All right, this is the last time I'm going to say this, so listen up! I am not, I repeat, am NOT changing the spelling of Raf's name! I'm sort of biting the hand that feeds me here, but no amount of your crying is going to change it, so get over it. I've tried to be polite and I've tried to be nice about it; I even apologized if it bothered people, but for some reason that didn't work, so no more Mister Nice-Guy. If you don't like it, don't read it!
RAPHAEL. At least I can spell his real name right.
Azura 5: Thanks for your review in particular. Glad I'm able to help. I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with you. Out of all the brothers, Leonardo romances are undisputedly the hardest to find. There must be something about his cool, mature attitude that turns people off, and I guess people seem to think that he's too uptight and snotty to fall in love. (No offense to anyone who does think that, by the way. You're entitled to your opinions too.) But when I was watching the TMNT 2007 movie, I saw so much more in him that just that.
People, Leo has a heart, too!
Darkness. Cold. Concrete beneath her.
Grimy hands all over her body. Pain. Floating away. Find a happy place.
Humiliation. Shame. Worthless. Helpless.
Hungry, wolfish eyes.
A.J. awoke with a cry, throwing the blankets off her. It took her a few seconds for her to realize where she was, warm and safe in Leo's bed. She shook her head, wiping sweat from her lip. Looking around, she saw that Mikey and Donny were asleep in the beds next to hers, so she guessed it was after six or seven in the morning. The one farthest from the door was empty. Raf.
Ever since she had proven that she could walk without one of the boys to lean on, Leo had finally given in and gone out with his brothers nearly every night. He said it was because he felt they were ready to begin learning to fight crime again, but she knew the real reason. She didn't need constant supervision now. If she needed to get something to eat, she would get up and go to the kitchen. If she wanted to take a bath, she could walk to the bathroom. If she wanted to watch TV, she would go to the living room. She could take care of herself now, and, with no excuses left, Leo and his brothers raced out onto the rooftops of New York once again. They only went out at night, when they were less likely to be seen and crime rates went up, and they usually were not back until four or five in the morning. They hung out for a couple of hours before crashing at around six or seven, somehow managing to not wake her. She, on the other hand, had an internal alarm clock that told her to go to bed at midnight and wake up at around nine or ten. Her clock had screwed up over the past three months, mostly during her captivity, but now, with life settling down and returning to normal, it was beginning to get back on track.
Taking care not to wake the sleeping turtles, she crept quietly out of the room. She headed for the kitchen to pour herself a glass of milk. The clock in the microwave said 8:30, close to her wake-up time anyway. She was wide awake now, and figured it would be useless to try and go back to sleep. Since she was already up, she may as well get breakfast.
She didn't see Leo on the couch until after she had put the milk back into the fridge. She noticed that the TV was on, then she heard his breathing, deep and relaxed in sleep. Walking around the couch, she found him sitting with his elbow in the armrest, his head cradled in one three-fingered hand. Smiling, she looked for the remote, located it, and switched the TV off. She set the remote on top of it, then turned to look at her sleeping savior.
She tried to imagine herself a criminal, running from the crime scene. Maybe she had killed someone, maybe she had just held up a store and demanded the cash out of the drawer at gunpoint. Maybe all she had done was spraypaint obscenities on the side of a mailbox. Whatever she had done, she was running from it, adrenaline pumping though her veins like blood, hoping not to get caught. She tried to imagine her terror when she rounded a corner and found herself face-to-face with four pairs of cold brown eyes. She tried to imagine looking upon their inhuman forms in semi-darkness, making them look even more unnatural than they really were, and screaming. She tried to imagine looking upon them in utter horror and disgust. She tried to imagine how evil they must look to people in those circumstances, people who had no idea what they were looking at.
She couldn't.
She remembered how Leo had once told her that, more often than not, the first word that came from the lips of those who crossed their paths was, "monster."
She could see how, given the proper situation, they could look unearthly and spooky, but monsters? Never. She blushed furiously thinking this, but it was true. There was something beautiful about them, in a strange sort of way: the catlike grace with which they moved, the soft, educated way they spoke, without any cursing or harsh language. They could be intimidating, but not now, in sleep. She reached out and put a hand fondly on his shoulder. She remembered the first time she had touched his skin, and how shocked she had been to find that it wasn't leathery, but soft and smooth like a human's. Only their hands were rough, calloused from years of handling their weapons.
"Leo, how can I thank you enough?" she asked aloud.
She sat down on the couch next to him. He stirred with the movement, but he didn't wake up.
Ever since her girlfriend's death two years ago, she hadn't been all that enthusiastic about falling in love again. She had been with boys once or twice over the past school year, but those relationships had been empty and meaningless. Maybe it was just her, maybe it was the kinds of boys she seemed to attract, but to her, it seemed that boys were interested in nothing else but getting up her skirt. She knew this was unfair: not all boys were like that, but all the ones she had come across were.
Maybe it was because she was a redhead. They were supposed to be wild and hard to get, and everyone wants to say they did a redhead.
If that was their perception of redheads, she must have disappointed a lot of people. For the most part, she was quiet and shy by nature. There were times that she was not, like when she was singing, but most of the time, she liked to read, and didn't talk to anyone if she could avoid it.
It wasn't like it was hard; the way people treated her made her feel like a nobody anyway. They ignored her, in school, on the streets, in her relationships. Her boyfriends had just needed her on their arm like a piece of jewelry: a pretty trinket they could show off. More often than not, they stood in a group with their friends, with her standing by them, not paying any attention to her. Not that she was an attention hog, of course, but it could get rather irritating after a while. At some point, she got tired of it. Even in her own home, when her parents were not yelling at her, they occupied themselves with something else whenever she entered the room, as though they wanted her to know they pretended she didn't exist.
But down here, with these strange teenaged boys, she wasn't a nobody. They didn't ignore her, talk to each other like she wasn't there, or treat her like she was invisible. Especially Leo, who did everything he could for her. He was such a gentleman, so different from anyone she had ever met before.
Why does this always happen? She thought to herself. Girl with a horrible love life meets some guy who totally knocks her socks off.
Hopefully, her socks would be all he was knocking off. Since her kidnapping and abuse, she had seen enough to probably last her a lifetime. And anyway, he probably was just doing it because he felt he had to. That whole "honor" thing that ninjas seemed to be into. She was willing to bet her last dime that he had no feelings for her, though it would have been nice if he had, even if he wasn't human.
Who cares anyway? she thought to herself. As long as they're nice to you and treat you like you exist, does it really matter what they are?
Still, the way he held her, and how he looked at her, spoke to her, and even when he touched her on accident, brought a smile to her lips. He made her feel warm and safe, and brought a blush to her cheeks.
And, he had saved her life. That was always an added bonus.
She got up, finished the last of her milk, and took the glass to the sink. She washed it and dried it, and put it back into the cupboard, because, while they managed to have a room full of computers, several video game systems, and a flat screen TV, one thing they didn't have was a dishwasher. They had to do all their dishes by hand. This was fine by her, because it gave her something to do, something to keep her mind occupied. Since she had arrived, they had grown a little bit lazy, and left her to do all the dishes. This was partly her fault, because she always volunteered to do them, but she suspected it mostly had to do with the fact that there was a girl in the house. But again, she didn't mind; it gave her a way to keep her hands busy as she did her thinking, and she had been doing a lot of that lately.
Thinking, not dishes.
"You know you're gonna have to go back soon, right?"
The rough voice nearly made her jump out of her skin. She swore her heart stopped for a minute as she started and turned to see where the voice had come from. It was from Raf, who was standing in the doorway that led to the rest of the sewers. Relieved, she leaned against the fridge, her hand on her chest to still her frantically beating heart.
"Oh God, Raf. You really scared me there."
"Sorry," the stoic turtle replied. "You know you can't stay here. You're a human: you don't belong here. You belong up there," he gestured with his head. "In the human world."
"I know," she said. It was true: she couldn't stay there. At some point, she would have to back home. She had to enroll for her last year of school before it was too late, she had to tell the police what had happened to her, and her parents, even though they acted like she wasn't there, were probably worried sick about her. Raf was right. Though they had been so kind to her, she couldn't impose on their hospitality much longer.
"But I love it here," she said wistfully. "Everything just seems so relaxed down here. It all seems to make sense."
"Think it does, huh?" Raf said darkly. "Hmph. You would think that too, wouldn't you?"
She was a little stung at his words. She was trying to give them a complement, and here he was, insulting her.
"I meant…" she started to say, but he cut her off.
"Forget it. I'm goin' to bed. Hey, Leo." He punched his brother in the arm, waking him up. "A.J.'s awake."
Bleary-eyed from sleep, Leo stumbled from the couch and onto his feet. He turned around, saw A.J., and managed a smile. Though she was still hurt from Raf's reply, she smiled back.
"Rough night?" she asked him. He shrugged.
"Not too bad. Are you finished with my bed?"
"Mm-hmm. You can go sleep in it now."
"Thanks. See you tonight."
He disappeared into their bedroom, leaving her behind. She returned to the dishes, scrubbing and drying them one by one, thinking. Yes, it was definitely time for her to go home.
That night, she informed the boys of her decision. They made a huge fuss out of it and tried to convince her to stay longer, but she stuck. Finally, they agreed. They exchanged phone numbers, A.J.'s house number for now until she got a new cell phone, and the boys gave her the two numbers they had: Mikey's Cowabunga Carl child's amusement services, and Donny's computer help line. She also told them where she lived, and Donny pinpointed the location on a map, figuring out how to get there from where the exit to their lair was. She said her good-byes to Master Splinter, promising him that she would come back and see him again, and then the boys prepared to take her topside, bringing their weapons in case they ran into trouble.
She had dressed back into her school uniform: blouse, skirt, stockings and shoes, now clean from blood and dirt, and she had pulled her red hair into a ponytail on the back of her head, but kept two tendrils of it hanging in her face. Leo was burning to tell her she looked cute, but he didn't want to face the torment of his brothers, especially not in front of her, so he didn't mention it.
"There's just one thing," he explained as they took her to the door. "From here until we tell you, you have to keep your eyes closed."
"Why's that?" she asked.
"Safety," said Donny. "I know it seems a little stupid, but you can't know exactly where we live. We know you're no threat, but we just can't take that risk."
"I understand," she said. She, if anyone, should understand a need for privacy. She closed her eyes, and even put her hands over them to emphasize her comprehension.
Leo spun her around a couple of times, then Donny took her hand as he flipped the pipe and the hidden door in the wall opened. They went in a single file line, Leo in the front, followed by Mikey, then Donny leading A.J., and Raf bringing up the rear. Silently and swiftly, they made their way through the many tunnels until they reached a certain manhole. Leo climbed the ladder first, lifting the cover only a little bit to make sure no one was in sight, then gave them the thumbs up.
"All clear," he whispered as he pushed the sewer cover aside so he could climb out. Mikey was right behind him.
"So, you ever cross New York on the rooftops?" he asked as he helped A.J. out of the manhole. He pulled her out with one arm, both her hands clutching tightly to his. He grinned widely, even though she couldn't see him.
"No," she answered, kicking her feet to find the ground.
"Sure you have," said Donny, surfacing and holding out a hand to Raf, who just rolled his eyes and climbed out himself. "You just don't remember."
Even with her eyes closed, her brows twisted in confusion. There was a slight clank as Raf put the sewer cover back into its place.
"Really?"
"You were unconscious," Leo explained. She turned around to follow the sound of his voice. "It was the night we found you and brought you back to our place."
"Oh, right. Duh," she said, smiling at her failure to notice the obvious.
Donny reached out an arm for her, but Leo stopped him.
"I got her. Hold on tight," he said, putting an arm around her waist. "I need two hands for this."
He had to bend over slightly so she could lock her arms around his neck. But when he straightened up again, it was almost like she wasn't there. Even when she wasn't starved, she weighed next to nothing.
"Can I open my eyes yet?"
"No," Donny told her as they began to scale the fire escape of the building next to them, Leo taking care not to knock her into anything. When they reached the top of the building, he put her down, spun her around a few times, then picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. There was an uncomfortable-sounding smack! as both her open palms came down on his shell.
"Sorry."
"It's all right," she said. "I just wasn't expecting it, that's all."
"Well, it's the easiest way to transport you. This way, I can hold onto you, but I still need my other arm for balance."
"Oh, okay. When can I open my eyes? My eyelids are getting tired."
He laughed.
"In a minute." He turned to his brothers. "Let's go, boys."
They took off, Leo a little ways behind the others, moving a little slower so as not to jar his burden too much. Though, judging by the sounds coming from behind him, she was having a bumpy ride anyways. There was one scary moment when he landed from a particularly hard jump and felt her head come down and crack against his shell.
"Ouch!" she cried. Leo stopped and put her down.
"Hold up, guys!" he yelled at his brothers. He looked at A.J., who was holding her forehead in one hand. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," she answered. She was weaving slightly on her feet, and Leo held onto her so she wouldn't trip on her heels. The others doubled back and landed next to them.
"What happened?" asked Donny.
"She hit her head," said Leo.
"Wow, nice going Leo," said Mikey. "Are you okay?" he asked A.J.
She nodded. Her eyes were still closed, and Leo had to smile. At least she did what she was told.
"Let me see," said Donny, gently pulling her hand away from her head. There was a small cut that was bleeding a little, and the area around it was starting to bruise.
"You'll be fine," he said after a minute's examination. "Your head feel okay?"
"Mm-hmm," she said, nodding. "I'm just a little dizzy."
A sad sort of smile came over Donny's face, and he said, "I hate to do this to you, but since you're already dizzy…"
He took her by the shoulders, spun her around twice one way, three times the other way, and around once again. When that was done, he faced her again.
"Thoroughly mixed up now?"
"I've been mixed up," she said, putting her hand back onto her head.
They laughed, and Donny said, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."
"All right!" Her lids pulled back, and they saw that she was still a little cross-eyed. She shook her head, and her irises righted themselves. She looked around, a shy smile on her face.
"Wow, the world sure looks different up here."
She went over to the edge of the building and peered over the side. Seeing how high up they were, she turned around quickly.
"Oh," was all she said. The boys grinned.
"Afraid of heights?"
"Oh, I'm not afraid. I just didn't know exactly how high up we were."
There was a rather awkward silence, as no one could think of anything to say, then it was broken by Raf's voice.
"We'd better get going."
The others nodded, then Mikey spoke up.
"Hold on guys. You wanna play football?"
Donny frowned at him.
"We don't have a ball, genius."
"No, I meant…" he began, and then it clicked in their minds.
"Oh, you mean that kind of football," said Donny. "Well, I don't mind. How 'bout you guys?"
He looked around at his brothers.
"I don't care," Raf grumbled.
"Okay," said A.J. Leo gave them all a stern look.
"Just be careful with her. She's not a tough as we are."
Mikey threw a salute, then said, "Aye aye, dude!" A.J. giggled.
"Okay, spread out," said Leo. "Mikey, you go that way, Donny, you go that way, and Raf…I don't care where you go, as long as I can see you."
"Hmph," muttered Raf, and the three turtles took off in their respective directions, leaving Leo and A.J. behind.
"Give me your hand," he said. He didn't want to make her run, but he couldn't risk another head episode. Taking her hand securely in his, he jumped to the next roof, pulling her along behind him. When they landed, she stumbled, but found her footing and didn't fall.
"Are you okay?" he asked as soon as she had righted herself.
"Yep," she answered, doing her best to keep his pace as they ran together over the roof. "It's just hard to run in these things. You should be glad you don't have to wear them."
She was referring to her shoes. Leo wondered if he should tell her to try balancing on only two toes, but he decided not to. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Donny come up to their left, several yards away.
"So, what exactly are we playing?" she asked, her innocent eyes looking up at him.
"Well," he said, keeping Donny in his sight. "As a training exercise, to improve strength, coordination, reflexes and teamwork too I guess, me and my brothers would throw each other around, kind of like football, but without the rules, and with one of us as the ball. It's pretty fun."
"Turtle football," she said. "It does sound fun. But who's the ball? Because I can't catch any one of you; I'm not strong enough."
He slid his hand down to her wrist.
"Oh, you won't have to worry about that," she said. "You're the smallest, so you're the ball."
"Wait, whaaaaaa…?"
He jumped, and slung her to the left. She was still in the middle of her word, but he couldn't look to see if Donny had caught her, because he had to concentrate on landing. It was a pretty long jump, and his knees gave out as he landed. He rolled over a couple of times, then found his feet and stood up, all in one graceful movement. He kept running, glancing a look to his left.
A.J., her mouth still open with what she had been saying, felt herself swing in a semi-circle, saw her hand slip out of Leo's, and realized that she was flying backwards through the air. Her "what" began to turn into a scream, then she hit something hard and a strong arm wrapped around her waist.
"Gotcha!" Donny yelled triumphantly. They were jarred as he hit the comforting solidity of the next roof, then he asked, "How're you doing, sweetheart?"
She found herself unable to respond; the wind had been knocked out of her. Instead, she watched Leo somersault over his shell a few times, right himself, and keep running.
Amazing, she thought. Can anything hurt these guys?
"A.J.!"
She sucked in her breath, startled.
"What?"
"Oh good," said Donny, relieved. "I was just making sure you were alive."
"I'm fine," she said, bouncing with his steps. "That was kind of fun, actually."
He saw Leo scale the ladder of a water tower, and veered over in that direction.
"Great," he told her. Keeping hold of her waist, he put his other hand behind her knees. "Ready?"
"Yeah!" she yelled, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Heads up, Leo!" Donny shouted, and launched her into the air. Her scream this time was not one of fear, but the kind that people utter when they're flying down a roller coaster: one of pure fun. Leo caught her bridal style, then turned, throwing her into the air again.
"Mikey!" he called to get his orange-banded brother's attention.
He saw it as though in slow motion. He threw A.J. from his arms, she twisted around, and Mikey came up behind her, reaching out for her hand. Their fingers actually brushed, and then she was falling, backward over the side of the building.
"Oh my God," said Leo as his brothers joined him. He turned to Mikey, fire in his eyes. "If she's dead, I will kill you."
Mikey saw the pain in his brother's eyes, and for a minute, it seemed he wasn't looking at Leo at all, but Raf. In fact, if it hadn't been for the blue, he could have sworn he was looking at Raf, so sinister was that glare.
"She couldn't have survived," said Donny. "Not that fall. Maybe one of us could have done it, but not her. No way."
Leo's eyes narrowed. His A.J. was gone. After all the work they had done to get her back on her feet, and all the tears she had cried in the process, now she was dead, killed by a single, stupid mistake. And the one responsible was standing right in front of him, within arm's reach.
Mikey realized that his life was in danger.
"Leo," he said, holding up his hands. "Please don't kill me. It was an accident!"
"Your incompetence has just cost A.J. her life! She's dead, and it's your fault!"
"Leo…I'm sorry…"
"Wait!" Donny yelled suddenly, causing both Leo and Mikey to jump. "Look!"
He was pointing across the street at a green, shelled figure with a red mask standing on the top of an apartment complex. He was holding something white in his arms, something that was waving furiously at them.
"Hey guys! It's all right! I'm alive! Raf saved me!"
It was A.J. Raf must have seen her fall, and somehow managed to catch her before she hit the ground. They breathed a collective sigh of relief, then Mikey cheered.
"All right, Raf!"
The others joined in, then they hopped over to the apartments. Raf and A.J. had already gone ahead, because her townhouse was one street over, and when the others landed, they were already standing in front of her door. Raf was setting her down.
"Well Raf," she said when her feet touched the ground. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time."
Her eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted. Donny was closest, and caught her.
"Boy, what is it with girls and fainting?" asked Mikey as Donny slapped her face lightly to rouse her.
"No clue," said Raf.
A.J.'s eyes opened.
"What happened?"
"You just passed out," said Donny.
"Oh." She looked around. "Sorry." She got her feet under her and leaned on Donny as he helped her stand up. "Thanks, Don." She looked at Raf.
"Thanks for saving my life."
He shrugged.
"Sure. I couldn't just let you die. I just hope I've redeemed myself."
She frowned, confused. So did everyone else.
"Hmm?"
For the first time, Raf looked sheepish.
"The night we found you, I was the only one who didn't want to bring you back to our place. I wanted to take you to a hospital, or leave you where someone else would find you. I feel bad about it now, 'cause you woulda died if we left you there. I hope this puts me square again."
"You're forgiven," she said, giving him a hug. She turned to the others, and gave them all hugs in turn.
"Thanks so much, guys. For everything: for saving my life, for feeding me, giving me a place to sleep, and helping me walk again. Come see me, okay? I can't just forget you."
"Hey, you bet we'll come see you," said Mikey as he put his arms around her. "Life's more exciting with you in it."
She laughed, let go of him, then it was Leo's turn. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled so widely her eyes almost disappeared into her cheeks.
"Leo," she said, and hugged him. He lifted her off her feet, and she squeaked in surprise. When he set her down again, she didn't let go immediately. She held on for a minute longer, then gave him an extra squeeze before she pulled away. In that moment, Leo made his decision. She acted like she returned his affections, at least a little bit. And she certainly wasn't frightened or repulsed by them at all. It couldn't hurt to ask, could it?
She was still smiling.
"Thanks a million for all your help, Leo. Thanks for being there for me, and for carrying me everywhere."
"Don't mention it. You gonna be okay?"
"Of course."
Leo looked at his brothers, then jerked his head.
"Go on guys, I'll catch up."
"K."
"Sure thing, Leo."
They took off, and left the two of them on her doorstep.
"Hey," said Leo. It was now, or never. "Can I see you sometime? You know…" He threw a look at his brothers, who were waiting for him on the roof of the next townhouse. "Alone?"
For a moment, she was confused. Then, looking from his brothers to him, realization dawned on her face, and she blushed bright red.
"Oh! Of…of course…Leo. My window is that one right there." She pointed to the rightmost window on the second floor. "Just tap on it. I'm usually here."
Blushing furiously, she looked down at her neat little black shoes. Leo, thrilled that she had actually said yes, put his hand on her elbow, leaned over, and kissed her on the cheek. Her skin was smooth and hot beneath his lips. She looked up with a gasp, her eyes wide, and put a hand to her cheek. Leo raised his eyeridges at her.
"See ya," he said, then, before he started blushing, he took off for the roof, leaving an exhilarated A.J. behind.
Up on the roof, he prepared himself for the onslaught of jeers he would get from his brothers. They had seen everything.
"What was that, Leo?" asked Donny.
"Ooooh, Leeeooo!" Mikey crowed. Leo knew it was coming. Sure enough, in the most annoying sing-song voice ever, his brother yelled, "Leo and A.J. sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S…!"
To everyone's surprise, it was Raf who punched him.
"Shut up, Mikey," he growled.
"Yeah," Donny agreed. "You're breaking windows!"
"My singing's not that bad!" the joker protested.
"Ha!" shouted Raf and Donny together.
"You're singing is so bad…" Donny twisted his mouth around. "I can't think of anything witty to say right now. But your singing is really bad."
"That's why I make the jokes around here and you don't," said Mikey matter-of-factly. "For example, you could say…oh I don't know…like, 'Your singing is as bad as your scores the last time you played Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.' Something like that."
"Dude, you just insulted yourself twice over," said Raf. "First your singing, then your Legend of Zelda scores, all in the same sentence. That's talent right there, bro."
As Mikey realized his mistake, his face fell, and he looked down at the ground.
"Aw, nuts."
"And this is why I am the brains of this outfit," said Donny.
When they got back to the lair, they found Master Splinter sitting on the couch, watching TV and drinking a cup of tea. At his sons' return, he turned around.
"Did you return Miss A.J. home safely?"
"Yes, Master," said Donny, grabbing a mug and pouring himself some tea. "No problems at all."
"Well, there was that…" Mikey began, but Donny silenced him with a glare.
"Shut up, Mikey. Geez, you never know when to put a lid on it, do you?"
Shamed again, Mikey hung his head. Donny took his tea and vanished into his lab, and Raf slouched off to the dojo. Leo, seeing the sadness in his final brother's eyes, came over and but a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Mikey. I'm really sorry I blew up on you like that. It was a mistake, and I had no right to get as mad as I did."
Mikey raised his head and looked at him.
"Really? You mean it?"
Leo smiled, and Mikey smiled back.
"You bet I do. It was an accident, like you said, and I apologize."
"Whoa," said Mikey. "Well, hey man. I should have been more careful. Thank God for Raf. I was so scared I really had killed her."
"Well, you didn't. She's fine, and I got all hissy over nothing."
"I can't believe you ain't mad."
"Nah. I forgive you. I hope you can forgive me."
"That's a big ten-four, dude!"
Leo held out his hand, and Mikey grasped it firmly, pulling his brother to him. They slapped each other's shells, then released each other. Mikey gave him the thumbs up, then disappeared off to their room. Leo watched him go, feeling like he was flying. A.J. had agreed to go out with him, and his friendship with his brothers was mending.
There was a lot for a turtle to be thankful for tonight.
Master Splinter had shut off the TV.
"What was that all about, Leonardo?"
Leo poured himself a cup of tea, knowing better than to lie to his father. He went to sit down on the couch next to him.
"Oh, just a little slipup we had along the way. We decided to play football with A.J., and Mikey kind of dropped her. Well, he didn't really drop her: he didn't catch her at all. Luckily for her, and probably for Mikey too, Raf had seen her fall, and saved her."
"But if it was Michaelangelo's mistake, then why did you feel the need to apologize, my son?"
He could feel his guilt burning his face. He could not meet his master's eyes.
"Well, I got really mad, and I threatened to kill him. Good thing Donny saw Raf with A.J., because if he hadn't, I might have killed him, or at least tried to, anyway."
"And this was all over a girl?"
Leo's head jerked up. How had he known? Could he tell? Were his feelings that obvious? Or was he just that easy to read?
"Well…I…I thought he'd killed her, and…" he stammered. Master Splinter smiled.
"You cannot fool me, my son."
He hung his head again, defeated.
"Yes, Master, it was," he admitted.
"I figured as much. Leonardo, I think you are in love."
Couldn't put anything past that old rat. Sharp as a tack, even now.
"I think I am, Master," Leo replied.
"Very well. I have nothing against A.J. She is a sweet girl, and she does seem to like you very much too. And there is certainly nothing wrong with indulging in an innocent diversion now and then. But, always remember your duties, and never forget where your true loyalties lie. You cannot let her distract you, and you most certainly cannot allow her to make you betray those you love most."
Leo nodded.
"Have you made your affections known to her?"
"Sort of. I asked her out tonight."
"And did she give her consent?"
"Yeah. She blushed."
"As human women often do when they are pleased. Well then, I hope she makes you very happy. Now, if you will excuse me, I would like to find out what happens next. You are dismissed."
Leo got up, and left Master Splinter to his soap operas, reflecting on what the old rat had just told him. He finished his tea, grabbed some matches from the stovetop, and slipped off to one of the back rooms to meditate, as the dojo was currently occupied by Raf.
It hadn't been used in a while, and it was a little dusty when he entered. It was one of the rooms they used for storage, and it was also a place where they would go sometimes to be alone and collect their thoughts. In earlier years, it was where they went when Master Splinter put them in time-out.
He found some spare candles, lit them, and set them up nearby. Then, his back against the wall, he sat down, crossed his legs beneath him, and set his hands on his knees. He closed his eyes, releasing his grip on life.
Dangerous thing, love, to make him turn on his own brother, his own flesh and blood with thoughts of murdering him, simply for one stupid little mistake. True, had it not been for Raf, she would not have survived that fall, but even her death should not have made him consider his brother's. It was their duty to protect others, but first and foremost, their duty was to their family, to each other. A.J. or no A.J., his brothers came first, period, and Leo vowed that no matter how much he loved her, and how much he would come to love her, he would never let her come between him and his brothers.
Ever.
So, a little fun, a little tension, and a little "aww" material there at the end. As you probably guessed, my knowledge of video games is scant, due to the fact that I'd rather read a book that play video games. The whole "airborne football" idea comes from personal experiences. I hung around a lot of pretty big guys in school, and sometimes we would play "football," and I was the ball, because I'm a girl, and I'm not a very big person as it is. I don't know it the guys really would have played football with her or not, but I wanted to give Leo a chance to sort of blow his top, and then come through and apologize later. I also wanted to give Raf a moment to shine, as well.
Thanks to those who helped me out with their last name. Still waiting on Christmas present ideas, though...
R&R, dudes!
