3The second it happened, only one word came to his mind... run. Run away and never look back.
There was nothing more he could do without making things worse; nothing more he could do without being seen and potentially captured as well. There was only one available option and it was the only thing he could think to do. So he turned around, painfully ripping his eyes away from the terrifying scene. The shadows of the night continued to cloak him from view as he began to move; as he began to run.
He was all alone, no threat nor ally in sight. He felt his eyes begin to water, but managed to will the tears away. He had already shown that he wasn't strong enough once that night and he didn't feel like proving that again.
No footsteps followed; a strong indicator that he really did leave undetected, although he wasn't sure whether that was good or bad. While a positive was that he was safe from the enemy, the lack of sound reminded him of how alone he truly was. For several minutes things were like this; his own gentle breathing the only thing keeping him company.
Soon enough, closed in on a nearby alleyway and found that the area was safer than any other option, and the darkness of the enclosed space would allow him to remain hidden as he called for help.
His fingers fumbled around the T-Phone clumsily due to nervousness, although once the device was firmly in his palm, he quickly dialled in one of his brother's numbers and anxiously waited for a response. A few silent moments passed where the only thing he could hear was his own short, quick breaths.
It took a few seconds before he heard someone pick up on the other end. At first the recipient remained silent, almost as if they were making sure their number wasn't called by mistake. The youngest turtle tensed at the pause; anxious of what he would hear come from the other end. "Mikey?"
The orange masked ninja breathed a sigh of relief and felt the tension in his muscles loosen, "Leo, it's me."
"What happened? Where's Raph?" the response had been hastier, more urgent.
The second question caught Mikey off-guard. "How do you know he was with me?" he asked, disbelief and a little fear evident in his tone.
There was almost an element of laughter in Leo's voice, something which surprised the scared turtle. "If that's what the two of you call sneaking out, then I really need to tell Master Splinter to increase your training." the katana wielding ninja chuckled over the line, recalling the fast manner in which his younger brothers had snuck out. They hadn't exactly been noisy, but with Leo in the other room, the noise was easily enough to alert him of their departure.
After seconds passed without a complaint from Mikey over his brother's threat, Leo began believe that something might be horribly wrong. Concern bubbled inside of him as he asked, "Is everything okay?"
For a few seconds the younger turtle paused; unsure of how he was going to say his next words. Nervously looking around the alleyway, he decided that the best way to break the news to his brother was with a direct approach. "Raph's gone." he croaked out, the admittance of the situation causing his throat to close up with agonising pain.
"What do you mean he's gone?" the words sounded more disbelieving than upset - it was almost like Leo didn't know what his youngest brother was referring to.
The fact that the blue masked ninja needed further clarification made the situation much more difficult for Mikey, and once he found his ability to speak once more, he mentally berated himself for the way his voice shook when he began talking, "The - the foot captured him."
Disbelief was immediately replaced with confusion and worry, "What - how's that possible? How many were there?" the older turtle demanded while simultaneously managing to keep his voice level.
Mikey stopped and thought about the situation. In reality, there had only been a handful of footbots - no more than twelve. This raised a question inside his mind - how did Raph get captured so easily? "There was only a few," Mikey responded numbly, "I really don't know what happened... everything went too quickly. Can you please come here?"
There was a brief pause on Leo's side of the line which eventually was followed with a slightly frustrated sigh. "Alright, I'm coming." he muttered before ending the call.
As soon as the call finished, Mikey put his T-Phone away and quickly glanced around the alleyway for threats. Fortunately, he heard and saw nothing dangerous or out of the ordinary, so he assumed that the position he was currently in was safe for the time being.
Everything that had occurred felt surreal to Mikey; before those footbots had appeared, the night had been going so well. In truth, it had been Raph's idea to sneak out of the lair - he had said that the two of them could have some fun alone since it had been so long since the last time. Mikey never would have thought that such an amazing night would have ended so badly. He never would have guessed that he would sit idly by and watch Raph be taken away from him. He witnessed a kidnapping and did nothing; too instilled with fear and confusion to move.
0.-.0 0.-.0
The day had been pretty uneventful for Michelangelo. After training, he had been bored out of his mind with nothing to occupy his time. A testament to how bland the day had been was the fact that the most exciting point of his day had been training. TRAINING.
It was entering late evening; the sun had nearly set over New York's surface and Mikey had just finished reading the same comic book for the third time in one day. With a frustrated sigh, he flung the comic book to the ground and began walking around the lair in search of something to do - he was starting to lose it because of how bored he was.
The option of annoying Leo wasn't available, the oldest turtle had made it very clear that he was busy learning new katas for most of the day and he didn't want to be disturbed. Besides, the day Mikey was bored enough that he would actually join Leo for more training than necessary was the day he stopped liking pizza - and that was a day that would NEVER come.
He had considered pulling a prank on Raph, but the hot-headed turtle had been in a worse mood than usual and Mikey didn't want to risk being beaten to a pulp over something as stupid as a prank. With all these facts being brought into consideration, he realised that his only option was to annoy Donnie.
The genius turtle was probably working on an experiment or invention if he wasn't obsessing over April, so he was easily the safest bet and the least likely to try and kill him for interrupting anything. With a smile, Mikey had made his final decision and was about to make his way over to Donnie's lab to search for him. However, at that moment two warm, muscly arms wrapped around him from behind and yanked his shell against a familiar plastron.
"Hey Mikey." a deep voice murmured, sending a hot breath against his neck.
"Hey Raph." Mikey answered, trying to keep his voice level. The task proved to be difficult as he felt the older turtle repeatedly plant kisses on his neck, "What are you doing?
Raph continued to kiss his youngest brother's neck, slowly trailing his lips to Mikey's jaw. "Want to sneak out?" he whispered against soft skin, running his hands along a plastron covered chest.
The question caught Mikey's attention, he turned around in the slightly loosened grip; his intentions to simply talk to the red masked ninja. The moment blue eyes met green, the younger turtle found a pair of lips against his own. The contact was wanting, yet loving, and the feel of their mouths connecting was too tempting for Mikey. For a few bliss-filled moments he melted into the contact, closing his eyes to focus solely on the sensations he felt.
When he eventually gained a sense of self-control, the orange masked ninja moved out of reach of the lips in front of him and gazed into intense, hypnotising green eyes. "Do you mean head topside?" Mikey asked for clarification, feeling flustered and almost breathless from the heated kiss.
Unhappy that there was still a small space between the two of them, Raph pulled the younger turtle closer with one arm while cupping a freckled cheek with his other hand. "Yep." he smiled, drawing Mikey's lips back to his own in a soft, slow movement which nearly made the smaller turtle shudder with pleasure.
"You do realise that Leo is literally in the other room, right?" Mikey whispered, suddenly much more aware of his older brother's alluring scent.
"He's too busy focusing on being a teacher's pet to care." Raph answered in a knowing tone, moving away from his baby brother before walking towards the lair exit. He stopped just before disappearing from sight and tilted his head back so he could look at Mikey. "You coming?" he called back, catching the gleam which was present in light shimmering blue eyes.
After taking one final glance around the lair, Mikey realised that there was nothing else to occupy his time if he didn't follow his older brother. With a final decision, the orange masked ninja jogged over to Raph, following the broad-shouldered turtle through the exit. Besides the point of looking for entertainment, Mikey was actually extremely interested in whatever might happen if he followed his older brother.
They walked side by side through the abandoned subways with a peaceful silence reigning over them. Minutes passed by, and Mikey continued to have a question on his mind that he couldn't shake his curiosity over. "So, why did you suddenly 'spring' me like that back there?" curious blue eyes looked to fluorescent green ones which stared back at him with happiness.
"You liked it, didn't you?" Raph's words were spoken as more of a confident statement rather than a question, which showed through in the cocky smirk that grew on his face.
"Yeah," Mikey answered boldly, although his cheeks became tinted a light pink. "But that's besides the point. I thought we had to be careful." he added with a hint of a scolding tone, similar to one Leo would use when he was starting to get annoyed at one of his brothers for doing something that they shouldn't.
After taking a few more steps, Mikey realised that his older brother had ceased walking. Worry began to build up inside him and out of instinct, his eyes began cautiously scanning the dimly lit sewers. In an instant, Mikey's shell was pressed against the wall - the force of the sudden impact making him gasp for breath. As soon as he became aware of what was happening, light blue eyes met electric green orbs, and suddenly the body pressing against him didn't feel as threatening.
Raph pushed the younger turtle onto the wall a little harder, pinning his wrists above his head as their plastrons scraped together. "There's a difference between being careful and knowing you won't get caught." Raph said so quietly that it was surprising that he hadn't whispered it. And each time he felt the warm breath of his younger brother against his lips, it became harder to resist closing the space between them.
"Coming out here to spend time together is being careful." the words barely tumbled out of Raph's mouth before he could no longer stop the strong impulse to kiss the soft lips in front of him from taking over. The contact was soft and tender, although the way Raph gently bit Mikey's bottom lip and sucked on it was a little less controlled. The older turtle was reluctant to pull away, but he managed to slowly do so and gazed into hypnotising blue eyes once more.
"Having some fun back at the lair was knowing we wouldn't get caught." he murmured huskily, loosening his grip on light green wrists and trailing his hands along Mikey's arms, making his way over firm shoulders until his hands finally rested on freckled cheeks.
"So, is that just it?" Mikey's hands moved to grip well-toned biceps; the firmness of the muscles bringing a sense of safety and comfort to him, "You brought me out here to go on a date?"
For a few seconds, the older turtle paused as his eyes skimmed over the body in front of him. Raph answered Mikey's questions with a small smile and a gentle laugh, "You know me well." after pressing another soft, lingering kiss onto the younger turtle's lips, he stepped back and began walking once more.
As soon as he could process the intense feelings caused because their interactions, Mikey pushed himself off of the wall and hurried after his older brother, "Why'd you want to go on a date?" he inquired, finding it a little unusual for the typically hot-headed and tough turtle to act so... gentle? Romantic?
Raph mulled over the question in his mind for several seconds, thinking of the best way to respond. In the end he shrugged, "We haven't spent any time together in a while." his eyes continued to look forward; vision never wavering as it remained locked onto the darkness ahead, "I mean - just the two of us."
The way he was acting seemed a little distant, but Mikey assumed that it was because he was embarrassed. Although the two turtles had been together for a few months, Raph still wasn't used to displaying a more romantic side of himself since there never used to be a need to. However, the hot-headed turtle was now with someone - and that someone gave him a reason to try and act more like a boyfriend rather than a brother, son, or friend.
A smile spread on Mikey's face as he thought about this, it made him feel like he would always be important to at least one other soul in the world. Blue eyes glanced up at Raph's face, looking at his seemingly stoic expression. One thing Mikey always noticed was that his older brother always looked less angry when they were alone together and that was just another thing that made the orange masked ninja feel like he was important and needed.
Mikey slowly reached for Raph's hand; lacing their fingers together before leaning closer to the turtle he loved. He could almost feel the smile that spread on his older brother's face as they continued walking.
It wasn't long before they found a manhole which led to the surface. Once they made their way over to it, the two quickly climbed up and removed the metal lid; making sure to be careful of nearby citizens. Once they were sure the coast was clear, Raph and Mikey silently stepped onto the streets of New York before melting into the shadows of the night. They climbed the closest building and begun to jump from rooftop to rooftop; avoiding the city's lights as they ran.
A few minutes went by before Raph halted on a rooftop - only a few centimetres away from the edge and outstretched an arm to stop Mikey from moving further as he caught up.
"Why'd we stop?" The younger turtle asked, looking at his brother in confusion.
Vibrant green eyes locked with curious blue ones. "Let's just sit here for a while. We're pretty high up and it's dark. It's unlikely anyone will see us." Raph responded as he slumped into a sitting position on the edge of the roof, staring at all the ground level shops and streets of New York.
Mikey sat down next to him, "This place usually looks disgusting, but all the lights make it beautiful." he murmured with a grin that was far too big for his face as he watched some of the pedestrians on the footpath.
Things transitioned into a comfortable silence until Raph broke it, "Mikey?"
"Yeah?" orange mask tails flicked as the younger turtle turned to face his brother.
Raph simply stared at Mikey; noticing the way the distant city lights caught in his light blue eyes and made them appear brighter. The sapphire blue orbs were illuminated to a point where it was almost hypnotising.
"What is it?" Mikey asked, slightly tilting his head to the side in curiosity.
Still lost in the younger turtle's eyes, Raph forgot to answer the question. Instead, he noticed how the gentle orange glow of hundreds of distant street lampposts made the soft skin on Mikey's face visible in the night. He took note of the way his youngest brother's freckles stood out on his light green skin. Raph's gaze then shifted to Mikey's lips and watched each movement they made as he spoke. He remembered how soft and electrifying those lips were each time they kissed, and he became lost in the memories of how warm Mikey's body was each time it was against his own.
"Raph, is everything okay?"
On impulse, Raph brought his hands up to Mikey's face and cupped his cheeks. For what felt like an eternity, but was only a brief moment, he simply stared deeply into sky blue eyes. He slowly leaned forward, bringing their lips together in a soft kiss. Once they had parted, Raph inched closer to the younger turtle and moved one arm to wrap around Mikey's shell, drawing him as close as possible. With a little more haste, the red masked ninja planted slow, intimate kisses onto the lips in front of him; savouring the feeling of the younger turtle's warmth and closeness. "I really love you, Mikey." He mumbled into the kiss.
The sudden confession caught the nun-chuck wielding ninja off-guard. His face began to heat up as a crimson red blush appeared on his cheeks. "That was really cheesy dude." Mikey smiled wildly - partly due to the corniness of his older brother's words, but mostly because he had openly admitted to loving him.
"Shut up." Raph grumbled, although it was clear that he wasn't angry through the way that he touched their foreheads together.
Mikey laughed, a warm bubbly sound which only proved to remind his older brother of another reason why he loved him. Their lips met once again; this time Mikey initiating the contact. At first the kiss was slow and tentative, but it quickly deepened and became more intimate. Raph gripped onto the younger turtle's shoulders and pulled him closer, making their plastrons rub together. A moan escaped Mikey as the two of them lay down on the roof; Raph on his back with the younger turtle's plastron flush against his own. From that point onwards, the kisses became opened mouthed and sloppy as the sense of self-control became lost in passion.
As soon as Raph managed to gain control of his senses, he slowly stopped the kiss and looked into blue eyes with a devious smirk. "Was it worth sneaking out?"
The tone of voice and expression said it all to the younger turtle, who held a very big smile as he buried his face into his older brother's neck, "Definitely."
For a few minutes longer Raph simply held Mikey in his arms, feeling the gentle rise and fall of his youngest brother's chest against his own. He rested his chin on the orange masked ninja's head and focused solely on the way Mikey's body felt - something which served as reminder of how lucky Raph felt to be able to hold the turtle he loved so much in his arms.
"Can we just stay like this?" Mikey mumbled on Raph's skin, inhaling his comforting and alluring scent.
"We can have some fun later, when we get back home. I have another idea right now." He sat up slowly; the younger turtle moving with him. Raph gave soft, green lips a quick kiss before standing up and helping his baby brother to his feet. It wasn't long before they continued to jump from rooftop to rooftop; watching as the city lights skimmed past in blurs as the noises of shops and pedestrians become lost in the cold wind.
The two ventured to a different area before Raph stopped, Mikey soon following. After quickly looking over the surrounding area, Mikey shifted his gaze to the red masked ninja and immediately noticed how worn out he appeared to be. "Everything okay bro?" he asked worriedly; watching as Raph attempted to regained his posture.
"Yeah, I just thought we could stop here." Raph answered, no longer seeming so tired. He walked calmly to the edge of the shipping container they stood on and set his gaze on the ground below, "You can see most of the docks from here."
Mikey hurried over to where his older brother stood and peered over the shipping containers to see the wooden structures and deep waters below. "Huh, so you can." He set his light blue eyes on Raph with a huge grin, "This has been really fun."
Green eyes returned the gaze and a strong arm wrapped around Mikey's shoulders, bringing him closer to the older turtle, "Yeah, especially since I've been able to see it with you."
"Wow, you've been really corny tonight." Mikey laughed, leaning in closer to his brother's side.
"I'm just telling you the truth."
"I guess..." Mikey murmured, "I'm just not used to you being so... well, romantic."
"I want to be able to be honest with you." Raph tightened his arm around light green shoulders.
"Dude, you know you can." The younger turtle answered, tilting his head to look at the red masked ninja properly. Mikey had noticed that his older brother hadn't exactly been himself, and while the night was going really well, he couldn't help but think that maybe something was wrong.
Raph laughed softly, seeming oblivious to his brother's surfacing concern, "Of course I do, so what's the problem?"
The younger turtle shrugged his shoulders as best as he could with an arm wrapped around them, "I don't know, you're just acting weird-"
"Did you hear something?" Raph interrupted in a hushed tone as he moved away from his youngest brother. His eyes darted between shipping containers and shadows in an attempt to find the source of the sound.
"I don't think so?" Mikey spoke in a confused voice, beginning to look around. After a few seconds of searching, he caught the glint of shiny metal as a ray of light bounced off of it. Before he could investigate the sighting, a wave of footbots appeared from the darkness.
"Raph, footbo-" Mikey felt two firm arms wrap around him from behind and pull him into the shadows - hiding him from the enemy's view. The turtle thought he should be afraid, but the familiarity of the arms as well as the gentleness of the touch made him feel secure.
Suddenly, Mikey was spun around; electric green eyes meeting him. By the time he realised who it was, Raph had brought their mouths together into a kiss; a loving one that seemed to convey a message - it was almost as if the older turtle was scared.
"Stay here, I'll take them out." Raph commanded as walked bravely out of the shadows and into the dim night's light. He stood confidently as the footbots surrounding him drew out their blades and prepared to fight.
Time stood still as the enemy circled Raph - and even though Mikey could defend himself in battle, something inside him told him to remain hidden. He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about the ambush.
One of the footbots moved and the fight began.
There were only a few footbots, the same kind the turtles would face all the time. The group was relatively small - even April could take them out; Mikey observed.
Raph surged forward, everything about his stance screaming strength and confidence, while everything about his eyes screamed fear. A footbot approached the red masked ninja from behind - one he didn't see. By the time Mikey noticed and went to shout out a warning to his older brother to move, the enemy had already struck. Blood trickled down a well-toned arm; covering the limb in a thin sheen of crimson red. The incision hadn't been life-threatening, or even enough to impair Raph's fighting style from what Mikey had seen, but either way the older turtle fell and he didn't fight the robotic hands that grabbed him. Raph was picked up and the footbots took him away.
They took him away in front of Mikey's eyes yet the younger turtle did nothing. Three of the enemy ninjas lingered back a few moments longer and scanned the area for any threats.
A pair of robotic eyes stopped on the shadow where Mikey hid.
The second it happened, only one word came to his mind... run. Run away and never look back.
There was nothing more he could do without making things worse; nothing more he could do without being seen and potentially captured as well. There was only one available option and it was the only thing he could think to do. So he turned around, painfully ripping his eyes away from the terrifying scene. The shadows of the night continued to cloak him from view as he began to move; as he began to run.
0.-.0 0.-.0
Mikey never would have thought that such an amazing night would have ended so badly. He never would have guessed that he would sit idly by and watch Raph be taken away from him. He witnessed a kidnapping and did nothing; too instilled with fear and confusion to move.
The sound of footsteps could be heard, but Mikey was too caught up in his own thoughts to pay any attention to the noise. He barely noticed the form standing in the shadows, or the eyes which were watched him.
"Mikey?" A voice spoke.