"I was handling this. What are you doing here?"
"Handlin it? Yer neck's bleedin," Raphael said, incredulously. He frowned at Leo's obvious anger and cold tone, but did his best to keep his own voice neutral as he opened his mouth again to speak. "I said I'd find ya when I got back. I didn't count on ya makin it difficult for me."
Leo sheathed his katana and turned to stalk away from him. Raphael's first instinct was to grab Leo and demand to know why he was pissed. But after last night, he decided to keep his hands off. That and it was pretty damn unusual to see Leo this angry.
So he followed in silence as they moved across rooftops and ducked down into the sewers. They were in the lair's entrance when Raph tried to reach for Leo's arm in an attempt to talk to him before he had to share him with the others.
But Leo's arm moved out of his reach before he could get his fingers around it and Leo turned to face Raphael with a blank expression that made Raphael frown. He'd take angry Leo over that impassive face any day.
"It's done, Raph," Leo said curtly while his eyes traveled over the lair and avoided Raph's eyes. "All I need from you right now is a distraction so I can get to the bathroom without being noticed. I need to clean up before dinner." His eyes still burned from Karai's blinding powder and he could feel what was probably a noticeable trail of blood sliding its way down his neck.
Raph stared hard at him, a glare that went unnoticed since Leo was refusing to look at him.
Leo got his distraction, though, in the loud and boisterous form of Casey Jones who Raph could suddenly hear skating towards them in the tunnel.
"Hey hey losers," Casey said with a wide grin as he circled them on his skates. "Casey Jones is here for dinner."
Raph watched as Casey's eyes narrowed into tiny slits as they focused on him and he quickly braced himself right as Casey charged him.
"Casey!" he yelled as he landed hard on his shell while the skinny teen laughed loudly on top of him. He pushed Casey to the side and looked back up to Leo.
But Leo was already gone.
Raph figured Leo probably owed Casey a thanks. After all, the hockey player's loud presence at their dinner table kept everyone's attention focused on him. Which meant Raphael was probably the only one who noticed the cut on Leo's neck or the way his eyes still looked a little red and swollen. He watched as Leo managed to not draw attention to himself - not by sitting silently at the table - but by participating in the surrounding conversation. Although, Raph had to wonder how the others were failing to notice Leo's flat tone.
Raphael couldn't stand it. And since he didn't do flat, unemotional or subtle, he found himself glaring at Leo through most of the meal. At least until Leo kicked him under the table.
And since Donnie had managed to fit in a quick dinnertime discussion about the importance of having all of their vehicles up and running at all times, Raphael followed him and Casey into the lab after the dishes were cleared in order to assist with the replacement part on the party wagon.
When the brace was finally welded into place, Casey quickly punched him in the shoulder and asked if he was ready to head out for the night.
"Tonight?" Donnie asked, lifting his welder's mask from his face.
"Yeah, why not?" Casey asked.
"We had kind of a close call with Mike last night," Raph said, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck.
One of Casey's hands landed on Raph's shoulder and squeezed. Casey recognized that look. Raphael was obviously beating himself up for Mikey's injury. It certainly explained the foul mood the turtle had been in all night.
"Kid looks really good tonight," Casey said, meaning to reassure. "But I bet he'd love a monster movie marathon, right?" He shrugged. "We can stay in and entertain him."
Raphael nodded slowly in agreement, even though there was only one thing he wanted to do for the rest of the night and it involved an actual discussion with a certain turtle. He felt bad for wishing his friend would just leave, especially since he'd still have to contend with his other two brothers and father roaming around the lair even if Casey was gone.
Besides, it was clear Leo didn't want to talk to him.
"Finally," Raph grumbled to himself as he shut his bedroom door behind him.
Once again, everyone had rounded up some of Mikey's favorite movies and crowded into the pit for the last few hours, watching movies and throwing popcorn at each other. Well, everyone except for Leo, who had declined the invitation and announced that he was going to bed instead. He'd even turned down Mike's best puppy dog eyes when Mikey tried to convince him to stay.
Raph walked across his bedroom while silently kicking himself. He was still relieved to know Leo wasn't going to leave them, but he wondered how he could've been so stupid to have kissed him since it had clearly made everything worse. He certainly hadn't meant to drive Leo away from hanging out with the entire group.
He dropped himself shell-first into his hammock and immediately heard paper crinkle beneath him. He pushed his foot down at the bottom of the hammock to balance as he pushed his shell up high enough to pull the piece of paper out from beneath him.
Then he scrambled up into a sitting position when he realized what it was.
Raph,
Thank you for last night. Your hands-on approach had the desired effect of reminding me where I belong. She's waiting for an answer and I'd rather do it in person. No need to follow. I'll be back.
Leo
The hammock swung wildly from his frantic movements but he barely noticed as he swore silently at the letter. Leo had left him a note. And said he'd be back. And asked Raph not to follow him. No wonder Leo had been pissed. It must have looked like Raph didn't trust him at all when he showed up on that rooftop anyway.
"Shit," Raph said loudly to his empty room.
Leo lay on his bed with a book, although he wasn't so much reading as giving his eyes a place to focus as he lay there thinking. He had listened to Casey's loud goodbye and then the familiar sounds of his brothers going to bed. He regretted not joining them for a movie night, but he figured by morning his eyes and neck would be healed enough to not draw attention or questions. He looked up at his ceiling for a few moments and when he looked back down he found Raphael standing just inside his room, the door already shut behind him.
Leo sat up in bed and stared incredulously at Raphael. "You know, I don't think I've ever given you enough credit for how silent you can be when you want to be," he said in a low tone.
Raphael didn't move from his spot, but half his mouth twisted up in a grin at the praise.
Leo tossed his book on the bedside table and pushed himself up to stand.
"I just found yer note," Raph said. He watched as Leo glanced at him in surprise. He shrugged in return. "When I was lookin for ya earlier I didn't check my own room. I'm sorry I interfered with you and -,"
"No, Raph," Leo said, turning fully towards him. "Don't apologize. After all, you probably saved my neck." He tipped his head towards his brother as he thought for a moment. "Although, if you didn't see my note, how'd you know where to find me?"
Raph's eyes ducked to the floor. "Because I know yer history with her," he finally grumbled.
Leo nodded and thought about smiling at the pout on Raph's face. But he stopped himself when Raph began to speak again.
"I couldn't find ya, Leo," Raph said, meeting Leo's eyes again. "I just had this terrible feelin and I thought ya were gone."
"I told you I wasn't going anywhere, Raph," Leo said and the repeat of the words he'd said last night immediately filled his head with images of the two of them together on the very bed he was standing next to. The very bed that still had Raph's scent on its sheets. "I promise I won't leave, Raphael," Leo added, suddenly desperate to get the sad look off his brother's face.
"Then were you angry with me for some other reason earlier?" Raph asked, slowly.
Leo looked to one of his walls. "This thing between me and Karai was personal between me and Karai."
Raph tensed but listened as Leo continued.
"This wasn't between our family and the Foot clan," Leo paused, hesitant to continue even though he knew he needed to. "And I don't want her putting a target on your shell because she thinks you interfered in something personal."
Raph took a couple steps into Leo's room before saying, "But I did interfere in something personal."
"That's the problem," Leo said with a sigh as he met Raph's face again.
"What?" Raphael asked, honestly confused.
"I realized I can't be leader of this team and have personal problems, Raph," Leo said. "It was stupid to think that I could have a relationship with Karai, or anyone else. And you were right to knock some sense into me."
"Wait, I didn't say ya couldn't have a relationship," Raph said, quickly, taking a few more steps towards Leo.
"Raphael, anyone I favor, would become an immediate target for our enemies, especially Karai. Don't you see that?"
Raphael thought for a moment before crossing his arms. "Fine, I agree. You can't favor us."
Leo tried to hide his shock from Raph's easy acceptance and immediately felt a deep disappointment in his gut. His brain was pushing his mouth to say these words but he knew the moment Raph agreed that they shouldn't be together that it wasn't actually what he wanted at all.
Raphael watched the unfiltered emotions flowing freely over Leo's face and for the first time since he'd left Leo's room the night before, felt a surge of relief. He lowered his arms and took the final few steps required to land himself directly in front of Leo.
"Ya can't favor anyone durin patrols. Or missions," he said in a low voice. "But we're not always out on patrol. And yer not always the leader. Right?"
Leo locked his eyes with Raph's big green eyes and released the breath he'd begun holding when Raph first closed in on him. "I think sensei would say the answer is yes," Leo whispered.
Raphael slowly shook his head at his brother. "I'm not gonna let him or you isolate yerself like that," he murmured and leaned in to nuzzle against Leo's neck.
Leo's eyes slid shut and he felt a warmth travel from his neck all the way down to his gut. He felt Raphael's fingers loop between his suddenly shaky fingers.
"Why are you so calm?" Leo asked.
"Because I'm not confused," Raph answered. He let his lips press against Leo's neck and listened to Leo's quickened exhales. "I've always known what I wanted." He lifted his face to meet Leo's blue eyes. "But I never thought I'd have a chance at it."
Leo's eyes were wide as he listened to Raph's heartfelt words. "And what do you want?" he asked in a whisper, although by this point he had a pretty good idea.
"To be with ya," Raph answered without hesitation. "To touch ya. Taste ya. Listen to ya. And not just yer orders," he said with a small, playful eyeroll, "but to hear yer thoughts. The things ya don't normally share. Just you, Leo. I just want you." Unable to resist any longer, he leaned forward and covered Leo's mouth with his own. There was a small, surprised noise from Leo, but Leo's lips easily responded and drove Raph to push forward until Leo's shell was scraping against one of his concrete walls.
He rolled his hips forward to rub against Leo's lower plastron and responded quickly to the churr he heard from Leo with one of his own. Then Leo's hands were on him, squeezing over the muscles in his upper arms, and the sensation sent a thrill through him. He let his own hands travel over Leo's plastron, and when pressing into the cartilage earned him additional small moans from Leo, he let his fingers slide down lower until he was rubbing over Leo's slit.
"Raph," Leo murmured, although he wasn't sure in that moment if he was protesting or encouraging him to continue.
Raphael let his eyes roam over Leo's face as his fingers continued to tease. He could feel the bulge in Leo's lower plastron. Hear Leo's pants and moans. See Leo's fat pupils. But he stilled his movements and leaned in to nuzzle Leo's face once again.
"If ya want me to stop, ya better say so now, Leo," he husked, doing his best to restrain himself when all of his instincts told him to pin Leo to the wall and devour him.
Leo was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to say no to that deep voice and his hands tightened around Raphael's solid arms, forbidding him from moving even an inch away from him.
"I'm gonna take care of ya," Raph whispered to him. "Every day, Leo. Every day." He kissed Leo's neck again before dropping to his knees, tightening his hands around Leo's upper thighs and pressing his tongue against Leo's slit until Leo had no choice but to drop down for him.
It wasn't entirely unexpected, but Leo still looked down in surprise. He watched as Raphael's eyes actually seemed to light up and in the next moment Leo's head jerked back in pleasure as he was suddenly enclosed in Raphael's warm, wet mouth.
"Jeezus, Raph," he tried to moan out, although most of the sound was swallowed by a churr.
Raph moaned in response as Leo's scent filled his nose. He felt Leo's fingers tangle in the tails of his mask and let himself drop down as well, relieving the tight pressure in his own lower plastron. He ignored his own length for now and instead tightened his hands on Leo's thighs and focused on how good Leo tasted. He did his best to curl his tongue around Leo as his mouth moved busily over him.
An unbelievable warmth spread through Leo as he felt his limbs begin to tremble. And with it came a sudden certainty that his legs weren't going to be able to hold him up any longer.
Raph heard his name roll out of Leo's mouth in a low moan. He could feel Leo's legs tremble and realized Leo's knees were starting to buckle. Too afraid that this spell would be broken if Leo changed position, he pressed one of his palms flat against Leo's plastron and pushed him back against the wall.
Leo churred at the strength in Raph's arm and, feeling fully supported, let himself relax against the wall as his release overtook him.
Raphael glanced up in time to watch Leo throw his head back in a silent scream. He grinned to himself before finally letting Leo's legs collapse and pulling the other turtle down into his lap. He ducked his thumb under Leo's chin and lifted Leo's face so he could kiss him again. Leo pressed himself against Raphael and let his own hand travel down until he had Raph's own hard length in his grip.
Raphael quickly pulled away from their kiss. "Wait, Leo, ya don't have to -," he stopped suddenly as most thoughts left him as soon as he felt Leo's tight fingers move over him.
Leo stopped his movements at Raph's protests, although he didn't remove his hand, and simply smiled at Raphael.
"You want me, Raph?" he whispered.
"Yes. Yes, Leo," Raph managed to husk out in response.
"Well, I want you too," Leo whispered in return.
Raphael's eyes widened as he searched over Leo's face for any sign of doubt. And when he found none, he shifted his hips forward in encouragement. Leo smiled in return and let his hand move over Raphael once again.
"And now that you've opened this door, Raph, there's just no way I'm going to be able to resist you," Leo said and listened as a churr rolled up Raphael's throat as the expression on Raph's face morphed into one of pleasure.
Raphael wasn't sure how Leo was managing to talk like this after what they'd just done, but he drank in the words he'd always privately wished to hear from the turtle while Leo continued to stroke him. And right when he thought the night couldn't get any better, Leo leaned forward and kissed him, a kiss Raph met eagerly as he realized this was the first time Leo had initiated a kiss between them.
"I don't want this to be one-sided, Raphael," Leo whispered to him. "If you're going to give me something to look forward to every day and be here to take care of me, then I'm going to do the same for you."
It was too many sensations at once and Raph had to immediately wonder if Leo knew that. If Leo had set out to take care of not only his body, but his heart and his mind as well. And with every part of him satisfied at the same time, Raph came with a hard jerk as Leo's mouth covered his again to swallow the scream threatening to escape.
Then Leo shifted so that his shell leaned against the side of his bed and pulled Raphael into his arms as Raphael dropped his head to rest on Leo's shoulder while he let his breathing slowly return to normal.
Leo sat and listened to Raphael's breathing for a few minutes before saying, "Raph?"
Raphael lifted his head to meet Leo's eyes, suddenly unsure of what he'd find now that they'd both come down from their highs.
But Leo only smiled at him. And kissed him again. Raphael smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Leo to pull him in closer.
A/N: The end