets on the bed were no longer clean.

"Oh my god…" Leo muttered in disbelief. "…we did…"

Silence fell between them. Sitting up, Raph reached out to place a comforting hand on his brother's arm. The leader flinched and drew back. Face flushing, Leo shook his head.

"That…can never happen again."