Chapter 22
NOTES: I do not own anything associated with the TMNT universe; my characters are of my own creation and not to be used without my permission.
As promised, the upcoming chapters will be devoted to each couple, starting with Mikey and Seren. I want to do these two first so we can get some laughter going after all of the fighting and death that has gone on. Enjoy everyone!
TURTLE ROAD TRIP!
"I dunno babes, sendin' those two off by themselves may not be one of your best ideas." Raph wasn't convinced by Rosie's argument that Mikey and Seren should be the first couple to drive down to one of her parents homes in Pennsylvania for some alone time. "Why can't they just stay here, hell, most of the time, they are locked away in that room reading comics and whatever else they do."
Rose was lying on her side curled up against Raph; she listened to what he was saying and wondered herself if it was indeed a smart move. However, when she thought more about it, the more sense it made… in some weird strange way. "I hear ya big guy, but I still say we ALL need this… need time alone and away from here for a while; especially after this recent hell we went through. Everyone needs a break now and again Raph."
He had to admit she was right about that; ever since they moved in; none of them had any quality time together. Yeah, there were the nights, but everyone needs sleep so the intimate time a couple needs to get closer to one another was few and far between. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yer right babes; but why those two first; can't we all just pick a place and go?"
"Well, that would be alright; except there has to be someone here to take care of the estate should any mutants attempt go get revenge on us from what happened before. Or if… well, if Ghost Labs surfaces again, we need to know."
Raphael was silent for a while; he realized right then that their lives would be filled with fighting and trying to survive in a world where most people wanted mutants like them either locked in a cage or dead. "I get it now babes." Pulling her closer to him, Raph placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I hope your parents' home down there is Mikey proof!"
Laughing, Rose turned her head upwards to him. "Oh, it will be! We have a caretaker that lives 4 miles from the house; I can call him to let him know that we will be using the place and what all we need. He's the son of my grandfather's former C.O. so he's cool. Everything will be turned on, cleaned and stocked before they get up there; and it's remote enough that there won't be any prying eyes to interrupt."
Seeing the confused look on his face, Rose expounded more. "My parents have several homes around the country that are listed under false names; it was the only way we could get some privacy when I was younger."
"Smart move; I woulda never thought of that!" Raph really wished her parents were still alive; he would have liked to have met them.
"So, you wanna get up an moving so we can tell them the good news?" Rose really did not want to move from her spot next to him; so was so comfortable and quite content there. However, they needed to get up at some point, and now was as good a time as any.
Raphael, on the other hand, had a different plan. "Eh, soon; right now this is what I wanna do." And finishing that, he pulled her on top of him, his mouth finding hers; tongues dancing together in a deep passionate kiss.
"Well; I guess it can wait for a little longer." With that said, there were no other words spoken; none had to be. Their love for one another said volumes.
*Kitchen: lunch time*
"It's about time you two came downstairs, what the shell were ya doin' up there anyways?" Mikey, the ever curious one playfully asked. He was also a bit naive as well.
"Dude, ya are better off not knowing!" Raph teased his youngest brother back. Sometimes things just kinda went right on over Mikey's head, other times it would take him a bit to understand and every time, it was hilarious!
"Not knowing what, am I missing something here?" This was one of those 'right on over his head' times; and Raph was going to take it and run!
"You really wanna know, huh?" Glancing sideways at Rose, the big guy winked at her.
"Here we go again!" Rosie mumbled; taking her seat between Raph and Mikey, she hoped that Raph wouldn't go into detail this time; the last time he did that, she turned so red that her face matched the bandana that Raph wore.
The others were stifling laughs, knowing that Raph wouldn't stop until Mikey got it, or everyone busted out with laughter. This was going to be a start of a fun day!
"Alright Mikey, here goes; Rosie and I were talkin' bout things, and then we made love…"
A slight whimper escaped Rose's lips as she kicked Raph under the table. The kick didn't faze him; he continued on, smiling down at her first, then another wink. More eye rolling from Rose, which made the big guy smirk.
"Then we talked about takin' a break; then we made love…"
Redness started to creep onto Rosie's cheeks, another kick planted on Raph's calf; big guy continues to smirk but grabs her hand under the table and holds it. The poor girl is kinda helpless to this all; knowing that he won't stop, and also knowing that he'd be making it up to her later on by doing something sweet for her. Still, it didn't help diminish the blush continuing to spread across her face.
"And then we decided that everyone needed a bit of a vacation; then we made love…"
Michelangelo just sat there, intently listening to everything his older brother was saying. It was so serious and comical at the same time; and so much harder for the others to keep a straight face about it too!
"Then we decided that you and Seren were goin' to take a trip down to Pennsylvania for a few days to recoup from things; then we made love…"
"Dear lord, when is he going to finish, I'm beginning to lose my appetite!" Donnie whispered to Leo. "Mikey is really buying into this, how does he not know that Raph is messing with him?"
The eldest turtle responded with, "Let's just be happy that Raph didn't include details this time!"
"Yeah, but poor Rose, that girl is a saint for putting up with Raph!"
"Donnie, you know just as well as I do that she is worse than Raph when it comes to teasing Mikey; the only difference is that Rose always makes Mikey feel better afterwards; Raph, not so much."
"I think she's kicking him under the table." Donnie glanced down to confirm. "Yep, she is. Kick him harder Rosie, kick him harder!"
Leo snorted loudly, then promptly covered his mouth and coughed. "Uh, sorry, coffee went down the wrong way."
"And if you mess up her parents' home I'm gonna kick your ass; then we made love over and over and over."
Finally finished, Raph sat back in his chair; crossing his arms over his muscular chest, he waited for his youngest brother to respond.
"So dude, you're tellin' me that my girl Seren and I are goin' on a road trip? Sweeeeeeeeet! Ya hear that girly girl; we are goin' on va-ca-tion! Oh yeeeeeaaaaah!" Mikey was stoked about it; he'd NEVER been on a vacation before! Oh, this was going to be so damn awesome!
Before anyone else could speak, Mikey added in, "Oh yeah, one other thing; when I asked what you were doin' up there, I didn't want an answer, it was just a kinda 'break the awkward silence' kinda thing because we all could hear the moaning from you guys; an I ain't stupid Raph, I remember from the last time you tried pulling that shit on me, although I thank you for not goin' into detail though!"
Raphael's mouth dropped open, as did everyone else's. It seemed as though Michelangelo wasn't so naïve after all!
Rose was the first one to laugh; Mikey never failed to amaze her. "Oooohhh, he got you good big guy!"
Raph wasn't too happy about it; this was a rare instance where his youngest brother bested him. However, he couldn't stay mad at Mikey for long. "Yeah, savor that tiny assed victory little brother cuz it ain't gonna last for long!"
"Yeah boy, Michelangelo is goin on vacation with his lady!" He was so excited; he got up and started doing a little dance, sending everyone into fits of laughter, Raph included.
So everything was set up; calls were made to the caretaker, bags were packed, and written instructions were given along with the keys. The only conundrum that Mikey faced was which comic books to take. Seren finally told him that he could only take twenty; he was grumpy at first, but then agreed to it after she told him that it was twenty, or nothing.
"So, here are the instructions for the security system and the keys to the house and outer buildings. Everything should be stocked by the time you get there; if you need something, just call Norman and he can get it to you. He does know about our situation and is fine with it, so Mikey, there's no need for you to hide when he comes over." Rose was almost as excited as Mikey and Seren were about this. She was happy that they'd get some good alone time together, and, who knows, Seren just might get Mikey to not read any comics at all there!
Rose was the last one to say her goodbyes to them. "Guys, if you run into any difficulties whatsoever, do not hesitate to call us, ok."
"We got it Rosie girl, thanks for everything, we really do appreciate it all!" Giving his big sis a giant hug, Mikey planted a big wet smooch on her cheek.
Giggling away, Rose playfully wiped the wetness off of her face. "Geez Mikey, a hug would have been sufficient enough! And you are very welcome, anything for my family!"
As Mikey checked to make sure everything was secure, Rose pulled Seren to the side. Whispering so Mikey couldn't hear her, Rose quickly spoke. "Remember what I said; check the attic and basement for boxes of my parents. If you find anything, pack it into the car and we can deal with it when you guys arrive back home."
"Okay, but why so secretive, can't Mikey know about this if anything is found?"
"No hun; I… well, I don't want him knowing because he will probably come right home with it thinking that it's more important than your vacation." Pulling Seren in for a hug, Rose finished by saying, "It can wait a few days, I want you both to enjoy yourselves, alright."
Nodding, Seren opened up the driver's door and got in. "We'll see you in five days!"
"Drive safely! And Mikey, no hanging out the window on the way there!"
"Aw Rose, that's no fun! But alright, I won't!"
Away they went. It took them around five hours to get there, and there were no problems on the way; Michelangelo was wonderful, and gave Seren no problems at all! When they arrived it was dark; however the place was well lit and Norman was waiting for them to make sure they got in and if they had any questions for him.
Admittedly, he was taken aback at first by the sight of Michelangelo; he wasn't expecting him to be so… well, so big. As always, Mikey put him at ease with his awesome smile and laid back attitude and soon they were talking about Norman's time in the Marines and Mikey's time learning from Rose and her unit.
After a few hours, they were settled in and Norman left them to make his way home to his own family.
"So dudette, what do ya wanna do now? I'm kinda hungry so… ya wanna eat somethin'?" Mikey seemed to always be hungry anymore; Seren came to the conclusion that, since they moved in and had anything that they needed; he was trying out any and every food he could get his hands on. She didn't mind though, since cooking was one of her passions.
"You want me to make some pizza then?" Seren loved pizza just like anyone else, however, some of the toppings Mikey liked were kind of… well, gross. Love makes you do some strange things, and if her turtle wanted a pizza with pepperoni and chocolate sauce on it, she would make it for him. However, love did not mean you had to eat said pizza! Seren was thankful Michelangelo had a healthy appetite because she REALLY did not want to try out one of his pizza concoctions.
"Nah; how about some ziti with meat sauce and homemade garlic bread; that sound good to you?"
Seren's jaw dropped; she was certainly not ready to hear that from him! Closing her mouth, she smiled at him, loving how he could surprise her like that. "Sure thing Mikey, and maybe afterwards we can watch a movie or something."
"Awesome dudette! But I wanna help out, alright; don't want my girl to have to do all the work." Closing the distance between them, Michelangelo planted a soft kiss on Seren's lips. "You are so awesome girl, you know that?"
"Aw, ain't you the sweet one! Now let's go an fix some dinner!" Soon as she said that, she was off and racing him to the kitchen. Loser gotta do the dishes!"
After dinner was prepared and served, the couple brought their meals out to the back patio. It felt so nice to not have to eat inside, and it was even better because there were no prying eyes to spy on them! They talked about a vast array of subject ranging from comics to tactical maneuvers that Corkscrew taught Mikey.
"This is nice, especially because Raph isn't here to mess with me!" Mikey was being funny; he knew that Raph mostly kidded with him… mostly, that is.
Seren giggled, remembering what transpired at lunchtime. It was quite comical when the two brothers started in on each other; Raphael getting the better of Mikey for the most part.
After dinner was finished, they came back inside to clean up the kitchen; this is when things started to get… well, shall we say, interesting. Mikey, being, well, Mikey, decided that a little fun was in order to liven things up. He volunteered to rinse the dishes off before Seren placed them in the dishwasher; it went well, for about a minute. The young turtle decided to use the sink sprayer to give his girl a little 'pre shower'; caught her by surprise too!
"Michelangelo! What the hell are you doing?" Wiping the water from her face, she stared blankly at him for a moment; she should have known better to let her guard down on him. Mikey was a big prankster and had a knack for doing things like this when your guard was down. Thinking quickly, Seren made a grab for the sprayer and soon the two were playfully fighting for control of it.
Water was shooting everywhere, and both of them were soon soaking wet and laughing like fools. It felt good to have some fun; and it felt even better that nobody was there to yell at them about it! After several minutes, things calmed down enough for them to catch their breath before cleaning up the huge mess they made. The plus side to it was that the dishes did get rinsed off during this little stint.
"Do you want to go upstairs and take a shower?" Seren was feeling the effects of all that driving, plus what had just happened; all she wanted was to take a nice hot shower and perhaps watch a movie before heading off to bed.
Michelangelo, however, had other plans up his sleeve. "I got a better idea dudette; didn't Rosie say there was a Jacuzzi in the master bathroom?"
"Yes she did!" Seren was getting excited about this; the Jacuzzi was an excellent idea! "You are so brilliant Mikey!" Planting a big kiss on his lips, Seren gave him one of her mischievous smiles. "Race ya upstairs!" Playfully pushing him aside, she took off running.
"Hey, no fair, you got a head start!" He whined, and then ran after her, trying to catch up.
The Jacuzzi is just what Seren needed; it was so relaxing and warm that she almost nodded off to sleep. That was a big mistake on her part, as she later said. When Mikey got into one of his moods, you had to be really aware of any move he made or ya might get something thrown in your face; like possibly a water balloon, or cake, or whatever else Mikey could think up.
While Seren's eyes were closed, Michelangelo quietly got out of the tub; walking over to the faucet, he crouched down; then quickly turned on the cold water!
Seren screamed as her eyes opened wide. "Michelangelo! Oh my god! Why would you do that to me?" Tears started streaming down her face as she tried to get up. "That was cruel, I'm freezing now!"
Mikey was immediately sorry for what he had done; his intention was never to make her cry! 'I'm sorry hun, I really am!" Grabbing a towel, he wrapped her in it, rubbing her arms trying to warm her up. "Please, please forgive me. It was supposed to be funny… I'm so sorry baby."
Seren looked up at him, her face so innocent… for a moment. That mischievous grin appeared yet again as she grabbed the surprised turtle by the arms and turned him around quickly. With one swift movement, she tossed him into the water, which was now cold. "Not only can I take it, I can dish it out just as awesome as you!"
Well shit, this was interesting! Mikey bobbed his head up from underneath the water, coughing a bit. He knew that she was a prankster just like him, but hell, he had really thought those were real tears and that she was really hurt by what he had done. "Well played dudette… well played!" Was all he could say.
"Don't worry; I'll help ya clean up this mess." Seren giggled; she was proud of that one, had her turtle convinced that she was crying… brilliant! "How about a movie after this; your choice okay."
Mikey was all smiles now; he really liked it when he got to choose the movie. Seren was the only one who actually liked the ones he'd recommend; and she had made sure to bring his favorite movies with them. "Hmmm… well, how about 'Little Nicky'; gotta love Adam Sandler!"
Smiling, Seren reached for another towel. "Sounds awesome dude!"
So after everything was cleaned up, again, they made their way downstairs. While Seren got the snacks ready, Michelangelo unpacked the movies and found the one they settled upon. Popping it into the DVD player, he went to the living room closet and pulled out a soft fleece blanket for them to cuddle up in.
Since both of them had seen the movie a million times, they began chatting when there weren't any funny parts playing. The talk mostly centered on the music in the movie, and how Mikey would annoy Raph with it. "I dunno why Raph doesn't like heavy metal; Rose loves it!"
"Well, did ya talk to him about it? Maybe he needs to hear the songs in their entirety; you think that might help?" Seren would always offer ideas and suggestions to Mikey on how to deal with things. (Mainly Raph) Sometimes he'd take it, others, not so much. "And maybe don't crank it all the way up when he listens to it; metal is an 'acquired taste' babe."
"Yeah; I never thought bout it that way! Don't crank to ten, got it!" Smiling broadly, Mikey was impressed with his lady; she always had an answer to most of his questions and musings. "I just thought that Raph didn't like the music; when it was probably the volume it was at, although his jumping in the air ten feet was quite funny!"
Rolling her eyes, Seren returned his smile. "You are just soooooo unique Michelangelo; one of a kind!"
"Yeah, the guys said they are thankful that there is only one of me; they wouldn't be able to take another one."
Laying her head on his arm, she placed her small hand in his. "Their loss then because are just a wonderful turtle, and you are all mine!"
"Aw Seren, thanks; that means a lot to me babe."
And with that, the movie was forgotten. Getting up from the sofa, Michelangelo lifted her up and cradled her in his arms. Making his way slowly up the stairs, he softly told her how much she really meant to him. As he laid her on the bed, he made love to her for most of the night, the two falling asleep in a tangled mess of sheets and limbs. Before sleep took them, they both thought to themselves. "This is an awesome start to the perfect week!"
The next day started out with a big breakfast cooked by Seren, then off to explore the house, outer buildings and the surrounding woods. The brought along day packs with water and a light lunch because they wanted to spend the whole day outdoors. The house wasn't as big as the McDougal estate, so it didn't take much time at all to see. The outer buildings consisted of the pool house, shed, and a small 2 bedroom guest house. There were trails around the property that were marked out well, so they would not get lost, and the terrain was decent to walk. There were even benches scattered along the way so if you were tired you didn't have to sit on the ground. Signs dotted the trail; pointing out a specific plant or flower, or what kinds of animals were around that particular area. Seren brought a gun and bear defense spray, just in case; and of course Mikey had his weapons on him as well.
The two of them were having a wonderful time hiking, and soon it was time to stop for lunch. "I swear Michelangelo, your stomach ALWAYS knows when it's mealtime!" Seren laughed, hearing the loud rumblings coming from her dude.
Mikey shrugged his shoulders, feigning indifference. "Eh, what can I say; when my stomach wants to eat, it wants to eat. A turtle gotta keep his strength up ya know!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know; but this time, how about not eating almost everything; I'm hungry too!"
"Aw dudette, I'd never do that to you!" He tried to sound hurt, but it came out as teasing.
Seren just rolled her eyes at him and chuckled. Finding a nice shaded spot, she pointed at it. "That looks nice, let's stop there."
Mikey laid the blanket out and helped her set up the food and drinks. They took their time eating; talking about things and admiring the beautiful view.
"You know babe, ya never told me about your family; do you have any siblings?" Mikey was curious; he knew a lot of things about her, but she rarely spoke about her family.
Seren stopped for a moment; she wasn't expecting that question coming from him; however, it was asked, and she didn't want to be rude to him and not answer. "I was an only child; matter of fact, all us girls were. It's true, all of our parents passed away the same year; however, we never talked about what day and month they died… it's a little strange that it all happened the same day, month, year and time. Kinda creepy, ya know."
Mikey agreed, now he was sorry he asked because he could see the hurt in her eyes. He loved her more than anything in this world, even more than pizza and his comic books. He also knew that there was good with the bad, and he wanted to know everything about her. "Sorry hun; I know it must be difficult to talk about. We don't have to go on if you don't wanna."
"No; it's alright Michelangelo, I need to talk about it to someone; I've kept it inside of me for so long…" Sighing, Seren continued. "I spent the first six years of my life in Ireland; that's where my parents were born. Both were from Dublin, grew up there; about 8 miles from one another. They were childhood sweethearts and got married right after they graduated University. My mum was a primary school teacher who taught biology, my dad owned his own construction company. He sold the company to his good friend and then we came here to the states to live. They both got their citizenship and began building their careers. Mum still taught biology and dad just couldn't stay away from the construction business. I went on to finish school, and then I became a nurse. Hated the hours, way too long for me. That's how I met Rose." Taking a moment to get a drink of water, Seren went on. "She came into the E.R. one evening; had a broken wrist from sparring with the punching bag. Punched that damn thing right off of its chain too! We stated hanging out, and, soon enough, she asked me to move to the estate with her. I was bumming out at how small my apartment was, and she said there was more than enough room, so now, we're roommates!"
"What about Brissen, was she there when you moved in, or after?" Mikey was mesmerized; he just could not get enough of her!
"Yeah, Brissen was there already. Her and Rose hit it off well at one of Brissen's MMA classes she taught. They never did any public fighting though; just did it for the fitness level of it is all. I started going with them once a week; although they would go three times a week. I was into it, but not as much as them. It was cool though, I would cook, cuz, that's my thing. We got into a good routine and it was all awesome." She stopped for a bit to sip on her water; Mikey didn't speak, he just let her go at her own pace.
After several minutes, she continued once more. "Isleen was there as well when I moved in; but she mostly kept to herself. I know more about her now than I did that first whole year; she's cool and all, but I could never get into all of that science stuff she did."
"Yeah, I hear ya there. Donnie is the same; I dunno half of the time what he's talking about; and the other half I'm pretty confused on too!" Mikey was really enjoying himself, but then again, he always enjoyed himself when Seren was around him.
Seren spoke some more about her parents and the things they used to do together. She also spoke about losing them, and how it still hurt, even now as she talked about them, tears welled up in her eyes. Michelangelo saw this and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. He didn't have to use any words; she knew that he was there for her; her support for when she was feeling down, her strength for when she was weak. As the tears finally broke through and rolled down her cheeks, Seren knew in her heart and soul that Michelangelo was the one; and right then and there, her love for him grew in leaps and bounds. He would comfort her always and never abandon her; this she was certain of.
They stayed like that for some time, Michelangelo letting Seren get it all out of her system. The tears slowed down, then finally ceased. Looking up at him, Seren gave a weak smile. "I love you Michelangelo; love you with every fiber of my being."
Mikey was so touched; nobody had ever said anything like that to him before! Now it was his turn to blink back the tears as he responded to her. "I love you too Seren, with everything I got inside of me. You are my world and I won't ever leave your side, I promise."
"Let's go back to the house Mikey; all I want to do right now is just be cuddled up next to you and not move."
"Sure thing Seren; let's pack this up and go." It didn't take long to pack, seeing as all the food was gone, mainly thanks to Mikey and his stomach. They took their time walking down the trail and holding one another.
Not even bothering to take anything out of their packs, Mikey lifted Seren into his strong arms and carried her upstairs. Slowly, he undressed her, relishing in the feel of her soft skin under his fingertips. They got under the comforter and pulled each other close, only wanting to feel the warmth of their skin pressed together. It was a sweet ending to a beautiful day; one of many more to come.
The rest of the week went by about the same; lots of talking, goofing around and some good passionate love making as well. The two really got to know one another, and as a result of that, their bond grew closer; so did their love.
Mikey found out that Seren had expressed a desire to go back to Ireland, and he wanted to badly to give this to her; however, he really did not know how to go about it. Maybe he could talk to Rose about it and they could work something out. He made a mental note to speak with her after they returned home. He also knew she had wanted to visit the grave site of her parents; now that he could help with. After they got home and settled, he would take her out there so she could talk with them and place some flowers there.
Seren was so happy with him, and she made sure to remember to thank Rose for the wonderful idea for this. Mikey confided in her that when Raph would mess with him, at times, things that Raph would say; well, it hurt Mikey's feelings. The youngest turtle didn't want to say anything to his older brother for fear of being called a baby. Well Seren was definitely going to have a chat with Raphael about that! His brother needed to know that sometimes words DO hurt; and she was damned if anyone would hurt her turtle ever again!
The day came to leave, and Normal returned to the house so he could clean up and get it ready for the next couple to come. Rose had called to inform him that Leo and Brissen would be coming down next week; she also gave him a list of things needed for their stay. Mikey and Seren apologized for him having to clean, but he said it was alright; it was his job. Rose paid him very well too, something he was thankful for. It meant that he did not have to take a second job, and it also freed up time so he could spend it with his family. He knew Rose would hire Vets whenever she could, and he was also thankful for that.
Waving goodbye to the couple, Norman watched until they were out of his sight. Giving a big sigh, he turned towards the house and started walking. "Cute couple there; I remember when I was younger…"