Afterglow - Chapter 26

Rated: T

Training Daze

Chapter Summary: April starts a new training regiment and Raphael is not too eager to help out - well, at first anyway... *wink* ...maybe it has something to do with those tight pants...

Raphael was a turtle of many secrets.

Over the course of his nearly two year relationship with April, he's told her many - or was coerced into telling her, some secrets he'd striven to hide, but in the end, she found them out anyway. Opening up to her about these things though was not only difficult, but damn near impossible and lead to many an argument over the course of their two years together (both of them being damn stubborn after all.)

It was understandable if you looked at it from Raph's point of view - here he was, a strong, brash, ninja warrior who reeked machismo and fortitude. So for him to admit to his gut-wrenching, debilitating, and rather embarrassing fear of cockroaches and mostly his anxiety stemming from getting attached to the beautiful redhead, whom he was certain would get bored and leave him for another, was damned near impossible. It took a lot of time and tender loving from April to finally convince him, at least a little, that she in fact did love him like crazy and didn't have plans to leave him - yet at least. She'd said it with a wink and sexy smile, so Raph ignored that connotation. April had always been feisty and a wee-bit enamored with getting under his shell so her ease at which she bantered and teased him about it only calmed those fears to retreat further into the back of his mind.

One secret Raphael hid nicely stowed away in the back of his slightly deranged mind was - shall we say - fetish?

It wasn't a particular body part like feet or other strange or even demented stuff he'd found on the internet (he shuttered the thought).

It was more of an attribute than anything - which was a strange attraction to physically strong girls - one who could and would kick his ass at a moment's notice.

Strange, right? Especially coming from the very competitive Raphael who hated anyone, especially his brothers whenever they'd occasionally gain the upper hand on the training mat - but a woman to do so however?

Hot DAMN...

So, while April could pack a punch in her own right, she was still just a young human woman - a thin one who tipped the scales at 125 lbs soaking wet. So, for the 350-ish lb Raphael, April could hardly be considered sparring or even strong material. The red-banded terrapin didn't really put much serious thought when she approached him wanting to train with him much like they did at Northampton. He wanted to do so for her and the fact that she even asked was rather flattering and it meant they could spend more time together; considering the redhead was stuck in college for at least 50 hours a week. That wasn't even counting all the homework she brought home with her, so to have an excuse to spend time and get to touch her while doing so was a-okay in his book.

So, he'd agreed, and damn, did she know how to still surprise him after all this time...

The first day he'd rolled over in bed and didn't find her next to him, he was a bit peeved. Since she'd been staying at the lair he'd come to enjoy just having her in his bed and to wake up and not find her was rather disheartening. In his early morning grumpiness, he stumbled out of bed with nothing more than his mask and a scowl. He'd walked through the darkened lair looking for her, wondering if he'd find her in the bathroom or kitchen but before he could make it past the hallway, he stopped in his tracks when he seen a dim light coming from the dojo. The spell sleep still had over him completely disintegrated the second he'd walked past the threshold; he found April in nothing but incredibly tight yoga pants and a sports bra, a light sheen of sweat pasted to her brow, causing the terrapin to nearly swallow his tongue...

"Morning, sleepyhead. Boy, you sure like to sleep the day away, dontcha?" April giggled, wiping the sweat from her brow as Raphael still tried to come to terms with everything he was seeing; wondering in the back of his mind if he was still sleeping and this was a wonderful dream. "So...Now that I finished my warm-up - What do you plan on teaching me today, sensei?"

That got his mind and feet moving again, a smirk making a quick appearance on his face as he approached her. "Oh, I got somethin' in mind." he growled lowly and April squealed when he suddenly began chasing her around the dojo all to the chorus of her screeching, "Raphael, stop it!"

The impromptu flirting session ceased once Splinter made his appearance after hearing all the ruckus they were making; once he was under his father's watchful eye, Raphael became serious, taking her through a series of basic katas and moves he remembered her mastering back at the farm. He wanted to take it easy on her first day because he wanted her to keep coming back and not regret asking him in the first place. It went smoothly and he was happily surprised when he found her waiting eagerly for further instruction early next morning.

It had been over two weeks since they started, and while Raphael was not the most patient teacher, April knew what to expect. Once Raphael got over her boner-inducing outfit from the first day, they'd mastered simple katas, going over the basics of what April had learned from Splinter and the fellow turtles over the years. It was slow-going at first but over the course of the couple weeks of training, April relearned much of what she'd forgotten over the past year. It wasn't easy juggling training, college, and homework, but April made due and Raphael had been a great teacher thus far.

The redhead would also admit that this training also was a great way to release some of the sexual tension that had been building up since she had been staying at the lair these last couple weeks (she still was a bit apprehensive about facing her dad and the neighbors again, so she'd just extended her stay at the lair.) Being with him running around and getting sweaty was not even comparable to sex, but it still felt great to be with him and spend time with him this way...even if seeing him strutting around and using those glorious muscles was making her more sexually frustrated than ever knowing she couldn't just jump his bones with the obvious fact they could be walked in on at almost any time.

But what made it bearable was their banter they'd had back and forth (without Splinter there, obviously). It was fun just to get under his shell and flirt with him just like they did in Northampton without ever having much more intimate contact. It was like a little game they had developed and as much as she'd rather have sex, this would have to do for now...

Because there was no way in hell she was having sex at the lair...

Every morning at roughly 4 am, she'd wake up, change, and do a warm up while she'd wait for him in the dojo. It was a routine they'd quickly developed and April had religiously stuck to it for over a month now and it was obvious she was quickly improving. Although she'd had many strengths, her physical being was never one of them, but what Raphael didn't suspect when he began training her was that April was stronger than she looked; even surpassing the strength she had at Northampton in a very short amount of time. Over the course of weeks they'd been doing this, he'd spar with her (going easy on her of course) near the end of their session to see her prove exactly what she learned - and to his surprise, she'd wound up catching him off guard.

In the slightest moment of hesitation, Raph found himself being thrown back onto the mat with a loud thud from a rather strong punch to his jaw.

"Wow. Didn't think you'd be so distracted with this outfit considering the amount of times you've seen me naked." April didn't waste any time in mocking him, hands fisted on her hips as she stared down at Raphael who was slightly wobbling on his shell on the flat dojo floor. While his cheek stung something awful and there were still white spots in his vision, he wasn't really complaining because this view was giving him a great view of her bare legs and the underside of her breasts, which had gotten a bit sweaty during their workout.

"Don't get cocky, you've only been at it a month." he smirked, rolling himself to a seated position.

"I think getting cocky is your job..." April replied with a sultry wink as she helped him back up to his feet.

"Heh. Don't be saying that unless you plan to back up those words, O'Neil." he replied, getting closer to her than he had in awhile. Their romance had pretty much sizzled since she'd been at the lair; their only physical contact had been going to bed at night but even then, it was no more than light kissing and cuddling before falling asleep. They hadn't had sex in over a month, and now, here she was, feisty and sexy; her skin glinting with a light sheen of sweat; and not to mention, she just knocked him to the floor with a rough punch to his face...

Raphael couldn't remember the last time he'd been so turned on...

"Then why don't you come to get me then?" she said, lightly backing away, breaking him out of his trance and causing the pressure in Raph's shell to tighten uncomfortably at those words filled with innuendos.

Without replying, he rushed toward her, his plans of going easy on her brushed to the wayside after she dodged all of his moves. The second he stopped making light punches toward her, Raph caught the motion of her leg preparing a kick and as soon as it was airborne and making a beeline toward his head, he quickly ducked under it, twisting around before grasping her around the waist. He took her down to the mat, careful not to put any of weight on her as her back met the tatami mat.

April struggled in vein for only a second, allowing her arms to plop down; strewn loosely over her head. Her lips quirked in a sexy smirk as he lowered himself to his elbows, his snout so close to her face, he almost brushed his nose over hers.

Raph's heart skipped a beat when she began laughing, her warm minty breath skirting along his face, arms moving to wrap around his shoulders. He didn't even notice when his guard dropped completely; her legs opening and allowing him to press himself flush against her sweaty body. He swallowed a sudden lump that clogged his throat when blue eyes became heavily-lidded and flicked down to his lips, which he licked in response to her gaze. His eyes slipped closed and he hurriedly closed the distance between their mouths, meeting her soft mouth and drowning in her warmth and feel of her body.

God, he missed this...

The redhead smirked against his lips; her own overstimulated hormones were completely ignored as she firmly wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs made their way between his thighs. With strength Raphael didn't know she possessed, she'd managed to catch him off-guard a second time; rolling him to his back by using the fact he was convex on one side being used to her every advantage.

With nothing more than an uncharacteristic yelp, Raphael was suddenly wobbling on his shell and April sat smugly atop his plastron, arms crossed over her breasts and wearing a shit-eating grin.

Indistinct mumbling began running out of Raphael's mouth at the fact he'd been played, "What the hell!?", "That wasn't fair!", "You can't just kiss me like that!" Hearing him rant about it, April would never guess he was still as turned on as fuck and trying desperately not to embarrass himself and descend especially when his father could easily walk in any second.

"All is fair in love and war, Raphie." April sing-songed, the use of his dreaded childhood nickname she learned from Mikey (the little shit) making his cheeks flush a crimson red.

A second later while not being able to do much but lay on his back and look up at her; heart hammering much like it did the first time she kissed him. He couldn't help but smile up at her; admitting if that meant he had to get his ass handed to him now and again - April would definitely be his first choice.