Chapter 5

He wanted to know why. Why she was causing him such torment without realizing it. All he wanted was a simple, straightforward answer, but she left him hanging. When he asked to at least be her first to share intimacy with her she said it was best to let nature take its course. From the expression on Venus' face Leonardo concluded that she had no idea what a tease she was being. He slapped a hand against his forehead and cried out in frustration. There was a primal part of him that wanted to dominate her right then and there. He had been keeping that part at bay for many months. It was especially difficult for him in the spring when the need for his release was so strong. After he calmed down he walked over to Venus, cupped her face in his hands and pressed his muzzle to hers. The kiss only lasted a brief moment, but it was enough to send a pleasurable jolt through Venus' body. Leonardo met her gaze with a hungry look in his eyes. With a nervous smile she dipped her head to hide her blush.

"Alright, Mei-chan. I'm promising to let nature take its course."

"Th-thank you," she stuttered as she headed back to the Lair. She paused a moment to give him a shy glance before jogging down the tunnel. Leo soon followed as he smiled to himself. He was going to let nature take its course alright. The course it was going to take would be set by him. If only Venus knew what he had in mind...

During the winter months the Turtles didn't venture above ground much because of the cold weather, which was extreme at times. Fortunately Donatello and their family friend, Leatherhead, had devised a plan to keep them from going into a torpid state. By diverting some fresh water and a bit of steam the reptilian duo of geniuses constructed a basking room. It provided the necessary heat and humidity they needed in order to stay active all year round, even in the frigid winter. The mutant alligator based the design on his own basking room in his corner of the sewer system.

The basking room consisted of a large pool of clean water which flowed into the chamber and out at a rate that wouldn't noticeably alter the pressure in the surrounding pipes and alert the monitors at the water filtration plant. Steam was also released at random intervals from pipes overhead. Several basking areas were set up around the room and equipped with heat lamps nearby. It was quite a cushy set-up, and one the Turtles enjoyed and appreciated immensely.

Not only did the basking room provide comfort for the reptiles, there was also a side effect caused by the unseasonable heat. When their bodies maintained a certain level of temperature the males exhibited aggressive behavior towards one another. The behavior increased in the presence of the female, causing her to retreat to a more secluded section of the room. The males' aggressiveness was never life threatening, but more like a peacock's preening for a peahen. Because she was dealing with her own feelings of awkwardness, Venus would make herself scarce around the guys when they were acting like that. After three years for dealing with this she had gotten used to it and learned to handle it better. The year prior, when she had turned 18, she came to understand the strange sensations she would feel in her body, especially in the spring, when they were the strongest. Now, at age 19, she felt that her mind had caught up with her body and she was ready to move into adulthood.

The next few weeks turned out to be pretty busy for the mutant clan. Donatello and Venus were spending quite a bit of time together, which irritated Leonardo, but he kept quiet about it once he discovered that they were doing a bit of research to figure out what to expect when Venus got pregnant. They made frequent visits to Leatherhead's home to make use of his lab equipment. On one visit Venus provided a blood sample for the two scientists to analyze as a control so they could see if there were any hormonal changes once she became sexually active. That change would act as any indication of pregnancy.

In the midst of all this, April had her baby a few weeks premature. She had a healthy baby girl that she named June Angelica Jones. Much to the new mother's chagrin Casey sent the Turtles video and photos of the birth to the Turtles' Shell Cells. Everyone was thrilled that mother and child were happy and healthy after a difficult 48 hour labor. April's loved ones wanted very much to come visit her and the baby, however she wasn't allowing any family, human or mutant, to stop by to see the newborn yet. It was an O'Neil tradition to sequester mother and baby for six to eight weeks, especially if the baby was born during cold and flu season. The Jones' took plenty of pictures to e-mail to family and friends.

Another major event came around at the time. It was especially exciting for Venus. Festivities for the Lunar Year were underway in China Town, which was where her human father, Chung I found her and adopted her before moving back to China to live in the mountain temple. Although she had to celebrate from the shadows she enjoyed watching the dance of the dragons and the pop and flash of the fireworks. The music and smells and the celebratory shouts reminded her of her homeland. She was so excited when the guys showed her the amazing spectacle after she came back to New York, and she made sure to celebrate every Lunar Year with her family.

The festivities above ground were in complete contrast to the preparations going on underground. Donatello and Venus were busy building a nesting area in her secluded part of the basking area. Casey was supplying them with any materials they needed such as soil and extra heating lamps. Donatello made use of whatever he could salvage from a local junkyard and continued his on-line research and shared any findings with Venus and Leatherhead. As the weather got warmer the Turtles were using the basking room less , but that didn't keep Leonardo from keeping an eye out for his opportunity to implement his plan. The time finally came around mid-March. The Hamato clan was celebrating Leonardo's birthday. His gifts ranged from the practical from Donatello to the just plain silly from Michelangelo. Although he really appreciated the sword polishing powder and the beanie hat made him smile, Venus' gift of a banzai plant and a card written from the heart were something that he would treasure in a special place in his heart.

Leonardo couldn't figure out for the life of him where or how Raphael found good quality sake in New York city. He had a feeling Casey had something to do with it, but didn't ask any questions. Their human friend did stop by with birthday wishes and quite a few cases of beer. Once the party was in full swing everyone got to see their usually serious leader actually loosen up. That was a welcome sight for all since they knew he was under quite a bit of stress. Being the new head of the clan carried a lot of responsibility.

Ever since the creation of the basking room the Turtles developed a tradition of letting the birthday Turtle have the room all to him (or her) self. Leonardo was now taking full advantage of that tradition with his (as Mikey put it) 'stupidly huge' bottle of sake. He sat on the side of the pool dangling his feet in the water as he repeatedly filled his ceramic cup. He was putting back quite a few cups of sake and by now had become quite mellow and a bit friendly. He looked up when he heard the chamber door open. A familiar face peeked around the door before locking eyes with him.

"Come on in, Mei-chan," he called over as he beckoned with his left hand. Venus walked in looking a little wary. Leo had sent her a text asking her to join him in the basking chamber, which she thought was odd. The birthday Turtle usually didn't share his/her time on their birthday. She shrugged to herself and chalked it up to Leo switching things up a bit out of drunkenness.

Leo patted the space next to him when Venus got closer. He watched her the whole time, noticing her body looked a bit more streamlined and her muscles were even more toned. He also noticed that she had grown in height over the past several weeks. She was now about two inches taller than him. Donnie had noticed too and concluded that she had a growth spurt. Since it was pretty much normal for normal female turtles to be slightly larger than the males Donatello didn't see it as any cause for alarm.

As soon as Venus sat next to Leonardo he poured some sake into his cup and held it out to her. Since she didn't drink very often she hesitated a brief moment before taking it from his hand. She quickly drank it down and smacked her lips at the slightly bitter taste and tingling on her tongue. Leonardo chuckled as he poured some more sake for her and initiated a benign conversation about his birthday party. His actions during that conversation were far from benign however. Venus noticed that he would take every opportunity to touch her, brushing his hands across her face and down her neck and occasionally squeezing her thigh. She could feel her growing excitement as he scooted closer to her. They both knew the conversation was pretty much over when he leaned over to lightly lick and nip her neck.

With a smirk Venus slipped into the pool. When she looked over her shoulder she saw Leo frowning down at her. When she giggled and dove underwater something clicked inside Leo's mind. He may have been drunk but he wasn't stupid. His frown melted away as he slid into the clean waters himself. He had felt that oh so familiar twitch under his plastron which told him the chase was on. He could see her swimming circles around him. He dove under and reached for her. She swam away from him, accidentally brushing a foot between his legs.

'Damn tease,' he grumbled inwardly as he swam after her. They continued their underwater ballet for about five minutes before surfacing. They were now face to face and Mei's teasing smirk was gone from her visage. Their eyes locked as Leo ran a wet finger down her cheek, over her shoulder, then dipped underwater. Venus took deep, relaxing breaths as she felt him exploring her private area. Leo watched her face to see if he was causing her any discomfort. When she made a subtle sound like a gasp he took that as an indication that he had found what he was looking for. He gently took her by the arm and guided her to the poolside near the ladder. Venus noticed Leo was moving strangely and had his right arm underwater while he steadied himself with his left resting on the pool's edge. He then grabbed her left hand and pulled it under and towards him. She felt something brush against her hand. It felt strange to her when it bumped against the back of her hand. Leo noticed her look of confusion and decided to clear things up a bit. He uncurled her fingers then wrapped it around the object. It was stiff and long. She felt it twitch in her hand. Once she realized what it was she fought back the urge to pull away.

At that moment when Venus looked into Leonardo's eyes she could see the sudden sobriety and seriousness in them. It was as if his gaze was burning into her. It made her feel more excited than nervous. She felt her heart jump in her chest as he pulled her closer and gently pressed his muzzle to her ear.

"Why don't we stop these games and do what comes naturally, eh Mei-chan?" he whispered as he gently turned her until she was facing away from him. Venus gripped the pool's edge and glanced nervously from side to side, not quite sure what to expect. She surprised herself with her own whimper when she felt Leonardo exploring her virginal opening once again. He watched her closely to for any indication for him to stop. When she noticeably relaxed he knew it was ok to take things a step further. Venus could feel what Leo was doing more than see. She was aware that he was now behind her and heard some light splashing. It was made pretty clear to her what he was doing when she felt something slowly easing its way inside of her. Once again she felt his beak brush against her cheek as she got acclimated of this new, full sensation.

"You ok?" She gave a quick nod. "Does it hurt?" She shook her head as he pushed in even further. When their eyes met once again they both knew neither one of them could feign ignorance of what was happening. Leonardo exhaled a breath he hadn't realize he had been holding and kissed Venus on the cheek. She relaxed even more as she let Leonardo set the pace of the movement of their joined bodies. She took hold of the ladder railing when she felt her body raise out of the water a bit to steady herself. In her mind she couldn't believe what was taking place, and at the same time she was so glad the tension between them was finally broken. Venus closed her eyes and enjoyed the closeness and intimacy of the moment.

Her submissive posture excited Leonardo even more. It let him know that any doubts she had about what was happening right now had left her. He felt so happy to be nestled inside of her he paused a moment to enjoy her silky walls enveloped around him. He nipped at her neck as he let the flow of the water rock their bodies with its sensual rhythm. Soon he began to move his hips again on his own, sealing the small gap between them. His eyes popped open when he heard Venus let out a subtle cry. When he saw her face he knew it wasn't out of pain, so he picked up the pace. It wasn't long before he felt as if his life's essence was pouring from him into his mate's body. It was an immensely pleasurable feeling that he could have basked in forever if it wasn't for an odd sound he heard. It took him a moment to realize that it was coming from him. A few seconds after that he saw Venus staring at him looking a bit confused. Once they both realized what happened they shared a laugh.

"Sorry, Mei-chan. I guess I got a bit carried away. But it felt sooo good," he practically purred as he kissed her shoulder.

"I know..." she sighed as she reached a hand back to stroke his head. Without a word Leo pulled out of her and swam to the pool ladder in one fluid movement. Venus soon followed and paused when she got a glimpse of what had been inside of her moments before. She bit her bottom lip and blushed as if she was just truly realizing what they had just done. She felt no shame about it though. Just blissfully content and relaxed.

By now Leonardo was basking under one of the may heat lamps watching Venus with half closed eyes. She knelt at his feet and shyly played with one of his damp toes. She felt like she should say something but words failed her at the moment. With a small shrug she settled beside Leo facing him under the radiant heat. She drank in his serious expression and was caught off guard when he tapped a finger against the tip of her beak.

"Why so serious, Mei-chan?" She blinked and smiled back at him.

"Just thinking."

"What about?"

"Too many things to say in one sitting," she chuckled. Before he could question her even further she hushed him with a kiss. "Happy birthday, Leo. I hope you enjoyed my gift." From the playful smirk on Venus' face it didn't take much for Leonardo to figure out what gift she was referring to. He laughed as he pulled her close.

"Your damn right I enjoyed it!" He then gave her a kiss that let her know that it wouldn't be the last time they shared such a moment. He would make sure of that.

*Next Chapter: The Turtles finally get to meet baby June. Also Venus begin to exhibit odd behavior and the guys, especially Donatello, take notice.