Heat

Raphael stretched as he walked into the dining area. He smiled as he saw his family and noticed Lily sitting on Donatello's lap, "Don, glad you're okay!" he greeted.

"Thanks." Donny said with a smile at Raph. Rae glanced over at them and smiled gently as she flipped a page in the book. After Don rushed in and took Lily in back of the lab to get her fixed, Leo managed to tell the whole story about what had happened to Don. Not only that, he had swallowed all of his pride and apologized to Lily. No one was really surprised…however Lily was and had stuttered her thanks to him. At least this couple was together, she thought to herself.

Raph nodded, "Lil was able to help you out of it?" he asked curiously as he got out the milk for some cereal. He glanced towards Rachel as she read her book. His chest constricted and he turned back to his bowl. He felt his tail wag and he tried to focus.

"Yeah," Donny nodded, "Amazingly actually." He smiled gently at Lily and Rachel's grin nearly slipped off her face. She gently flipped a page. She could just see how happy the two were and they were very, very happy. Rachel glanced over at Raph and blinked at him and smiled before shyly hiding back behind her book.

Raph chuckled, "You shoulda heard what Lily was throwing at Leo. It was quite amazing itself," he smirked as he turned around, and had to grip the table when his eyes rested on Rachel's beautiful form. He swallowed and averted his eyes, walking to his seat next to her. He all of a sudden felt his spot as torture. Why? Why'd he all of a sudden feel like this?

Rachel blinked, catching that he was looking at her and raised an eyebrow. Okay, that was strange. He was blushing wildly too. Donny seemed to realize this, because he started to look a little concerned. His eyes stayed on his brother as he answered carefully. "I should have been there." He turned to Lily with a slight smile. "I think I'll get the whole story."

Lily smiled back up at him, "Yeah, I'll, tell you," she agreed and kissed his cheek.

Raphael stared at his bowl, nipping at his lip. His tail wiggled a bit more and he sat on it just to keep it still. He wanted to touch her…but in what way he was unsure. He would first think just her hand, but then his imagination would turn another direction. He took a calming breath and just ate his breakfast, "Leo and Bria training?"

"Yeah." Mikey was the one who answered that, since Donny seemed to be looking at Raph for some reason. He recognized the signs much quicker, "They're going at each other. Ah…that was probably the wrong way to say it."

This time Rachel spoke up, "But it wasn't the wrong way at all." She smiled brightly, "Because they're probably trying."

Mikey gave her a horrified look.

Raph swallowed and focused on finishing his breakfast. Once through with that, he stood up and cleaned everything off. He was unable to stop his tail from wiggling, so he just let it happen and put his bowl away. "I'm...going to try watchin' some TV," he said gently, "You going to hang out in your lab, Don, take care of Lil?" he asked casually.

"Of course." Don said, knowing that Raph wouldn't need too much looking after. The mating season wasn't bad right now, but when it was...well...Don didn't want to think about it. The mornings were always better than the afternoons. "Rae are you going to go to the living room as well?" He knew he was feeding wood to the fire, but he had to ask.

"Maybe," Rachel replied with a shrug, "I'll probably lock myself in my room."

Raphael looked at her, but he couldn't get the words out to keep her with him. He watched her for a bit, and then walked out and plopped on the couch, grabbing the TV control. He heard thumps in the training room, and heard Leo's churring as he "tried" with Bria, as Rae kindly put it. He gulped and turned on the TV, but for some reason no matter how he tried, his whole body was strained to listening to Leonardo and his new mate.

Rachel closed her book and walked over to the living room. She bent over the back of the chair, right behind Raph. "Sounds like Bria and Leo are having……fun. I guess that's a good way to put it."

Raph jumped a little, gasping and placed a hand over his chest, "Rae! Kami…" he gulped and shook his head, feeling startled enough out of his haze he could look at her straight, "Y-Yeah…Fearless has always been…more acute to himself than the rest of us are. He's also reasonable, so he probably figured it was stupid to…delay the inevitable," he rambled.

"……Mating season?" Rachel offered awkwardly. "Bria told me a little bit of it…since our cats used to go nuts…" She blushed in wild colors, "So…ah…you're in heat too?"

Raphael bit his lip, "You could……say that, I guess," he nodded and gritted his teeth, looking away from her, back at the TV. "Sorry…If I seem rude…mating season starts around this time each year, and lasts through October, but during the summer it is very light, like normal, we're just more…sensitive," he tried explaining.

"Ah..." Rachel said with a slight nod and smile. "I shouldn't be flattered, but I am a little."

"Flattered? How?" Raph frowned.

"I don't know." Rachel said with a shrug. "I mean, I shouldn't be flattered, because I mean....it's mating season and you can't control that and you can't really control who or what you mate with, so...." She shrugged helplessly.

"We do," Raph defended, "Don is willing to help any of us if out key point is on patrol, but he's mainly with Mikey. I'm…surprisingly yet not so surprisingly with Leo…" he winced sharply and looked away, realizing what he said.

"That's not bad." Rachel said with a pout. "It's cool. It's just casual right?"

"You're not…disgusted?" Raphael was surprised, "But no…nothing's casual with Leo, he gives it his all. Then Mikey's quite demanding," he told her.

She glanced over at the training room with slightly pursed lips. She looked back to Raph and shook her head. "I'm from the streets." She told him with a soft smile that almost looked regretful, "I seen worse than this. To me? This is normal."

"Oh…" Raph blushed hotly, "I…didn't know…" he watched her carefully, "Don't tell Bria, she'll be devastated, but Leo's good at pretending…" he rubbed his neck, "But…it's also why I reacted the way I did…when…" he gulped.

"I went down on you?" Rae offered.

"Yeah," Raph flushed, "Well...whenever we…erm…take someone during this time, we forget it, so each time it happens it's like it's just happening again. Though…that area we're used to being used. Mikey figured it out first," he shrugged.

Rae frowned slightly, "So…if you banged me, you'll forget everything about it? That....doesn't seem fair yet, I'm actually kind of jealous."

Raph grabbed her hand, "Not banged, Rae. That's not…that doesn't seem right. To remember it or not, it'd be more than that," he closed his eyes and pulled his hand away, "Sorry…um…anyway…" he breathed, "I refuse to take you for a quicky…I'd want take care with you, no matter how hot I'm burning."

Rachel raked her teeth against her bottom lip. The training door suddenly opened and Leo was pulled a giggling Bria across the room. She could smell the arousal on them and she didn't even need to be a cat to sense how hot and bothered those two were. The door closed behind them and she took a deep breath, wondering how to tread on these waters. She wanted to tell Raph that she was open, but then she was scared he might think her a slut. She wanted to help him out with this, but she was a little frightened on how to go about it. These were waters she didn't know how or what way to steer. So, she did the best thing she could come up with, she stayed silent.

Raphael had heard Leo's churring as he pulled Bria along. He smiled softly, "Churring…it's a cross between a purr and a growl," he told her to turn the topic onto a lighter note.

"Do all of you do it?" Rachel asked, feeling herself blush hotly at the question. She wasn't exactly sure why she was blushing, but from what she could hear and from what she saw from Leo…well…neither of them were leaving much for the imagination.

"Yeah, it's a turtle thing…we've passed regular turtles, so yeah," Raph smiled at her, "It gets louder the more aroused we are."

"I…I see……" Rachel said her face on flames. She started playing with her fingers, an anxiety habit. As her fingers pulled, played, intertwined, and pulled away, her mind whirled. "That's interesting. It sounds kind of…hot and nice." Oh god, she could die. This was an awkward conversation.

"I think it is," Raph allowed a churr to ripple from his throat; "Are you hot, Rae?" he kneeled on the couch and churred, making sure his breath coated her skin.

She didn't want to admit it, but she was very, very hot and bothered. However, she had to remind herself that it wasn't fair. He was in mating season! It wouldn't be right to shed off her clothes, spread her legs, and let him do her and have him forget later. It wasn't right, but god did she want it. "A little…" She admitted as she felt him nuzzle her neck, probing the answer from her when her silence stretched too long.

Raph felt his breath come heavier when he breathed in her scent. His mind went hazy, but then something jolted him out of it. He backed up and nearly tumbled to the ground, "Rae! I'm sorry!" he breathed heavier, dizzy with want.

"No, don't be!" Rachel said quickly, she had positioned herself to nearly catch him, and stayed like that. Her hands were gripping his arms tightly. "You're in heat, it's to be expected, or so I think."

"M-Mood swings…" Raphael swallowed, "Leo and I did it for quite a while…Don is rather mellow, Mikey is a playful sensual…" he chattered off, feeling better as he talked, "I still…I'm sorry…I don't want you to be hurt…"

"You won't hurt me." Rachel said, not at all knowing where this was coming from. She grabbed his hand and placed one on top and the other on the bottom, "You take care of me, and you always have. You wouldn't throw that away because you're…um…ah…seeing...no…lusty!"

Raph groaned and took deep breaths, "I…I have to take a walk…" he forced an apologetic smile and gently slipped his hands from hers, "Thank you…but I need to cool down, Rae…"

She watched him for a while before she nodded, "Okay." She told him with a soft smile.

Raph nodded and jogged away, quickly escaping and letting the cool air hit his boiling skin. Why hadn't he kept better tabs on his calendar?! "Kami!" he ran to the lake and started punching and kicking the air. He needed to stay away from her as long as possible!