So, someone (flikaroo) had suggested in a past review that Raphael could help Leo work through his nightmares and I thought, wouldn't it be nice if there was a way Raphael could chase those nightmares away?

He shuddered as unfamiliar fingers wrapped around one of his wrists before they began to slide down his arm. He tried to jerk his arm away but his wrists were trapped to the headboard by unrelenting shackles. He couldn't smell Raphael and cold panic set in as white fur became visible in the darkness.

He growled and thrashed and twisted as those fingers continued to trail over his skin until suddenly he was sitting upright, gulping in deep breaths, in his own safe bed.

He immediately went to rub at the skin that had begun to chafe and burn in his nightmare but stopped when he found unfamiliar cloth wrapped around both of his wrists. The surprise finding let him forget about where his mind had had him trapped a few moments before, and he focused on the soft material that was covered in Raphael's scent.

"Didn't drive the nightmare away," Raph's sleepy voice murmured as he looped his arm around Leo's middle and pulled him back down into his side. "But at least it stopped ya from trying to rub yer skin off when ya woke up."

Masks, Leo thought to himself as he went willingly back into Raphael's side. He couldn't actually see the color in the dark, but he realized that Raphael had somehow wrapped two red masks around his wrists sometime after he had fallen asleep.

The nightmares weren't going away and Raphael had obviously tried to come up with a new way to help him cope. It pained him to think that Raph's sleep was being disturbed by these nightmares, so much so that he had spent time trying to come up with a solution for him.

Leo pressed his face into Raph's neck and inhaled deeply. Raphael whispered words of safety and protection that pushed back his panic and finally allowed him to settle back into sleep.

The fingers trailed down his arms and he growled and tried to twist himself away, but a sudden heavy weight on his plastron prevented movement. A furry hand slid down the curve of his face and he heard his name whispered out.

He began to thrash side to side, moving any part of himself that he could. He realized as he shifted that the metal shackles weren't digging into his wrists as he would expect. He twisted his head back and narrowed his eyes through the darkness. Although still chained, his wrists appeared to be wrapped in a soft, cloth material.

"Leonardo. Leonardo, please calm yourself."

That voice was making his skin crawl and he growled again as he turned back towards the rabbit who currently sat straddling his middle. Fingers slid down his plastron and he struggled harder against the shackles and the unwelcome weight. He heard a patronizing tsking noise and cold panic began to set in as the rabbit's face began to lower towards his own.

Raphael was jerked immediately awake as Leo sprung upwards out of his arms and then proceeded to twist and tangle himself in their sheets.

"Leo!" Raph said as he managed to grab one of Leo's arms and pull him back towards the center of their mattress before Leo managed to thrash himself off their bed. He settled back down against their pillows and pulled Leo down with him. "Yer okay, babe," he whispered repeatedly as he listened to Leo's ragged breathing. "What was it?" he finally asked. Leo had told him about these dreams before, but this reaction seemed a little more intense than those other times.

"He was on top of me," Leo said between ragged breaths and felt Raphael's arms tighten around him as Raph's forehead fell to nuzzle against his face.

Leo shifted his shoulders and tried to shake out his arms in an attempt to chase away the adrenalin he could still feel shooting down towards his hands. He suddenly noticed that Raphael's masks were tied protectively around his wrists once again and forced his breathing to slow as he remembered the protection the masks had provided in the nightmare.

Raphael listened as Leo's breathing finally began to slow and did his best to keep his inner cursing to himself. His mate was being tortured and he was at a loss for what to do about it. He'd managed to stop Leo from rubbing his own wrists raw when he woke up, but had no idea how else to help. He opened his eyes to watch Leo's face and realized that Leo was staring intently at the masks wrapped around his wrists.

Leo sat himself back up into a seated position and met Raph's questioning green eyes through the darkness of their bedroom as he unwrapped one of Raph's masks from one of his wrists. He thought again about how the masks had made their way into his nightmare and held the mask up as an offer to Raphael.

"Tie me up."

Raphael shot up into a seated position as well. "Fearless?"

"Don't call me that," Leo said, sharply. He was practically still shaking from his dream. He knew the nickname wasn't used to mock, but he couldn't currently handle hearing it.

Raphael's eyes narrowed but he kept his mouth shut.

"He tied me up and touched me," Leo said, dipping his eyes down to the mask. "I want you to do it." He thrust the mask towards Raphael again and waited.

Raphael stared back at Leo, full of hesitation. They'd never tied each other up. Never. Others had maliciously done it often enough in the past so that it never seemed like a fun recreational activity.

"Leonardo," Raphael said slowly, "I don't know if -,"

"Your masks were there this time, Raph. They were there. I could feel them. And the next time I'm stuck like that, I want my brain to bring you there." He looked back up to Raph's face. He knew Raphael didn't like this idea. But he was suddenly sure they should try it. "I need this," he breathed out.

Raph's eyes dropped down to the mask Leo was still offering up to him. He couldn't deny Leo anything, and if Leo needed this, he was going to provide it. He surged forward with no warning and knocked Leo back on his shell. Leo's wrists were pulled together above his head in one strong emerald hand while his other hand pulled his mask from Leo's fingers and quickly began looping it around Leo's wrists and into their headboard. He kept his eyes on the binding as he tied it tightly and then steeled his own eyes to hide his doubt before looking back at Leo's face.

Leo shut his eyes as he gave a few quick test pulls to the tight restraint. He had watched Raphael tie him up and he knew that it was Raphael on top of him and yet he still felt anxiety prickle its way down his skin. Raphael watched the pained uneasiness on Leo's face and it became immediately clear to him that this was exactly what Leo needed. And best of all, it was something he could do.

He dipped his head and bit into Leo's neck, forcing Leo's attention back to him and away from the restraints and whatever thoughts were currently causing his mate to break out into a sweat.

"Who else bites you?" Raph growled at him.

Leo's eyes snapped open and met Raphael's shining green eyes. "Only you," he whispered back.

Raphael covered Leo's mouth and busied Leo's tongue with his own before he reached up and squeezed Leo's bound wrists. He began sliding his fingers down Leo's arms and felt Leo inhale sharply against his mouth. Leo's arm muscles bunched beneath his hands and he kissed Leo harder as his fingers reached Leo's shoulders.

"Who else kisses you?" Raph rumbled to him.

"Only you, Raph," Leo whispered again. He forced his eyes to reopen so he could keep Raph's face in sight. His arms relaxed and the anxiety waned as he drank up the love he could see in the green eyes that were roaming over his body in admiration.

Raphael moved his eyes back to Leo's face before he let his fingers slide slowly back up Leo's arms to the bound wrists. He shifted himself where he sat on Leo's lap, subtly rubbing himself against Leo's lower plastron to gauge Leo's reaction. He watched as Leo's attention was so completely devoted to the fingers moving over his arms again that he didn't even seem to notice Raph's hip movement. Clearly, Leo wasn't remotely aroused. But Raphael was going to fix that as well. Being tied up with him around was about to be equated with fun.

He moved his hands back to Leo's shoulders and kept eye contact with his mate as he moved his fingers down Leo's plastron.

"Who touches you here?"

Leo's growing anxiety was knocked away again at that deep rumble and he met Raph's determined green eyes again.

"You, Raphael."

Raph nodded in agreement and shifted so that he could dip his head and lick his way up Leo's plastron. He listened to Leo suck in a breath at the first contact and then shiver in pleasure when Raph's tongue lapped across his neck.

"And here?"

"Just you, Raph."

Raphael lifted his head when he noticed the husky change in Leo's voice. Darkening blue eyes met his own and he let a churr roll up his throat at the sight. He pressed his lips to Leo's before rubbing himself against Leo's lower plastron once again.

"How bout here?"

"You, Raphael," Leo responded, his mate's name nearly swallowed by a churr as he lifted his hips towards Raphael.

Raphael nodded again at the correct response and shifted himself further so that he could continuously rub against Leo. He watched Leo's face and was pleased when he appeared flushed for the right reason.

"Aishiteru, Leo," he whispered in between kissing Leo and grinding against him. "I'll always be here," he said in a continued whisper as he tested his fingers on a trail up Leo's arms again and watched for a reaction.

Leo felt Raph's fingers move over his arms, but he also felt Raph's tongue move over his neck and he began to pant as he pulled at his wrists not out of fear but out of want. The anxiety and unease was brushed aside. His eyes were too busy roaming over Raphael's emerald upper arms. He pulled at the restraint again. He wanted to touch and squeeze his hands over those muscles.

Raphael churred again when he saw the positive reaction from Leo and was pleased when he heard Leo churr back at him in response. He thought about untying Leo's hands, but decided that since Leo appeared comfortable enough, he was going to play.

Leo's eyes narrowed when Raphael's grin turned devious but before he could ask, Raphael shifted again and his mouth moved down Leo's plastron until he was tonguing Leo's slit. Leo moaned and released himself to Raphael's talented mouth.

"Who makes ya moan like that, Fearless?" Raph teased.

Leo pulled at the wrist binds again and shifted his hips. "Only you, Raphie," he moaned.

"Damn straight," Raph said with a grin before he pulled Leo into his mouth. He kept his eyes up on Leo's pleasure-filled, gorgeous face and churred loudly.

Leo forced his eyes to focus down on Raphael's face and pulled at the binding again.

"Raph."

Raphael pulled his mouth off Leo with a grin and raised his eye ridges in question.

"Wanna touch you," Leo said. "Untie me."

Raph sighed dramatically and the breath that hit Leo's exposed wet skin made Leo shiver. He ran his hand up and down Leo's hard length while he pretended to contemplate the request. "Ya wake me up in the middle of the night. Demand that I tie ya up. Now ya want untied, Fearless?"

The mock aggravation in Raphael's voice only warmed Leo further. "Raph," Leo groaned as he felt Raph's hand tighten in its movements.

Raphael's grin widened as he shifted himself forward to begin working on the tight knot around Leo's wrists. With Raphael towering over him, Leo let his eyes roam over Raphael's arms and then down his plastron where he found that Raphael had dropped down from his own tight plastron at some point as well.

Raph pulled his mask off Leo's wrists and smiled again when he caught Leo's eyes hungrily pinned on him. A moment later, Leo had one hand wrapped tightly around the biceps of one of his arms while Leo's other hand moved to wrap tightly around his own exposed length. He leaned down and kissed Leo again before settling between his thighs and moving his fingers to Leo's entrance. He tried to be patient in preparing his mate, although Leo's panting, moaning noises weren't helping his resolve.

When he determined that it was enough, he was finally able to bat Leo's hands away from himself and begin to push his way into Leonardo. Although breathing heavily in eagerness himself, he paused once he was fully enclosed in Leo's warm body. The pause had Leo stilling to meet his eyes in return.

"Aishiteru, Leo," he whispered when it was clear he had Leo's full attention. "I'm always right here. With you. For you."

Leo stared back at Raphael's handsome face and wondered, not for the first time, how he'd managed to be so lucky to have this turtle in his life. This turtle who wanted him in return. Needed him. Protected him. Loved him.

"I love you," he whispered back to Raphael.

Raphael grinned before he leaned down to kiss Leo again. His hips thrust forward and his hand moved swiftly over Leo. He released a loud churr into Leo's mouth as he felt Leo's hands move and squeeze over the muscles in his arms.

It was amazing, the feeling of Raphael inside of him, as well as all the places Raphael's body touched as they moved against each other. Leo's hands tightened around his favorite turtle and he moved his mouth and tongue to Raphael's neck, for which he was rewarded with a deep rumbling groan from Raphael. He repeated the action and was rewarded again with not only the noise, but quickened movements that had him snapping his head forward to bite into Raphael's thick neck.

Raphael lasted only a few more thrusts after he watched Leo give in to the overwhelming pleasure. Then he rolled them both and tucked Leo into his side before he panted out a few more whispered words of reassurance to Leo.

"Thank you, Takara," Leo whispered into Raphael's neck.

"Anythin for you, Leonardo," he murmured as he pulled Leo's naked wrist up and rewrapped his red mask back around it.

He froze when he realized his wrists were tied above him. But the fingers that moved over his arms were warm and familiar. Raphael's scent wafted up his nose before he even came into Leo's vision. His green eyes were bright and shining through the darkness and Leo smiled up at that handsome face.

"Come here," Leo whispered up to him.

Raphael grinned at him in return and covered his mouth for a kiss before moving his lips over Leo's neck. Leo's hips shifted forward and he released a loud churr.

Leo moaned in his sleep and Raphael began shaking Leo's shoulder before he even got his own eyes to open.

"Wake up, Fearless," Raph murmured, although it was said with less urgency than normal. He was familiar enough with his mate's sounds to know what those particular pleasure-filled noises meant.

Leo's eyes slid open and he grinned when he saw the real Raphael looming over him. He released a churr as he felt Raph's hand move down to rub over the bulge already present in his lower plastron.

"Ya ain't havin fun without me," Raph accused.

Leo wrapped his arms around Raph's shoulders to pull them impossibly closer together.

"Oh, but I was having fun with you," he replied.

Raphael growled at him.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed your sleep again, Raphie," Leo said with a teasing grin.

"You'll make it up to me," Raph rumbled before he latched his mouth onto Leo's neck.