Chapter 26:
"Home sweet home!" Analise smiled brightly and stretched her arms over her head after she placed the small box from the lair on the side counter in the entry way. She took a deep breath and was happy to see all the new pieces of furniture in the exact spots that she had left them in before Alfred had his way with them. She shrugged at the portfolio bag that was over her shoulder and looked back at Deidra who had her gym bag and katanas in one hand, "I'm glad that Seeper let you have the rest of the night off so we can unpack."
"It's so good to be back," Deidra smiled slightly and quickly scanned the apartment for anything that wasn't supposed to be there. She turned to Analise, "Do you think it will do?"
Analise tilted her head to the side and caught on that her friend was really asking if there was anything they should be wary of. Analise shut her eyes and felt for anything that was off. Her smile began to grow by each passing second and she opened them with a nod.
"It is free and clear," she giggled excitedly, "I even feel a bit safer."
From out in the hallway something fell to the ground and a loud bark echoed down the hall.
"Jeeze Mikey! Try to kill me why dontcha?" Raphael yelled at his brother.
The two girls popped their heads back out in the hallway and saw that Michelangelo had dropped a box on Raphael's foot while he still held two suitcases, "Sorry, Raph. I thought I could handle it."
"I'll handle you…" he grumbled and pushed the box to the side with his foot.
Analise came over and picked up the box. She shot Raphael a look, "That just sounded wrong."
Raphael only grimaced then walked toward the apartment.
"Come on, honey," Analise smiled to Michelangelo and shifted her head toward the apartment, "Let's get you settled in."
A few hours- and a few miracle space saving secrets later- the boy's stuff was put away in the girls' rooms and they all lounged in the front room with the television on and a horror movie playing. Analise was cuddled up to Michelangelo's side with his arms around her comfortably in the large dome chair at the side of the couch. Raphael was lying on the couch with Deidra right in front of him using his arm as a pillow.
"Drink!" Analise said as one of the actors did such a horrible job delivering a line.
Deidra laughed, "Good call."
"What was that?" Michelangelo asked and looked at the girl in his arms.
"We had a type of drinking game where we would watch a b rated movie like this and whenever the actors did a horrible job we would yell 'drink'. I don't think we ever played it with real drinks though."
"Nah," Deidra waved her hand at the idea, "You would have passed out too early."
"Oh, ha ha," Analise smiled.
"But horror does remind me," Deidra shifted a little in Raphael's arms so she could look at everyone, "The department is having a Halloween party; costumes and all tomorrow night. You guys interested in going?"
"Hell yeah!" Analise smiled and punched the air, "We have a reason to wear those costumes we got at the mall."
"Free food?" Michelangelo asked and looked over at Deidra expectantly.
"Yeah, they'll be ordering pizza more than likely," Deidra rolled her eyes, "The department doesn't go all out for a small costume party."
"Score!" Michelangelo punched the air with his girlfriend, "Costume party and free pizza. I am so there."
"I don't really do costumes," Raphael said and looked at the two in the large chair.
"We'll figure out something," Deidra shrugged and ran a hand down his arm which earned her a smirk.
"Hey, are we inviting the whole group?" Analise asked before the two on the couch got too distracted.
"The whole what?" Deidra asked.
"Well, it's a costume party. I was thinking we can invite Splinter, Leo and Donnie," she shrugged, "Splinter can come as himself. We got Leo and Donnie outfits, too when we got ours. It will give them all some fresh air and time to clear their heads away from the lair."
"Oooo- ooo," Michelangelo raised his hand to talk next, "And how about the Jones'? I bet April and Casey would be in for it too. They can bring Shadow. That little dudette would do great. Her cute factor would blow everyone out of the water."
"Okay, they said friends and family, not a whole community," Deidra reminded them.
"They are all friends and family," Analise smiled, "Don't worry. I think it would be great times."
"And I know that Leo's been itching to get closer to some of the evidence from the case," Raphael sighed and looked into Deidra's eyes, "I think it's a good way to accidentally letting him do so."
"Right," Deidra smirked up at him and nodded, "All right. Let's make some calls."
"I got the Jones'!" Michelangelo reached toward the small table to his side to grab his shell cell. During the struggle he almost tipped the chair over, but Analise shifted to the other side of the chair to balance them out. He chuckled and looked down at her once they were both back in the middle of the chair, "Thanks, honey."
"You're welcome."
Michelangelo flipped open the shell and punched in a single key. A few seconds later he nearly yelled into the screen, "Hey ya, Casey!"
"I'm still not used to ya in the human flesh, Mike," Casey said after a moment of recognizing the man on the other side of the screen, "What's going on?"
"Any plans tomorrow night?"
"Nothing yet. Got any skull crashing in mind?" Casey smirked ready to get back at whoever hurt his friends.
"Nah, nothing like that," Michelangelo rolled his eyes, "Deidra's department is having a costume party. You wanna come?"
"Sounds like a good distraction. Count us in," Casey nodded at the screen and then looked behind him as a baby's cry filled the room, "Dad duty calls."
"See you soon," Michelangelo shut the shell cell and answered, "They're in."
Deidra turned to her shell cell and called up Leonardo, "Hey Leo, got a question for you…"
Around eight o'clock that night Analise walked out of the shower with a towel around her hair and a few things on her mind. Her tank top pajamas were decorated by old comic book characters that seemed to jump across her legs as she moved down the hallway. She took a quick look into the living room where Deidra and Raphael were still watching some horror movies. She didn't pin point Michelangelo's location, but she shrugged it off. She would see him soon enough, knowing him.
She noticed her bedroom light on and smiled knowingly. She should have known that his curiosity would have gotten the best of him. She peeked through the small opening between her door and the frame and found Michelangelo browsing through her shelves with one of her more outrageous hats on his head. She remembered where she got that specific one. It was a twist on the Santa hat with green camouflage instead of red and an orange trim instead of the traditional white. Although the real reason she got it was the pair of light up antlers on either side of the hat- of which were on and flashing different colors all over her shelves.
She smiled and leaned on her doorframe to watch him explore. He picked up a few nick-naks here and there and would put them back on her shelves carefully. He took careful observation of her family photos and who were in each and what pictures really had a good story to them, or just poses. He ended at the end of the room and picked up a framed photo of her and a dog that must have been Coral. The dog had a Mickey Mouse head collar on and Analise hugged her around the neck as Coral in turn licked at her face. Michelangelo smirked and put the photo back down.
"So, how long you been watching?" he asked with his back still facing her.
"Since you passed the collection of blown glass figurines," she chuckled a little and pulled off the towel around her hair to let it begin to air dry, "When did you first sense me?"
"When you got out of the shower," he turned around toward her, "Nice pad you got here. I never really got to see it before big bad got his claws into it."
"That's true," she shrugged and threw the towel into a clothes hamper and then jumped onto her bed, "I never thought that I would miss my room so much. I am so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again."
She watched him as he jumped onto the bed next to her and made her bounce at little from the impact. She laughed a little at the sensation and then looked at Michelangelo who was pushing his face into the cushion of the pillows at the head of her bed while the hat was pushed off his head. He then hugged her around the waist and held her close like a stuffed animal.
"So, you are resolute to share a bed with me, huh?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow and an attempt to look up at him.
"It's not like we're doing anything inappropriate," he pointed out, "I just want to hold my girlfriend and know that she is safe in my arms."
Analise was quiet after that and laid her arms over his around her. The last time that she had felt someone's arms around her was with Joshua and he had no qualms over pushing it even further. More pressure and nonstop asking about 'going to the next level'. This time, with Michelangelo, there was no pressure and no compromises. He was willing to just let everything be what it needed to be. He wasn't going to push her and he wasn't going to threaten to leave if she didn't do something in particular. He was going to fight for her.
She smiled and nuzzled her face into his chest and took in a deep breath, "You're an angel, you know that?"
He chuckled and hugged her around the shoulders, "Ditto, dudette."
"I was just wondering…" she hesitated on next part and could feel her heart jump at the thought racing through her head. It didn't stay racing while the thought remained and that's what decided it for her, "Hypothetically speaking… if I were to say that I would like to pursue this relationship further- one day in the future- where the bed would be used for other activities-"
Suddenly Michelangelo began to chuckle and hugged her tighter before pulling her away slightly to look at her in the eyes. He kissed her softly on the lips and then a quick peck on the nose, "Then one day in the future, I would be the luckiest guy in the world. And then I would be sorry for you."
"Why?" she titled her head.
"Because you will never, ever get rid of me," he paused and looked in her eyes, "Whether or not we make love physically, I will be here. I don't want you to feel pressured. We will choose a time and day that it feels right and not a day sooner. I love you too much to force something so pure from your grasp. I have waited until now, I can wait until we both decide it's right."
"How…" she started and suddenly kissed him with a high passion she had never felt before. She pulled back after a moment or two to see a flustered, but quite happy looking Michelangelo, "How was I able to find you? I've been waiting."
"Sorry for the wait," he shrugged and they both laughed lightly with one another. He then turned a little more serious which made Analise tilt her head in wonder. He wagged his eyebrows and made a sly smirk, "Although, if there comes a time that we want to share some intimate time with one another not including sex, I wouldn't be against it either."
"We will reach that when we get there, honey," she answered with a smirk of her own. She cuddled down in his arms and he happily got comfortable with her. As if they were made for one another, they found the most comfortable position either one had been in for quite a while.
"I love you," he whispered into her hair.
"I love you, too," she said into the crook of his neck and they both started to drift off despite the light stuck in an on position.
Deidra snuck a glance through the crack between the wall and Analise's bedroom door at the couple lightly snoozing on the bed inside. The light was still on she noticed, but both of them were out completely. Thankfully, completely clothed. She really didn't want to have to kill Michelangelo. He was one of the very few good guys out there. Not to mention the only object of her best friend's affection. Deidra smiled, reached her hand in and turned off the light before she closed the door.
"How they doin'?" Raphael asked as she closed the door.
"They're all comfy, but out like lights. The move must have taken it out of them," she smiled and patted against his chest, "I'm going to take a shower in the morning. The bathroom is open if you want to use it."
"No double showers?" he quirked a brow.
She had to admit, the idea sounded amazing, but… "Not at this point. Just give a little more time before-"
"Deidra," he put two fingers over her lips and chuckled a bit, "As much as I would love to make love to you in any and all ways…"
Her eyebrows lifted in interest.
"…I won't pressure you. I refuse to. Plain and simple."
She smiled against his fingers. She pulled his hand away and kissed him soundly. As she pulled away she chuckled at his expression, "You won't have to wait long with sentiments like that."
"I should open my trap more then," he shrugged.
"I don't know about that," she laughed a little and walked to her bedroom. She heard him mutter something about her trap, but decided not to get into it with him at the moment.
Once she made it into her room she stood in the doorway and looked over all the familiar items. Since she and Analise had moved in with the guys the items she had lived without seemed to overload the room around her. Given, she didn't actually have all that much in her room if you discounted the books that lined her shelves and corners of her room. Without the sounds of scrimmages or Donnie tinkering on one of his projects; everything seemed so quiet. She grabbed her iPod and put it in the stand to put at least some kind of noise in the room.
She pushed back the blinds just enough to peer out into the night cityscape. He was out there and waiting. The big thing that bothered her more than anything was that he had no victim that they knew of. She didn't know how to take that. If he did have a victim they were going to find the mutated body before they even knew her name. If he didn't have a victim, who was he waiting for?
'The last time that he was silent for this long…' Deidra shivered, 'A girl was mutilated and they guys were taken.'
Her eyes focused on any moving shadows by autopilot and her ears twitched as if she could hear him hunting. Many of the people on the streets don't even know what they are being watched by. Devils, demons and monsters in the guise of humans who walk next to them on the street, sit in the next cubicle over at work, or even live next door. At least the beast inside her was tame enough for her to control it. But even with the beast at full rage, she could never think to change the guys in the painful way that he had.
'They could have died,' a shock exploded through her body and deep into her chest. She knew this fact for a while, but it just seemed to hit her harder now, 'Raph…'
Arms suddenly went around her waist and lips kissed the base of her neck. She jumped only a little until she realized it was Raphael. She recognized his smell more than anything else. He nipped at the base where he had kissed before and then placed his chin on her shoulder.
"You were tense," he stated as his wet hair mixed with her dry.
"How long was I standing here?" she asked.
"I don't know, but my shower was only fifteen minutes."
"I zoned out," she reached back and ran a hand through his hair.
"What were you thinking about?" he asked and nuzzled her shoulder.
"The bastard," she growled, "He's waiting too long."
"You'll get 'em," he turned her toward him and noticed her eyes were unfocused, "What's really goin' on? 'Cause this guy ain't worth the tears."
"Don't ever leave me again," she said softly and looked him deep in the eyes.
"What are you talking about?" he asked and cupped her cheek in one of his hands.
"The last time he waited," she started and closed her eyes, "You almost didn't come back."
"But we did."
"Cherise didn't," she said and her eyes popped open, "And I know from what you told me how much she wanted to survive."
"Hun took her because he knew she couldn't fight against his strength," Raphael explained, "Even in a human body, he couldn't dream of taking me down."
"He is also a bad guy," she reminded him and put a hand on his chest, "And they use tactics that are considered unfair. Just… promise me that you won't leave again and make me wonder if you are going to come back."
He paused and then slowly took her lips with his and slowly tried to show her that he wasn't going anywhere. His hands on her hips to steady her against him, he pulled away slightly to look her in the eyes.
"I promise that no matter wha' this freak does, I will come back to you," he whispered and kissed her once again. They soon closed the blinds and climbed into bed to settle into one another's arms. For once, Deidra felt herself completely at ease falling asleep next to a man. A man that she trusted and she even believed she may be in love with.