Ink

Title: Heart
Summary: He isn't sure what it means...
Rated: PG
Dis: I don't own TMNT

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He stared hard at the red heart at the top of his hand. He isn't sure what it means, not really. They had been watching TV, a new show he had wanted to see, and she'd been sitting in her usual spot with her laptop on her lap: doing her homework for an article she wanted to write for the paper she was trying to get a fulltime position in. On commercial break he had asked her what she was looking into and she had smiled at him before closing her laptop.

"Nothing that can't wait until later," she said, placing the laptop beside her before snuggling into his side.

"Am I distracting you?" he had asked with a playful smirk that had earned him a swat to his plated chest before the show resumed. They had watched a while before he felt her take his hand. At the feel of something pressing into his skin he had looked down to see her marking him with a red pen. A heart, a simple shape, had his breath hitch slightly. The bold red color barely visible on his dark, green skin: but his keen eyes could see it clear as day.

When finished she had capped her pen, tossed it onto the pile of papers by her feet, then curled back into him like nothing had transpired. His focus on the cop drama had been broken and all he could do now was stare at the top of her head, her red locks obscuring her face. His marked hand found hers and his fingers clenched slightly and she sighed in contentment before relaxing against him fully.

Later, after she gathered her things and slung her bag over her shoulder, she offered him a smile brighter than her sea-green eyes and a wink before reaching his hand and pressing a kiss to her heart. The unexperienced turtle had no idea what to do and fought a blush that wanted to paint his cheeks because he did NOT blush. Instead he pulled her in, his nuclear eyes finding hers, searching for an answer. He saw that familiar twinkle, the one that made him lose his breath like Donnie did when April looked at him that way.

"Yes, Raph?" she asked, arms easily going around his neck.

"You drew a heart on me!"

"Yes. I did."

"Why?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked before pressing her lips to his cheek. "I fancy you."

Speechless, he let her step back. She winked at him but before she could turn from him he captured her hand. So much smaller than his, and yet holding her hand was so easy it almost scared him. He walked with a purpose to the pen she had borrowed and left on the floor. He bent, picked it up, then tossed the cap to the side before taking her hand. Green eyes focused, tongue jutting out slightly, he drew a heart atop her hand. It was sappy, totally uncharacteristic of the hotheaded turtle, but he didn't care. He liked her a lot, and if her drawing that heart on him meant that she liked him then... He'd return the favor.

She inspected the heart and smiled again before looking up at him through the fringe of her bangs. She rose up on her toes and once again pressed a kiss to his cheek and though he badly wanted to turn his head and take her lips he was a little hesitant to do so. He always went headfirst into battle. Tell him to attack a group of Dragons or Foot and he'd go in with no hesitation but now? With her? He was fumbling.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, marked hand coming up to cup his cheek. Her touch sent a shiver through his body. "Okay?"

"Yeah," he said, raising his own marked hand and trailing his fingers through her hair. "Tomorrow."

Drawing hearts became their thing. They used it to speak the words they couldn't form in their head. An apology, a way to say they loved each other, or even a way to show support. Who would have guessed that the ink from a cheap pen would be all they would need to assure the other that they were there to stay.

END