Hey ya'll! Once again, thanks for the reviews last chapter. You guys are the best :)
I tried to sit on this update for a while to let the anticipation build but damn it I really want to share it with you all! People were wondering how Scarlett was going to get Mikey back for the drumstick prank and I hope I don't disappoint.
Raph's turn to get caught up in the prank war! Now, I realised yesterday that this chapter has a few strong similarities to my last chapter of 'Neko'. As in 'Raph gets mad at Scarlett'. Just happenstance I swear, I actually had the bones of this chapter written months ago. So please keep in mind this one shot takes place weeks before the chapter 'Fevered' where Raph is angry at Scar on a whole different level.
Oh, and I don't own TMNT either :(
For once Raph beat Mikey to the shower after training. Typically his little brother raced ahead and hogged the bathroom but today, with a well placed elbow to the plastron which'd left the pain-in-his-shell groaning on the carpet, Raph had ensured that he made it out the dojo door first. Now the red banded turtle had a full tank of steaming hot water at his disposal and he didn't plan on wasting a single drop.
Locking the bathroom door behind him to stop his other brothers from busting in Raph quickly shed his gear and left it in an untidy jumble in the corner. Then he stepped into the shower stall and cranked both of the taps on full, a small smile of anticipation already on his face. This was gonna be sweet.
He braced one hand on the tiles in front of him and bowed his head in readiness for the first cold needles of water that would quickly turn scalding, taking a long, deep breath...
...nothing...
The red banded turtle frowned, twisted the hot water faucet further around and waited again...
...still nothing...
His teeth gritted in irritation, fist clenching then coming up to pound the tiles over the pipes in the hope that would fix things. A weird gurgling sound rattled from the showerhead and his eye ridges rose a little in expectation.
The gurgle faded back into silence.
With a cry of anger he struck the tiles again. Somewhere in the back of his head he could hear Donny calling him a neanderthal but right now he couldn't give a shit. He wanted his hot shower god damn it!
The heavy blow he'd just delivered to the pipes resulted in the gurgling noise making a return. It increased in volume just a little, but then faded away. Worse yet, nothing actually came out of the damn nozzle.
"Ah great," Raph groused angrily "the one time I get to the shower first in months and the damn thing is broken."
He was just reaching out to turn the faucet off again so he could go get the tool box and fix whatever new problem had risen to plague the old bathroom, when the shower head inexplicably came back to life and gave a hiss. A dribble of orange water fell to the floor tiles and Raph watched as it splatted near his foot then made its way slowly to the drain.
"What the..."
Before he could finish his question the hiss morphed into a low grumbling as whatever had been blocking the flow of water gave way abruptly. He looked towards the nozzle in horror just in time to receive a pressurised blast of hot orange liquid to the face.
Raph let out a shout of surprise and immediately his open mouth filled with the stuff. It was surprisingly sweet on his tongue which just managed to gross him out completely. Spluttering and coughing he tried to block the nozzle with his hand but only succeeded in knocking the spout from it's cradle so that it fell to the floor and began writhing around like a demented silver snake. All the while it spewed out sticky orange water, spraying the stuff around the bathroom in giant arcs.
By the time Raph managed to fumble his way to turning the taps off again the whole room was coated in orange. It streaked down each wall and clung to the toilet, mirror and sink in brightly coloured streaks. Even the stack of towels in the corner hadn't escaped, soaked through in a soggy pile.
Looking down at himself Raph blinked a few times then wiped at his plastron with one hand. His fingers caught slightly in the sticky liquid and he grimaced before eyeing the shower nozzle which now lay limp on the tiled floor. Using it to wash this stuff back off himself was obviously out of the question, he was going to need fresh water for that.
Tentatively he held his fingers to his nose and sniffed...was that...jelly? Someone had unscrewed the shower nozzle and filled the entire hose with jelly crystals.
Still slightly dazed by the inexplicable attack he slowly stepped back out of the shower recess. He gave a grimace. The orange mess of liquified jelly was drying on his skin and certain parts of him were starting to feel decidedly weird and uncomfortable.
It wasn't until he spotted his gear lying in a shallow pool of sticky water that the anger rose to replace the confusion. His leather belts were on the verge of being ruined and his mask was going to need a wash. As he started seething two faces popped into his head and he knew exactly who was responsible for this. Those god damned brats and their stupid prank war.
Less than thirty seconds later he was storming his way into the main room of the lair, completely uncaring of the fact he was minus his pads, belts, weapons or bandana which essentially rendered him just about as naked as he could get. The only thought in his head was getting his hands on the ones responsible for his current condition.
Almost immediately he spotted the guilty pair standing clustered around one of the arcade games near the turnstiles, heads close as they fixated on the screen and so far oblivious to his presence. Not for long.
"Which one of you punks is responsible for this?"
Scarlett and Mikey looked away from the pinball machine with startled expressions. While Mikey just looked shocked Scarlett's expression quickly turned horrified.
"Oh shit."
His gaze locked on Scarlett when the expletive slipped from her mouth. She was regarding him with wide eyes, jaw dangling as her eyes darted around his body, taking in the orange smears covering him from head to toe. When he saw her expression and found guilt mixed in there with the horror he zeroed in on her with deadly intent.
"You." He growled and she took a few steps back as he bore down on her.
Mikey's shock faded quickly. He took one look at his older brother as he approached, a dripping trail of orange water spreading across the floor in his wake, and a bray of mirth exploded out of him. "Dude, you're orange! That colour totally suits you!" He clutched a hand to his heart over his plastron as he simpered, "Awwwwww. if you wanted to be more like me you should've just said so!"
"Shut up Mikey." Raph warned.
A massive shit eating grin split his freckled face in half, unbridled glee making his whole body vibrate, "Ooh, ooh! I have a spare bandana you could wear and my old nunchucks are in the dojo." He gasped loudly, "We can be twins! This is so awesome!"
"I said shut up," Raph snarled, giving his brother a hard shove on the way past without sparing him a glance. His stare didn't leave Scarlett as she continued to back away and he followed, stalking her with shoulders hunched, hands clenching and unclenching mid air as though he was already strangling her.
"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" Scarlett was back pedalling faster now, hands held out in front to ward him off as she tried to escape. "That wasn't meant for you, I was trying to get...eep!"
She turned on her heel and tried to make a run for it but it was no good. Raph lunged forward to snare her by the back of her hood and she came to an abrupt halt with a choked off grunt. Pulling her close then hauling her off her feet with an arm around her waist, he manhandled her so that she was tucked under his arm. Then he turned and strode towards the pool off to the side of the lounge pit.
When she saw where he was taking her she let out a loud scream, arms and legs flailing. "No Raph! No! I'm sorry ok? I'll fix it I swear!"
He ignored her and kept going, mentally preparing himself for what he knew was going to be a massive shock of cold water.
"Mikey!" Scarlett shrieked and he winced as the sound almost punctured his ear drum. She was getting harder to hold onto as she writhed so he tightened his grip around her waist until the breath squeezed out of her and she wheezed.
"Sorry Scar," Mikey called out behind them in a disgustingly chipper voice, "seems to me like you brought this on yourself!"
Raph came to a stop at the edge of the pool and braced himself. Scarlett renewed her struggles when she looked down into the water, desperation edging her voice as she protested breathily. "I can't swim! I can't swim and it's freezing! Raph, c'mon, please! Nononononononononononono!"
When the frigid water his hit skin he felt every fibre of his being clench in shock. Scarlett was right, the water was only a degree or two above freezing. Once they were both submerged he finally let her go and opened his eyes under the water to watch her try to claw her way back to the surface amidst a cloud of bubbles.
Wow, she really can't swim he thought to himself as he watched her struggle for a second then he took pity on her and came up beside her so she could cling to him. Together they broke the surface and he tolerated it when she completely wrapped herself around him from behind, panting harshly in his ear with panicked little gasps. Her arms encircled his neck so tightly she threatened to cut off his air supply, her legs clamping tightly around his shell and waist made him feel like he was being attacked by a terrified octopus. Despite all this he still rolled his eyes as he trod water lazily, easily compensating for her slight weight as he kept both their heads above water.
"Y-y-y-you jerk." Her teeth chattered violently. She let go with one hand to push the sodden hair from her face then immediately returned the limb to hold onto him again.
"I'm the jerk?" Raph's voice rose questioningly, "I'm not the one putting jelly crystals into showerheads..." He stopped treading water and allowed himself to slip underwater, grinning when she let out another scream just before they were submerged fully once more.
When they broke the surface again she coughed out water, "Raph," she said in a small voice, "I already said I'm sorry. Please let me out."
Against his shell her entire body trembled as she was wracked with shivers and he relented, sculling to the side of the pool so she could grasp the edge and haul herself out. Immediately she launched herself off his shell and scrambled up onto dry land in an untidy tangle of waterlogged limbs. She was helped to her feet by Mikey who had come over to lend a hand, an amused smirk still twisting his lips.
Raph followed, exiting the pool with deliberate grace while refusing to show any sign that he was cold in the slightest. As he regained his feet he scowled at her where she stood gasping and shivering under Mikey's arm. She looked so pathetic as she gazed up at him through a tangle of dark wet hair, arms wrapped around herself as her teeth chattered, that he huffed in resignation. Stepping over he flanked her other side, throwing his own arm around her and shielding her a little from the cool air of the lair.
"Prank wars are a dangerous thing." He muttered at Scarlett then narrowed his eyes at Mikey over the top of her head. "You might want to put a bit more thought into your planning phase and possible repercussions."
His little brother just grinned and shrugged unrepentantly. "Didn't seem so bad to me. But then my pranks have never backfired quite so spectacularly as yours just did. Hashtag prank fail." Mikey drawled then let loose a small shriek when Scar pinched the skin on the underside of his bicep. "Ok, ok. Cut it out, your fingers are freezing!"
"You're jerks and I hate both of you." Scarlett said as regally as she could with a clenched jaw. Shaking the brothers off she stalked away in the direction of the bathroom, sodden jeans clinging to her legs and feet squelching loudly in her shoes.
"Awwww Scar, where you goin?" Mikey called out teasingly, "I thought we were gonna finish our game of Packman!"
"Get bent freckle fart!" Came the rude reply and Mikey cackled so hard he snorted.
"You two are a pair of idiots." Raph scoffed as he scraped water off his face with his palm, but any heat from his tone was gone, temper chilled effectively by the cold dip. "Go help her clean up the bathroom numb nuts."
Another smirk and Mikey did as he was told, following his friend in the direction of the shower. Raph allowed himself a grin as he imagined their reaction when they saw just how much of a mess had been made in there and was rewarded a moment later when Scarlett let out a loud howl.
"Jeeeezuz Raph, there's even jelly in the hallway."
"Suck it up princess!" He hollered back before sauntering off to find a towel, feeling surprisingly refreshed after his dip.
Man I laughed out loud writing so many parts of this story. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Review please!
And the sad news is that its report writing time once again so I will be super busy for a few weeks. Hopefully I still get a lot of time to write and it won't disrupt my updates :)