Disclaimer: There are only a few things I own in this world: my crazy-arse disposition, my sucky stories, and my pet fish (including my pet fish's poo… which ain't a good thing to own in the first place). As you can see, TMNT wasn't in that list, so I don't own it! Big surprise there, yeah?
Warning: See the other Chapters, you lazy bum! Just kidding, I love you all~! Buttttt if you dislike slash or turtlecest and have a tendency to troll or flame it… get the hell out.
A/N: Well hi there; you guys look absolutely lovely today! Here I am, hoping that this chapter is going to be better than the last one I dished out; I'm aware that that chapter sucked, so I'm hoping this one doesn't! Special thanks to:
RavynandRika yami's lovers Gosh, thanks again for the second review! Yeah, I agree- he should definitely get some sort of, ahem, retribution, eh? ;)
Reenie Bleenie A fellow procrastinator! YES! I'm finding more and more of those lately! ;D Your review cheered me up again, and it actually helped set my mind straight about the plot of the story; you're right, I do need to focus on that aspect of the story a lot more, because, as you said, that is the whole point of it… Thank you so very much for the kind words, hope you like this chapter more than you did the others ^^ And lastly… your quote is so, so true xD
Morfanerina Augh, I bet your updates aren't as late as mine: I have trouble getting the words out sometimes! And thank you, I will try to keep it up~
Angel Threw a condom at the door…? My, that certainly sounds unpleasant, but I'm glad to know that I made you chuckle! After all, laughing is good for the health~
Chapter Six: Everything I Ask For
Every time Mikey was at a loss of what to do, he would resort to drawing. What would he draw, exactly? He mostly drew random doodles; stick figures, mini-comics, pizzas with various toppings, video-game characters, you name it. It helped him relieve stress, traveling into a world of paper and graphite where he could create images and be entirely alone with his imagination.
However, his imagination was kind of non-existent at the moment, considering the troubled thoughts that were currently swimming through his brain. His hand practically had a mind of its own, tracing random pictures onto the clean white paper before him as he let his subconscious take over.
This situation was slowly getting out of hand. Raph was probably on the verge of losing his shit and exploding like some sort of damn… exploding thing, while Leo was acting like a shy maiden staring longingly at her crush from afar.
Mikey knew that Leo had figured out what was going on by now, and that discussion with Master Splinter the other day must've helped that light bulb, well, light up. After all, their adoptive father has always watched over all of them with his unfailing hawk's eye, to the point where it was beginning to be more like stalking rather than fatherly guidance. But, perhaps Mikey was exaggerating a tiny bit. He knew Master Splinter meant well, but he often mixed up 'ninjitsu master' and 'father' too many times.
'I'm thinking entirely too much about- oh dear God, what the hell is this?' Mikey would have yelped out loud if it weren't for the hand covering his mouth in shock. On the previously blank paper, there was an eerily accurate sketch of Leo and Raph. Fortunately, it wasn't an X-Rated image (if that's what you were thinking, you perverts).
In the picture, a rough outline of Leo's prone body was lying down on a couch, and beside him, Raph sat in a chair. The thing that stood out the most about the picture, however, was that both of the turtle's hands were intertwined warmly together. Raph had such a heart-breaking look on his face as he gazed worriedly at Leo's unconscious state. Meanwhile, Leo looked kind of feverish, like he was drifting in and out of awake and asleep [1]. Mikey was impressed with the picture; all of that detail, and he had been under the impression that he was just doodling!
'I knew I had an inner Picasso in me somewhere!' he thought to himself, staring proudly and grinning at the sketch as if it was his newborn child.
"Nice picture there Mikey," The orange-masked turtle was pulled out of his shining moment, however, as he let out a (manly) scream and defensively pressed the picture against his chest, where he could feel his heart pounding wildly with fear. He looked up, and to his horror, it was Leo standing right in front of him. The expression on his face held bemusement, and Mikey knew by the grim frown that the picture didn't seem 'nice' to Leo at all.
"Jesus, Leo, could you warn me next time you try to give me a heart attack?" Mikey joked nervously, vainly trying to change the subject.
"I just don't get it, Mikey," Leo murmured, his solemn voice sending chills down Mikey's shell. The scary part was, it felt like the older turtle was about to murder him or something!
"D-Don't get what?" The younger of the two asked, his tone cautious and wary as he tried to back away from his brother as inconspicuously as possible.
There was an unbearable interval of silence, where Leo was trying to burn holes into Mikey's head (as if to say, "What do you think I don't get, you damn bastard?"), and Mikey felt like he was literally and figuratively about to explode under Leo's scrutiny alone.
It seemed as if nobody else was in the lair at that moment: he and Leo had the place all to themselves, with nothing but the sewer rats to hear them. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Mikey thought that Leo must've planned this moment to strike. The orange-masked turtle tried to ignore the traitorous, eerie voice in the back of his head, whispering, 'Down in the sewers… no one can hear you scream…'
"Mikey, I… I just… W-Why do you think me and Raph…?" Leo stammered, unable to get the words out. Mikey's demeanor suddenly turned serious. There were no pretenses now, no chances of escape; the game was up, and Mikey had to put his unofficial plan into effect.
"Isn't it obvious? Haven't you heard the phrase 'sexual tension' before? 'Cause man, you and Raph are just so full of it that it's not even funny," Leo blinked, stunned at Mikey's new-found bluntness. This was a side that he rarely saw from his carefree baby brother, and honestly, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh right now. This situation was just too weird to comprehend, let alone confront Mikey about! Taking a deep breath, Leo hesitated before voicing his reply.
"No, apparently I don't! This is just… Raph and I have always been… angry toward each other, it's just been a phase that's lasted for… for…" Hell, Leo didn't even know when his and Raph's bad history started. Was it when Leo was appointed leader, or was it way before that? "But that doesn't mean anything! So stop saying all of these… th-these things, because they're not true!"
"Leo, I can't believe you're so damn clueless! You mean you've never noticed anything else between you and-" Mikey stopped himself mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something: Leo literally didn't have a clue about anything that was going on!
Now Mikey knew what he meant when he said he "didn't get it".
His gaze softened a bit, and he suddenly began to notice how helpless Leo's face looked at that moment. Ever since Mikey could remember, the blue-masked turtle had always tried his best to be a good leader from a very young, tender age. But, all of that training and mental discipline didn't include a lesson on 'teenage hormones'. Master Splinter had tried talking about it once, but, considering that they were busy fighting the Shredder and all, there had been very little time to dwell on that subject.
Of course, Mikey, Raph, and Donny all found their own ways of learning about that (cough - naughty magazines that were conveniently found in the junk yard among the usual pieces of moldy leftovers, not to mention those shonen-ai manga - cough), but they only found time to do that because they didn't have a kick-ass ninja rat/terrifying father figure breathing down their necks 24/7.
Sure, Leo had some knowledge of how sex worked, and he pretty much knew the basics of a relationship (Mikey wouldn't be surprised if Master Splinter's idea of teaching Leo about romantic relationships involved watching a bit of daytime television – that's a bad thing), but he probably thought that the matter was completely trivial, considering the fact that, well, they were mutant ninja turtles who couldn't even approach a girl without her whipping out the pepper spray.
But it wasn't trivial at all, especially not when they were all faced with a terribly awkward situation such as this! It was inevitable, too; who else could they 'mate' with besides each other?
"Oh, Leo… I'm sorry dude, I just thought…" Mikey apologized sympathetically, suddenly feeling like the biggest douche bag ever. Leo sat down heavily on the couch, burying his head in his hands.
Mikey bit his lip nervously. This was the first time in a while that he had seen Leo lose his cool. Usually, he would look straight ahead and solve the problem with head held confidently high, but this scenario was an entirely different ball game altogether.
'Maybe Leo really doesn't see Raph that way…' he thought reluctantly to himself, before furrowing his eye ridges and clenching his teeth in frustration. 'Wait, no! Don't start doubting yourself, man – I just know there's something going on there!' Although this started out as some sort of joke to Mikey, the thought of there being sexual tension between Leo and Raph wasn't just some random idea that came out of the blue.
He could see it in the longing looks that Raph threw at Leo when the other wasn't looking, and the furtive, guilty glances from Leo during the sweaty hours of training. It was especially noticeable whenever they got into one of their infamous, frequent fights.
The arguments would always start out the same; Raph would do or say something insensitive or rude, Leo would reprimand him like the good leader he was trying to be, Raph would get pissed, and the two would undergo a lover's spat, as Mikey liked to put it. Sometimes, the arguments would turn excessively angry, at times even violent, and there, something strange would happen: their hands would linger for a bit longer than necessary, or their eyes would reveal something other than the 'hatred' they felt for each other on the surface.
The saddest part was, neither of them noticed a damn thing, because they were too caught up in each other's fire to even realize exactly how and how much they affected each other.
'Wow, I think I'm pulling a Donny right now,' Mikey thought in amazement, surprised at how much thought he was actually putting into this. After all, if Raph and Leo somehow did get together in the end, it would be beneficial to everyone. The arguments would stop (or, at least, become less harsh), Mikey would never let neither of them live it down and therefore tease them every opportunity he got (hey, he should benefit the most from it, right?), and Donny… well, since he was (secretly) into that sappy boy's love stuff, this would give him plenty of enjoyment, too.
'What about Master Splinter, though…?' Mikey shook his head, ridding himself of that thought completely – he could drive over that little speed bump later. Right now, he needed to work on the emotionally pent-up turtle sitting across from him.
With his new-found determination, Mikey put down his sketchpad down and plopped down next to Leo on the couch.
"Hey, Leo…" Mikey frowned when the older turtle ignored him, so he poked Leo on the side for good measure. Unexpectedly, this action caused a muffled snicker to escape from the blue-masked turtle, but still, he refused to acknowledge Mikey. So, of course, like the relentless bastard that he was, the younger turtle kept on poking him all over the place until eventually, Leo burst out into a fit of hysteria and was forced to uncover his face.
"So you're ticklish, huh?" Mikey giggled evilly, a devious smirk crossing his features. That would totally go into the 'Blackmail Cabinet' (otherwise known as Herbert – yes, he actually named the aforementioned 'Blackmail Cabinet' Herbert).
"Don't tell anyone or I might just have to slip something into your pizzas," Leo deadpanned, and Mikey resisted the urge to snort – he was surprised that his older brother even had a sense of humor, albeit a very strange one.
"Speaking of pizzas, I'm starving – can we have a slice before we delve into this dramatic crap, bro?" Mikey grinned cheekily, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
Leo rolled his eyes good-naturedly, giving his younger brother a playful swat over the head, "At a time like this, only you would think about your stomach, Mikey,"
Mikey shrugged in response, feigning a hurt look, "Well sorry for concerning myself with my nourishment. I'll just go and starve and wither away in that corner over there, because of my cruel uncaring brother," he sniffled dramatically, causing Leo to snort.
"You know very well that I won't be the only one who will freak out over this," Leo sighed, shifting the mood of the conversation entirely. Leave it to Leo to think about everyone else, even when he was in such a rare emotional crisis, Mikey thought sadly.
"Come on, bro, I know this is going fast for you, but you must feel something for Raph besides just hate-"
"I don't hate him," Leo cut in sharply, interrupting Mikey mid-sentence. The younger of the two paused, as if coaxing Leo to speak further, but it took a while for the blue-masked turtle to say more.
"I… I just want him to make the right decisions, you know? But he's… well, he's Raph!" Leo let out a humorless laugh as Mikey nodded in agreement. Good, good, Leo was beginning to open up to him – maybe what he needed all along was someone to vent to. Mikey knew that the role of unofficial-yet-official therapist was appointed to Donny, but he wasn't the only one who could listen in this family.
"I try my best to set him on the right path, but… lately, I've been starting to think that I'm going about it the wrong way, because… well, you know how our discussions always end up, huh?" Another dry chuckle. "I hate everything that's going on between us, and no matter how hard I try, I somehow always end up getting pulled into our arguments b-because…" Here, Leo clenched his fists, as if he couldn't find the words to express what he was truly feeling, and his cheeks were dusted with a hint of dark green. Mikey let out a breath of disbelief. Maybe his theory wasn't far from the mark at all…
"Well, whatever the reason for these arguments, I just want them to end. I… I want to get to know him better, learn the reasons why he acts the way he does… I want us to… really know each other." And that was the end of Leo's rant. He looked conflicted and unsure of himself, as if he thought that he had revealed too much and that his problems would become an unnecessary burden to Mikey. The younger turtle scoffed, clearly recognizing that look, and decided that it was his turn to speak.
"You love him," Mikey stated matter-of-factly. His tone of voice clearly said that he meant that kind of love.
"I don't know if I can," Leo admitted, looking quite embarrassed now that he had actually acknowledged the fact that he could like Raph in that way.
"Who says that you can't? Master Splinter? Yourself?" Mikey questioned. His voice carried no hint of malice that came with forceful interrogation, it was just a regular question that he wanted to know the answer to.
"I… I don't know. Master Splinter said…" Leo started, telling Mikey everything about his talk with their adopted father.
Mikey grimaced. "He said that?" Leo's story was hard to believe, especially the part where Master Splinter had actually talked about incest. That must've been awkward for the both of them.
Leo nodded, his face even more dark green than before. "Yeah, he did…" Mikey felt a prickle of worry creeping up his spine at this new development – God, he knew that Master Splinter's blessing was probably the most important thing to Leo whenever he had to make decisions. Their father's judgment could ultimately decide the outcome of this whole fiasco, no matter how much Mikey fought or worked for them to get together.
It wasn't fair! Why couldn't they make their own decisions without Master Splinter influencing them? 'He's your adopted father. He's done everything for all of you, so it's only natural that you should try to repay him,' the traitorous voice in the back of his mind whispered. Annoyed, Mikey swatted that voice away. True, they all loved Master Splinter – the rat was probably one of the most respectable and kind people that Mikey knew, for God's sake – but this shouldn't be something that he could dictate over.
"Well… whatever you decide, bro, I'm with you a hundred percent," Mikey grinned. Touched by his sentiments, Leo gave a small smile of his own in reply. Mikey had done all he could for him; now it all depended on Leo to make his decision.
"Thanks Mikey – now I have a better sense of what to do…" The two brothers shared a thoughtful silence, just basking in each other's company in the aftermath of their heavy conversation, when suddenly…
"Leonardo! Michelangelo!" Both turtles snapped their heads around to the source of Master Splinter's voice, and the sight that greeted them made them flinch visibly from shock.
Master Splinter hobbled forward as fast as he could, glaring ruefully at his cane for slowing his progress. Raph and, surprisingly, Usagi followed behind him. They were carrying someone, the figure's arms around their shoulders for support, and it was…
"Donny!"
"Quickly, Leonardo, help them carry Donatello to his room – he suddenly fell unconscious while we were at the junk yard…"
Ending Note: Oh look, a cliffhanger /shot… I guess I deserved that.
[1] Does this scene sound familiar to you guys? Excluding the hand-holding, of course~
Okay guys, as usual, reviews are very much appreciated - constructive criticism even more so. They drive me to update faster~
OH, and this end note is dedicated to the people that are currently suffering from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
I hope with all of my heart that all goes well, and I grieve for the people who may have lost family and those who have died in this recent natural disaster.
My prayers go to all of you who are facing difficulties, wherever you are.