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Casey urges Raph to help solve the puzzle, but the red banded turtle and his oldest brother are locked in a mystery of their own.\n", "count": "14", "submission_left_submission_id": "910707", "submission_left_file_name": "1242292_hummerhouse_the_witchery_way_part_2.doc", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/1242/1242292_hummerhouse_the_witchery_way_part_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/1242/1242292_hummerhouse_the_witchery_way_part_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/1242/1242292_hummerhouse_the_witchery_way_part_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_huge_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_huge_y": "160", "submission_left_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_y": "160", "submission_left_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_y": "96", "submission_right_submission_id": "912687", "submission_right_file_name": "1245135_hummerhouse_the_witchery_way_part_4.doc", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/1245/1245135_hummerhouse_the_witchery_way_part_4.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/1245/1245135_hummerhouse_the_witchery_way_part_4.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/1245/1245135_hummerhouse_the_witchery_way_part_4.jpg", "submission_right_thumb_huge_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_huge_y": "160", "submission_right_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_y": "160", "submission_right_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_right_thumb_medium_y": "96" } ], "description": "Word Count: 4,915\nRating: R TCest OT4, language, violence, adult concepts\nSummary: Young, healthy males throughout New York City are dying in a mysterious manner. Casey urges Raph to help him solve the puzzle, but the red banded turtle and his oldest brother are locked in a mystery of their own.", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Word Count: 4,915
Rating: R TCest OT4, language, violence, adult concepts
Summary: Young, healthy males throughout New York City are dying in a mysterious manner. Casey urges Raph to help him solve the puzzle, but the red banded turtle and his oldest brother are locked in a mystery of their own.", "writing": "\tRaph was so engrossed in the morning paper that he almost missed the surprised look on Leo’s face when the turtle leader stepped into the kitchen.\n\n\t“Mornin’”, Raph told him.\n\n\t“Good morning,” Leo replied. “I wondered why the paper wasn’t at the garage door.”\n\n\t“Sorry, I would have saved ya’ the trip up there if I’d have heard ya’,” Raph said. “I grabbed the paper and took it into my ‘office’ before coming in here.”\n\n\tLeo made a face at Raph’s reference to the toilet and then set about making tea. He noticed that Raph had already started the coffee maker and looked over at his brother, who had returned to reading the paper.\n\n\t“You’re certainly up early,” Leo said in what he hoped was a conversational tone.\n\n\t“No, I didn’t stay up all night,” Raph responded, hearing the unspoken question despite Leo’s effort to disguise it. “I got plenty of sleep. There was something I wanted ta read about in the early edition, so I decided ta go ahead and get up.”\n\n\tAs he waited for his water to boil, Leo walked over to stand behind Raph, peering at the front page as he did so.\n\n\t“The change in the garbage collection schedules?” Leo asked.\n\n\tRaph turned his head partway, catching a glimpse of his brother’s strong profile as Leo leaned in further.\n\n\t“No, it’s this,” Raph slapped the paper, his fingers creasing the headlines regarding the most recent murder.\n\n\t“There was another one?” Leo shook his head and then turned at the sound of the whistling kettle.\n\n\t“Yeah, me and Casey heard the sirens and followed ‘em,” Raph said. “We got there about the same time as the cops did. It was damn brutal looking.”\n\n \tWhile he waited for his tea to steep, Leo pulled a couple of clean cups down from the cabinet and poured the freshly made coffee into one of them. Walking back over to Raph, he set the cup in front of his brother, along with a spoon and the sealed container of sugar, glancing at the paper again as he did so.\n\n\t“It says they discovered the man’s body at three a.m.,” Leo said as he went back to preparing his tea. “Two hours now constitute ‘plenty of sleep’?”\n\n\tRaph made a face at the paper; it figured that Leo and his damn speed reading would pick that one fact out of the story and use it to his advantage.\n\n\t“I slept in the night before, so it evens out,” Raph replied, not in the mood for an early morning argument.\n\n\tLeo returned to the table, pulling out a chair next to Raph’s and taking a seat. As was usually the case when Leo was so close to him, Raph found he was hyper aware of his brother, noticing tiny details about him without really wanting to. \n\n\tHe spotted a slight darkening on the forest green skin just below Leo’s jaw line, most likely the beginnings of a hickey placed there by Mikey during their evening romp. He noticed how Leo’s eyes crinkled contentedly as he took that first sip of morning tea, how straight Leo sat even when fully relaxed. Raph inhaled Leo’s scent, mixed delicately with Mikey’s at the moment; it was still very distinctive.\n\n\tRaph pulled his attention off of his brother forcefully, focusing instead on the now cooling coffee. Setting the paper aside, he reached for the sugar, telling his brother, “Thanks.”\n\n\t“Welcome,” Leo replied and then tapped the paper with a fingertip. “Did they find anything useful at this crime scene?”\n\n\t“Nah,” Raph said, swallowing coffee before lifting the paper again and turning to the articles continuation on an inside page. The remainder of the story was only a couple of paragraphs long and said nothing Raph didn’t already know. “The cops are still as clueless as they were with the first one.”\n\n\t“I wasn’t aware that you’d been following the case,” Leo said mildly. “That’s something for the experts to solve and I’m sure they aren’t as ‘clueless’ as you’ve been led to believe.”\n\n\tRaph flushed slightly, feeling acutely the dig that Leo had just taken at him. He had meant to pick his brother’s brain for whatever Leo might have learned from having spent so much time watching the news, maybe even offering a suggestion that they try to find out some things about the case together. \n\n\tNow he wondered how he ever thought that sharing the mystery with Leo would be a good way to bond. Pride demanded that Raph get his information elsewhere.\n\n\t“Just got curious ‘cause of last night,” Raph said with what he hoped was an appropriate amount of nonchalance. He put the paper down and gulped the remainder of his coffee.\n\n\tLeo touched the paper and asked, “May I?”\n\n\t“Yeah, I’m done,” Raph said, reaching for the sports section.\n\n\t“Please tell me that’s coffee I smell,” Don said as he walked into the kitchen. His eyes were barely open as he made straight for the coffee maker.\n\n\tMikey followed on his heels, a wide yawn garbling his morning greeting. As Mikey poured out a bowl of cereal for himself, Don dropped some bread into the four slotted toaster and sat down at the table to sip his coffee.\n\n\t“Did ya’ finish that chest ya’ was working on?” Raph asked.\n\n\tDon rubbed a hand across his chin tiredly, glancing at Raph and then back into his cup. “I got the first coat of varnish on, but the humidity in the air is going to slow the drying time. I think it’s going to rain.”\n\n\t“Yeah, it was clouding up when I came in,” Raph said.\n\n\tAfter taking another large swallow of what he considered liquid heaven, Don eyed Raph suspiciously. “You certainly look wide awake and alert. What’s your secret?”\n\n\tRaph laughed, his eyes remaining glued to the sports scores. “Just good, clean living.”\n\n\tMikey waved a hand in front of his nose as he sat down. “I don’t know about the clean part dude. When was the last time you said hello to soap and water?”\n\n\t“Didn’t seem to be any point in rinsing off a couple hours before I report for training,” Raph told him, glaring at Mikey. The effort was wasted; Mikey’s eyes were focused on the cereal he was busily stuffing into his mouth.\n\n\tThe toaster popped behind them, interrupting any further discussion on that subject, and Don got up to retrieve his breakfast. \n\n\t“You want a slice, Raph?” Don asked. He didn’t offer any to Leo because his oldest brother never ate before practice, choosing to indulge in brunch instead.\n\n\t“Sure,” Raph said as he turned his newspaper to another page. He was tempted to tell Don what he’d read about the murder, but refrained because he didn’t want to bring it up again around Leo.\n\n\tDon delved into the refrigerator for the grape jam, placing it and a knife on the table next to Raph’s toast. Raph offered him a nod and a smile in acknowledgment, and Don refilled both of their coffee cups before sitting down to eat his toast plain, the way he preferred it.\n\n\tAs Raph spread a liberal amount of jam on his toast, he watched Mikey lift his cereal bowl to his mouth and drain the last of his milk. Mikey set the empty bowl on the table with a satisfied thump, rubbed the back of his hand across his lips, and then burped loudly.\n\n\t“Nothing like a little morning fuel,” Mikey said with a smile.\n\n\t“Say ‘excuse me’, Mikey,” Leo said without looking up from the paper.\n\n\t“Excuse me, Mikey,” Mikey said, grinning impishly.\n\n\tDon shook his head. “Do you go out of your way to be disgusting?”\n\n\tMikey aimed a thumb in Raph’s direction. “Why is my burp more disgusting than how Raph smells?”\n\n\tLeo put his paper aside and stood up. “Finish up you guys, I just saw Master Splinter go into the dojo.”\n\n\tRaph pushed the last bite of toast into his mouth as he left the table. When he got near Mikey, he grabbed the back of his brother’s chair and leaned in close to him.\n\n\t“This is a pure manly aroma,” Raph husked next to his ear, “get used ta it; I’m gonna rub it all over your face at practice.”\n\n\tDon snorted laughter as he rose from his chair and Mikey leaned away from Raph, his beak wrinkled in distaste. \n\n\t“Eww, gross,” Mikey told him.\n\n\tLaughing, Raph turned towards the door, yanking the chair backwards as he moved. The chair hit the floor with a loud thud and Mikey rolled out of it, leaping nimbly to his feet. Raph darted into the dojo with Mikey in hot pursuit.\n\n\tAll during practice Raph’s mind kept turning to the killings and to his dilemma with Leo. He loved all of his brothers deeply but there was something about his oldest brother that just seemed unreachable. It was like he’d partitioned a part of himself off from his family and that thought ate away at Raph.\n\n\tHe wanted Leo; all of him. Raph wanted to share things with Leo that he kept hidden from the others because he thought Leo would understand his darker core. He wanted to know everything that was on the other side of Leo’s wall as well; whatever his brother hid was no doubt something Raph was also familiar with.\n\n\tUnless the thing that Leo was hiding was the fact that he didn’t need his brothers; that he didn’t need [i]Raph[/i], as much as Raph needed him. Maybe that was why Leo was able to hold himself aloof from Raph’s advances. For all he knew, Leo could be just fine and dandy with the limitations in their relationship.\n\n\tIf that was the case, Raph would be damned before he gave it up to Leo first. As far as he was concerned, it was up to Leo to prove he gave a shit. Might be that big brother thought he was too good to lift his tail for Raph. Leo’s gibe that morning had stung and Raph didn’t like that feeling. Maybe he’d show Leo there was more to him than brawn by solving that murder mystery.\n\n\tBy the time Master Splinter instructed that Raph and Leo should spar, the red banded turtle had worked his anger up to a low level burn. It felt good and was made better by the fact that it sharpened his senses; giving Raph that extra edge he needed to put Leo on the mat. \n\n\tWhen Leo tapped out and Raph released him, the turtle leader gave his brother a puzzled look, sensing the underlying anger but not knowing its cause. If Leo expected an explanation after Master Splinter called an end to practice, he could get bent for all Raph cared. The hot head turned his back on his brothers and strode out of the dojo, making straight for the showers and then the comfort of his hammock for several hours of shuteye.\n\n\tIt was late afternoon when Raph rolled out of his hammock. He was a little groggy as was usually the case when he slept for more than a few hours at a time and in no mood to be sociable, but when he went downstairs he saw that the evening news was on TV.\n\n\tCrossing over to the living area, Raph plopped down on the other end of the couch from where Leo sat. Their father was curled into his favorite chair and gave his son a quick glance before turning his attention back to the newscast.\n\n\tEventually there was a short update on the most recent murder, delivered by a serious faced brunette model/reporter who was standing on the sidewalk near where the man had been found. Other than the man’s name, which had finally been released, no other new information came to light.\n\n\tWhen a commercial began to play, Raph looked over at Leo and asked, “We going out on patrol?”\n\n\t“Yep,” Leo said. “We aren’t going anywhere near that crime scene though.”\n\n\tRaph shrugged, hiding a quick spark of irritation. “That’s fine by me. Ain’t nobody gonna be jacking around in that area anyway, not with the cops still sitting there.”\n\n\tPolitical news began when the commercials were over and Raph left quickly. Passing the kitchen, he saw that Mikey was doing something to a pan full of chicken, which meant there was about an hour before dinner. \n\n\tRaph was glad to see that Don’s lab door was open and that his brother was inside. He was also happy to see that Don was working on the vacuum cleaner and not on his computer.\n\n\t“You ain’t using the computer right now are ya’?” Raph asked.\n\n\t“Obviously not,” Don answered, grunting as he snapped the roller loose. “Can you hand me that Phillips head?”\n\n\tRaph grabbed the screwdriver off the table and passed it over to his brother before sitting down in Don’s chair. He typed in a search for the ‘high rise killer’ as the news had dubbed the string of murders and then systematically clicked on each link.\n\n\t“What are you looking for?” Don asked as he continued to dismantle the vacuum.\n\n\t“Everything I can find out about those killings, right from the beginning. I missed it when they first started talking about ‘em ‘cause everybody thought they were jumpers,” Raph answered.\n\n\t“You know, you might be getting a little obsessive,” Don observed lightly.\n\n\tRaph merely grunted at the accusation. “Ya’ should know. At least I haven’t missed any meals, or sleep, or sex because of my interests.”\n\n\t“Touché,” Don replied, chuckling softly.\n\n\tThey fell into a companionable silence, Don working to dissect the vacuum and Raph avidly reading everything he could find out about the murders. Mikey yelling that dinner was ready interrupted both of those activities, and Raph left his research reluctantly, pulling Don along with him before the genius could protest.\n\n\tAfter dinner the brothers geared up for their patrol. In the tunnels on their way to the spot where they’d go topside, they could hear water trickling in from the runoff drains.\n\n\t“The weather report said there was a ninety percent chance of rain, some of it heavy,” Leo said. “If it starts to do more than drizzle, we’ll head back in for the night.”\n\n\t“I vote we go home if there’s even a light mist,” Mikey said as they hopped out of a manhole. “I’d prefer to stay dry.”\n\n\t“Says the turtle who lives in the sewers,” Don said.\n\n\t“We’ll take that under advisement, Mikey,” Leo said before Mikey could form a comeback.\n\n\t“That’s your way of saying no,” Mikey grumbled, following his brothers onto the nearest roof top.\n\n\tRunning wet roofs was trickier than when they were dry and the brothers took their time. Every few minutes a light rain would fall and then stop; not enough to get the turtles truly wet, but enough to dampen the things around them.\n\n\tThe activity on the streets was less than usual and it appeared even the criminals didn’t care much for the on again, off again precipitation. They’d been patrolling for nearly two hours when raised voices from below stopped them, much to Raph’s delight. He was growing bored and anxious from keeping his frustrations bottled up, wanting nothing more than to hit something.\n\n\t“We want some hot dogs old man!” a young man shouted.\n\n\t“Don’t give us that shit about closing ‘cause of the rain!” another yelled.\n\n\t“You don’t understand; I have already turned everything off. The meat is cold,” the street vendor attempted to explain.\n\n\t“Then turn it back on,” said the first youth.\n\n\tPeering down from the roof, the turtles saw an elderly man surrounded by six teenagers. The hot dog cart that he manned was closed up; all of the condiments and buns tucked away inside.\n\n\tIt was obvious from the letterman jackets they wore that this was not a street gang, just a group of slightly intoxicated high school football players. That made them rather more dangerous than less; false bravado and gang mentality could easily lead them to do something they would regret.\n\n\tOn a signal from Leo, the turtle brothers silently dropped to the street below, remaining in the shadows as they took up positions around the teenagers.\n\n\tOne of the teens shoved the old man hard, knocking him to the ground, and his friends began to ransack the cart. It was while their attention was on that task that the turtles struck.\n\n\tThe fight was short lived; all fists and no weapons, unless one counted the switchblade that one boy tried to use on Raph. Easily relieving him of the expensive trinket, Raph tucked it into his belt and tossed the kid onto the sidewalk next to his friends.\n\n\tMikey helped the shocked vendor to his feet while Don put the cart back together. After the vendor was on his way, the brothers turned their attention back to the teenagers.\n\n\t“What the fuck are you?” the teen who had done most of the talking asked. “You leave us alone or we’ll come back with a dozen guys and kick your asses.”\n\n\t“Big talk for a bunch of sissies sucking the sidewalk,” Raph told him.\n\n\t“If you knew who my dad was you wouldn’t say that,” another boy announced.\n\n\tRaph could see Leo’s face grow cold at those words. If there was one thing big brother hated, it was when someone used privilege as an excuse for bad behavior.\n\n\t“Give me their jackets,” Leo ordered through clenched teeth.\n\n\tThere was another short tussle as Raph, Mikey, and Don forced the boys to relinquish their letterman jackets. Once they were in a pile at Leo’s feet, the turtle leader unsheathed his swords.\n\n\tPointing his weapon at one of the jackets, Leo said, “These were awarded to you for your participation and achievements in sports. They carry on them an emblem of school pride; pride in you and your ability to work as a team towards a worthy goal. What you have done here tonight shows a lack of integrity that is not befitting of this honor.”\n\n\tWith those words, Leo caught one of the jackets with the tip of his sword and tossed it skyward, using his double katanas to shred the jacket into several pieces before it could hit the ground.\n\n\tOne by one he banished each jacket to the same fate, with the now silent and slightly terrified teenagers watching. When he was done, Leo returned his swords to their sheaths before signaling for his brothers to vanish.\n\n\tThey reached the roof tops just as the first large raindrops started to fall. After putting a long city block between themselves and the teens, the group stopped under the overhang of a maintenance shed.\n\n\t“Whoa-ho dude!” Mikey chirped. “You scared the shell out of those guys.”\n\n\tLeo shook his head. “I shouldn’t have taken it that far.”\n\n\t“Ya’ got fed up with their line of bullshit bro’,” Raph said. “You’re allowed ta get pissed sometimes.”\n\n\tThis was something that Raph both loved and hated about Leo. His brother had the ability to be extremely dangerous, but he always managed to hold himself in check. Those few times a deeper emotion took control of him were absolutely exciting to behold, but then Leo would clamp down on his feelings. Raph could never understand why Leo would remonstrate with himself over fully experiencing his emotions and it annoyed the red banded turtle to think that Leo believed he was better than his own feelings.\n\n\tFeelings were what Raph was all about. He embraced them when he could, fought to understand them frequently, and let them consume him in certain circumstances. They seemed to do that most often when he was dealing with Leo.\n\n\t“Anger is an enemy that steals rational thought,” Leo told him. “They were kids who showed poor judgment. I should have chased them home with a warning, not done to their jackets what they were trying to do to the old man’s cart.”\n\n\t“Maybe that’s the best lesson of all,” Raph insisted. “Ya’ showed them what it’s like ta lose something of value. Words like ‘integrity’ and ‘honor’ don’t mean much ta bad kids who ain’t learned how ta listen.”\n\n\t“Angering them further isn’t much of a lesson either,” Leo said.\n\n\tThe sky to their North was beginning to brighten with frequent flashes of lightning, and a nearby boom of thunder reminded at least two of the brothers that a storm was coming.\n\n\t“Could you guys take this argument back home?” Mikey asked.\n\n\t“If the lightning moves this direction while we’re up here it could turn us into fried turtles,” Don added.\n\n\tLeo glanced up at the menacing sky and nodded. “We’ll call it a night.”\n\n\t“What the shell, we haven’t done anything but roust a couple of kids,” Raph protested. “We can get off the roofs and patrol at ground level. The Dragons wouldn’t let a little rain stop them.”\n\n\t“I’m sorry you slept away the afternoon and now have so much bottled up energy,” Leo said, “but I’m not going to put this team at risk because of that.”\n\n\t“How is patrolling in a little rain risky? None of ya’ are made of sugar, so ya’ sure as shit ain’t gonna melt,” Raph fumed. “You’re kinda missing the whole point of why we go out on patrol.”\n\n\t“We go out to protect this city from the darker elements that prey on its citizens,” Leo said. “I haven’t lost sight of that, but you need to remember that bringing all of you home safely is my uppermost priority.”\n\n\t“Then what the hell is the point of patrolling at all?” Raph asked. “We should all stay home and knit sweaters. Maybe Don could set up a weather satellite ta tell us when the atmospheric conditions are just right for us ta go topside.”\n\n\tLeo frowned, growing annoyed that Raph was arguing with him over something he considered minor. Raph knew that expression well; Leo’s only concern seemed to be having his orders followed no matter how anyone else felt about them. Being a simple minded sheep was not in Raph’s makeup.\n\n\t“And when exactly would you consider the weather conditions bad enough to go home, Raph? When one of us is hit by lightning, or when we’re so soaked and cold that we get sick?” Leo asked.\n\n\tMikey leaned close to Don and whispered, “They used to fight about important stuff, dude.”\n\n\tDon shook his head, rolling his eyes as he did so. “Sexual tension. They’re both going to lose it big time if they don’t work through this macho crap.”\n\n\t“Ooh, Donny said ‘crap’,” Mikey said with a chuckle. “They must be getting on your nerves.”\n\n\t“Look Leo,” Raph said, inhaling deeply to control his frustration. “Ya’ wanna drag Mikey and Don home, fine. I need ta stretch my muscles. I’m going for a run.”\n\n\t“Raph, that isn’t . . . .” Leo began.\n\n\tThe larger turtle interrupted him. “I won’t look for any fights, okay? I’m gonna run and that’s all; even if I see Purple Dragons busting up a bodega I’ll avoid ‘em.”\n\n\t“Would it do me any good to say no?” Leo asked.\n\n\tRaph’s mouth lifted in a cocky grin. “Nope.”\n\n\tRaindrops began to hit the roof faster and Leo gave his brother a last annoyed look. “No searching for fights. You won’t have any backup.”\n\n\t“Like I need backup,” Raph snorted. Leo stepped closer to him, a severe expression on his face and Raph said, “I said I was just gonna run. Go home before ya’ do melt.”\n\n\tRather than wait for Leo to say anything further, Raph spun away from his brothers. The roofs edge was only a few feet away, and he jumped down, catching a drain pipe to slow his descent.\n\n\tThe strangled feeling Raph had gotten from just standing around began to dissipate as he ran, puddles splashing beneath his feet. Leo would be riding him to avoid them if they were running together; his brother took that silent ninja shit way too seriously. Sometimes Raph thought that Leo’s feet didn’t even touch the ground, which seemed only right with his holier than thou attitude.\n\n\tRaph sort of hoped that Leo had wanted to come with him. He loved to watch Leo in motion; loved the way his sinewy muscles flowed under the forest green skin. Leo’s movements were always so smooth and rhythmic, almost like a ninja ballet, only this dancer was as deadly as a cobra.\n\n\tThere were times when Raph thought Leo might be part cobra, ‘cause his oldest brother had a way of mesmerizing him. They could be running through katas and Raph would suddenly come to a standstill as he stared at Leo’s form, his own work forgotten in a sudden overwhelming rush of primal lust. \n\n\tA hard rap from his father’s stick would snap him out of it, and Raph would quickly pretend that Leo had done something to piss him off so that sensei wouldn’t know what Raph was really thinking about.\n\n\tLeo always managed to ignore them; all of them. He was so supremely focused when he worked out that nothing could break his concentration. Raph had certainly tried.\n\n\tThe feeling that he was being watched snapped Raph out of his thoughts and he made a quick and unexpected turn down a side street. Watching his back trail he spotted nothing, but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave him.\n\n\tSince the lightning and thunder seemed to be moving away, Raph decided that he’d feel better back on the roof tops where he could see if someone was stalking him. At the first fire escape he came upon Raph climbed to the top of a building and then looked down, spending a few moments eyeballing the street he’d just been on.\n\n \tEven though the lightning had moved away, the rain didn’t lessen. Raph was thoroughly drenched and should have been feeling the cold, but thinking about Leo had a warming effect on his body. \n\n\tAs he began to run again, an image of his brother performing a perfect split kick came unbidden to his mind. Raph desperately wanted to be between those muscular and flexible thighs, he badly wanted to see Leo’s look of intensity focused on [i]him[/i].\n\n\tAgain there was the feeling that someone was keeping pace with him, and Raph leaped to another roof top before looking around. The rain was coming down in sheets, making for limited visibility, but Raph’s eyes were trained to see things in even worse conditions. Nothing was there.\n\n\tRaph slowed his pace slightly, the skin on the back of his neck crawling. Even while he grew cautious, a part of his brain still fussed away at his problem with Leo. His damn brother wouldn’t even talk about options; wouldn’t discuss a way to work things out. Leo was fucking obstinate in his stance on the subject of bottoming and Raph didn’t have a clue as to what he could do about it.\n\n\tNo wonder Leo wouldn’t let him have his ass, Raph thought sourly, big brother already had a stick up there.\n\n\tSudden movement to his left drew Raph’s eyes and he skid to a stop, turning to try and catch sight of whoever was following him.\n\n\tRaph felt the breath leave his lungs. On the next roof over stood Leonardo, rain coursing over his body, his amber eyes fixed unblinkingly on his younger brother.\n\n\tEverything about him seemed to beckon to Raph; his stance, his expression, even the way he held his ground as though waiting for something. It was almost like he was silently asking for Raph, maybe giving in to the need they both had been feeling. Using the shield of the rain to let his guard down, Raph thought with a momentary flash of excitement.\n\n\tThen the bitterness of his earlier feelings crept into his brain. Leo wasn’t there to offer him a damn thing, he was there because he didn’t trust Raph to stay out of trouble. Raph’s word carried zero weight with Leo, who seemed to find fault with everything the red banded turtle did.\n\n\tBeing watched over like some three-year old was the last straw. Raph began to stride towards Leo as anger like hot lava came bubbling to the surface, consuming every other emotion in its wake.\n\n\tAs Raph drew closer, he saw Leo’s facial expression suddenly change. It was quick; one second there was a look of almost erotic expectation, and then Leo’s head tilted to the side, as though he’d just noticed that Raph was angry.\n\n\tIn the next second Leo appeared confused, his brow furrowing as he studied his fast approaching brother. He took a step back, then another, and as Raph watched, Leo’s face almost seemed to merge with the rain.\n\n\tAnd then he was gone. Faster than the speed of light, Leo had disappeared.\n\n\tRaph rushed forward, leaping the gap between buildings in a giant bound. Landing in almost the exact spot where Leo had been standing, Raph spun in a circle, frantically searching for some hint of where Leo had vanished to.\n\n\tThe rain hid Leo as though it was his own personal bodyguard, washing away any clues to the blue banded turtle’s whereabouts.\n\n\tFrustrated and furious, Raph could only stare into the watery veil through brightly hot eyes.\n\nTBC……………", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "\tRaph was so engrossed in the morning paper that he almost missed the surprised look on Leo’s face when the turtle leader stepped into the kitchen.

\t“Mornin’”, Raph told him.

\t“Good morning,” Leo replied.  “I wondered why the paper wasn’t at the garage door.”

\t“Sorry, I would have saved ya’ the trip up there if I’d have heard ya’,” Raph said.  “I grabbed the paper and took it into my ‘office’ before coming in here.”

\tLeo made a face at Raph’s reference to the toilet and then set about making tea.  He noticed that Raph had already started the coffee maker and looked over at his brother, who had returned to reading the paper.

\t“You’re certainly up early,” Leo said in what he hoped was a conversational tone.

\t“No, I didn’t stay up all night,” Raph responded, hearing the unspoken question despite Leo’s effort to disguise it.  “I got plenty of sleep.  There was something I wanted ta read about in the early edition, so I decided ta go ahead and get up.”

\tAs he waited for his water to boil, Leo walked over to stand behind Raph, peering at the front page as he did so.

\t“The change in the garbage collection schedules?” Leo asked.

\tRaph turned his head partway, catching a glimpse of his brother’s strong profile as Leo leaned in further.

\t“No, it’s this,” Raph slapped the paper, his fingers creasing the headlines regarding the most recent murder.

\t“There was another one?”  Leo shook his head and then turned at the sound of the whistling kettle.

\t“Yeah, me and Casey heard the sirens and followed ‘em,” Raph said.  “We got there about the same time as the cops did.  It was damn brutal looking.”

 \tWhile he waited for his tea to steep, Leo pulled a couple of clean cups down from the cabinet and poured the freshly made coffee into one of them.  Walking back over to Raph, he set the cup in front of his brother, along with a spoon and the sealed container of sugar, glancing at the paper again as he did so.

\t“It says they discovered the man’s body at three a.m.,” Leo said as he went back to preparing his tea.  “Two hours now constitute ‘plenty of sleep’?”

\tRaph made a face at the paper; it figured that Leo and his damn speed reading would pick that one fact out of the story and use it to his advantage.

\t“I slept in the night before, so it evens out,” Raph replied, not in the mood for an early morning argument.

\tLeo returned to the table, pulling out a chair next to Raph’s and taking a seat.  As was usually the case when Leo was so close to him, Raph found he was hyper aware of his brother, noticing tiny details about him without really wanting to.

\tHe spotted a slight darkening on the forest green skin just below Leo’s jaw line, most likely the beginnings of a hickey placed there by Mikey during their evening romp.  He noticed how Leo’s eyes crinkled contentedly as he took that first sip of morning tea, how straight Leo sat even when fully relaxed.  Raph inhaled Leo’s scent, mixed delicately with Mikey’s at the moment; it was still very distinctive.

\tRaph pulled his attention off of his brother forcefully, focusing instead on the now cooling coffee.  Setting the paper aside, he reached for the sugar, telling his brother, “Thanks.”

\t“Welcome,” Leo replied and then tapped the paper with a fingertip.  “Did they find anything useful at this crime scene?”

\t“Nah,” Raph said, swallowing coffee before lifting the paper again and turning to the articles continuation on an inside page.  The remainder of the story was only a couple of paragraphs long and said nothing Raph didn’t already know.  “The cops are still as clueless as they were with the first one.”

\t“I wasn’t aware that you’d been following the case,” Leo said mildly.  “That’s something for the experts to solve and I’m sure they aren’t as ‘clueless’ as you’ve been led to believe.”

\tRaph flushed slightly, feeling acutely the dig that Leo had just taken at him.  He had meant to pick his brother’s brain for whatever Leo might have learned from having spent so much time watching the news, maybe even offering a suggestion that they try to find out some things about the case together.

\tNow he wondered how he ever thought that sharing the mystery with Leo would be a good way to bond.  Pride demanded that Raph get his information elsewhere.

\t“Just got curious ‘cause of last night,” Raph said with what he hoped was an appropriate amount of nonchalance.  He put the paper down and gulped the remainder of his coffee.

\tLeo touched the paper and asked, “May I?”

\t“Yeah, I’m done,” Raph said, reaching for the sports section.

\t“Please tell me that’s coffee I smell,” Don said as he walked into the kitchen.  His eyes were barely open as he made straight for the coffee maker.

\tMikey followed on his heels, a wide yawn garbling his morning greeting.  As Mikey poured out a bowl of cereal for himself, Don dropped some bread into the four slotted toaster and sat down at the table to sip his coffee.

\t“Did ya’ finish that chest ya’ was working on?” Raph asked.

\tDon rubbed a hand across his chin tiredly, glancing at Raph and then back into his cup.  “I got the first coat of varnish on, but the humidity in the air is going to slow the drying time.  I think it’s going to rain.”

\t“Yeah, it was clouding up when I came in,” Raph said.

\tAfter taking another large swallow of what he considered liquid heaven, Don eyed Raph suspiciously.  “You certainly look wide awake and alert.  What’s your secret?”

\tRaph laughed, his eyes remaining glued to the sports scores.  “Just good, clean living.”

\tMikey waved a hand in front of his nose as he sat down.  “I don’t know about the clean part dude.  When was the last time you said hello to soap and water?”

\t“Didn’t seem to be any point in rinsing off a couple hours before I report for training,” Raph told him, glaring at Mikey.  The effort was wasted; Mikey’s eyes were focused on the cereal he was busily stuffing into his mouth.

\tThe toaster popped behind them, interrupting any further discussion on that subject, and Don got up to retrieve his breakfast.  

\t“You want a slice, Raph?” Don asked.  He didn’t offer any to Leo because his oldest brother never ate before practice, choosing to indulge in brunch instead.

\t“Sure,” Raph said as he turned his newspaper to another page.  He was tempted to tell Don what he’d read about the murder, but refrained because he didn’t want to bring it up again around Leo.

\tDon delved into the refrigerator for the grape jam, placing it and a knife on the table next to Raph’s toast.  Raph offered him a nod and a smile in acknowledgment, and Don refilled both of their coffee cups before sitting down to eat his toast plain, the way he preferred it.

\tAs Raph spread a liberal amount of jam on his toast, he watched Mikey lift his cereal bowl to his mouth and drain the last of his milk.  Mikey set the empty bowl on the table with a satisfied thump, rubbed the back of his hand across his lips, and then burped loudly.

\t“Nothing like a little morning fuel,” Mikey said with a smile.

\t“Say ‘excuse me’, Mikey,” Leo said without looking up from the paper.

\t“Excuse me, Mikey,” Mikey said, grinning impishly.

\tDon shook his head.  “Do you go out of your way to be disgusting?”

\tMikey aimed a thumb in Raph’s direction.  “Why is my burp more disgusting than how Raph smells?”

\tLeo put his paper aside and stood up.  “Finish up you guys, I just saw Master Splinter go into the dojo.”

\tRaph pushed the last bite of toast into his mouth as he left the table.  When he got near Mikey, he grabbed the back of his brother’s chair and leaned in close to him.

\t“This is a pure manly aroma,” Raph husked next to his ear, “get used ta it; I’m gonna rub it all over your face at practice.”

\tDon snorted laughter as he rose from his chair and Mikey leaned away from Raph, his beak wrinkled in distaste.  

\t“Eww, gross,” Mikey told him.

\tLaughing, Raph turned towards the door, yanking the chair backwards as he moved.  The chair hit the floor with a loud thud and Mikey rolled out of it, leaping nimbly to his feet.  Raph darted into the dojo with Mikey in hot pursuit.

\tAll during practice Raph’s mind kept turning to the killings and to his dilemma with Leo.  He loved all of his brothers deeply but there was something about his oldest brother that just seemed unreachable.  It was like he’d partitioned a part of himself off from his family and that thought ate away at Raph.

\tHe wanted Leo; all of him.  Raph wanted to share things with Leo that he kept hidden from the others because he thought Leo would understand his darker core.  He wanted to know everything that was on the other side of Leo’s wall as well; whatever his brother hid was no doubt something Raph was also familiar with.

\tUnless the thing that Leo was hiding was the fact that he didn’t need his brothers; that he didn’t need Raph, as much as Raph needed him.  Maybe that was why Leo was able to hold himself aloof from Raph’s advances.  For all he knew, Leo could be just fine and dandy with the limitations in their relationship.

\tIf that was the case, Raph would be damned before he gave it up to Leo first.  As far as he was concerned, it was up to Leo to prove he gave a shit.  Might be that big brother thought he was too good to lift his tail for Raph.  Leo’s gibe that morning had stung and Raph didn’t like that feeling.  Maybe he’d show Leo there was more to him than brawn by solving that murder mystery.

\tBy the time Master Splinter instructed that Raph and Leo should spar, the red banded turtle had worked his anger up to a low level burn.  It felt good and was made better by the fact that it sharpened his senses; giving Raph that extra edge he needed to put Leo on the mat.  

\tWhen Leo tapped out and Raph released him, the turtle leader gave his brother a puzzled look, sensing the underlying anger but not knowing its cause.  If Leo expected an explanation after Master Splinter called an end to practice, he could get bent for all Raph cared.  The hot head turned his back on his brothers and strode out of the dojo, making straight for the showers and then the comfort of his hammock for several hours of shuteye.

\tIt was late afternoon when Raph rolled out of his hammock.  He was a little groggy as was usually the case when he slept for more than a few hours at a time and in no mood to be sociable, but when he went downstairs he saw that the evening news was on TV.

\tCrossing over to the living area, Raph plopped down on the other end of the couch from where Leo sat.  Their father was curled into his favorite chair and gave his son a quick glance before turning his attention back to the newscast.

\tEventually there was a short update on the most recent murder, delivered by a serious faced brunette model/reporter who was standing on the sidewalk near where the man had been found.  Other than the man’s name, which had finally been released, no other new information came to light.

\tWhen a commercial began to play, Raph looked over at Leo and asked, “We going out on patrol?”

\t“Yep,” Leo said.  “We aren’t going anywhere near that crime scene though.”

\tRaph shrugged, hiding a quick spark of irritation.  “That’s fine by me.  Ain’t nobody gonna be jacking around in that area anyway, not with the cops still sitting there.”

\tPolitical news began when the commercials were over and Raph left quickly.  Passing the kitchen, he saw that Mikey was doing something to a pan full of chicken, which meant there was about an hour before dinner.

\tRaph was glad to see that Don’s lab door was open and that his brother was inside.  He was also happy to see that Don was working on the vacuum cleaner and not on his computer.

\t“You ain’t using the computer right now are ya’?” Raph asked.

\t“Obviously not,” Don answered, grunting as he snapped the roller loose.  “Can you hand me that Phillips head?”

\tRaph grabbed the screwdriver off the table and passed it over to his brother before sitting down in Don’s chair.  He typed in a search for the ‘high rise killer’ as the news had dubbed the string of murders and then systematically clicked on each link.

\t“What are you looking for?” Don asked as he continued to dismantle the vacuum.

\t“Everything I can find out about those killings, right from the beginning.  I missed it when they first started talking about ‘em ‘cause everybody thought they were jumpers,” Raph answered.

\t“You know, you might be getting a little obsessive,” Don observed lightly.

\tRaph merely grunted at the accusation.  “Ya’ should know.  At least I haven’t missed any meals, or sleep, or sex because of my interests.”

\t“Touché,” Don replied, chuckling softly.

\tThey fell into a companionable silence, Don working to dissect the vacuum and Raph avidly reading everything he could find out about the murders.  Mikey yelling that dinner was ready interrupted both of those activities, and Raph left his research reluctantly, pulling Don along with him before the genius could protest.

\tAfter dinner the brothers geared up for their patrol.  In the tunnels on their way to the spot where they’d go topside, they could hear water trickling in from the runoff drains.

\t“The weather report said there was a ninety percent chance of rain, some of it heavy,” Leo said.  “If it starts to do more than drizzle, we’ll head back in for the night.”

\t“I vote we go home if there’s even a light mist,” Mikey said as they hopped out of a manhole.  “I’d prefer to stay dry.”

\t“Says the turtle who lives in the sewers,” Don said.

\t“We’ll take that under advisement, Mikey,” Leo said before Mikey could form a comeback.

\t“That’s your way of saying no,” Mikey grumbled, following his brothers onto the nearest roof top.

\tRunning wet roofs was trickier than when they were dry and the brothers took their time.  Every few minutes a light rain would fall and then stop; not enough to get the turtles truly wet, but enough to dampen the things around them.

\tThe activity on the streets was less than usual and it appeared even the criminals didn’t care much for the on again, off again precipitation.  They’d been patrolling for nearly two hours when raised voices from below stopped them, much to Raph’s delight.  He was growing bored and anxious from keeping his frustrations bottled up, wanting nothing more than to hit something.

\t“We want some hot dogs old man!” a young man shouted.

\t“Don’t give us that shit about closing ‘cause of the rain!” another yelled.

\t“You don’t understand; I have already turned everything off.  The meat is cold,” the street vendor attempted to explain.

\t“Then turn it back on,” said the first youth.

\tPeering down from the roof, the turtles saw an elderly man surrounded by six teenagers.  The hot dog cart that he manned was closed up; all of the condiments and buns tucked away inside.

\tIt was obvious from the letterman jackets they wore that this was not a street gang, just a group of slightly intoxicated high school football players.  That made them rather more dangerous than less; false bravado and gang mentality could easily lead them to do something they would regret.

\tOn a signal from Leo, the turtle brothers silently dropped to the street below, remaining in the shadows as they took up positions around the teenagers.

\tOne of the teens shoved the old man hard, knocking him to the ground, and his friends began to ransack the cart.  It was while their attention was on that task that the turtles struck.

\tThe fight was short lived; all fists and no weapons, unless one counted the switchblade that one boy tried to use on Raph.  Easily relieving him of the expensive trinket, Raph tucked it into his belt and tossed the kid onto the sidewalk next to his friends.

\tMikey helped the shocked vendor to his feet while Don put the cart back together.  After the vendor was on his way, the brothers turned their attention back to the teenagers.

\t“What the fuck are you?” the teen who had done most of the talking asked.  “You leave us alone or we’ll come back with a dozen guys and kick your asses.”

\t“Big talk for a bunch of sissies sucking the sidewalk,” Raph told him.

\t“If you knew who my dad was you wouldn’t say that,” another boy announced.

\tRaph could see Leo’s face grow cold at those words.  If there was one thing big brother hated, it was when someone used privilege as an excuse for bad behavior.

\t“Give me their jackets,” Leo ordered through clenched teeth.

\tThere was another short tussle as Raph, Mikey, and Don forced the boys to relinquish their letterman jackets.  Once they were in a pile at Leo’s feet, the turtle leader unsheathed his swords.

\tPointing his weapon at one of the jackets, Leo said, “These were awarded to you for your participation and achievements in sports.  They carry on them an emblem of school pride; pride in you and your ability to work as a team towards a worthy goal.  What you have done here tonight shows a lack of integrity that is not befitting of this honor.”

\tWith those words, Leo caught one of the jackets with the tip of his sword and tossed it skyward, using his double katanas to shred the jacket into several pieces before it could hit the ground.

\tOne by one he banished each jacket to the same fate, with the now silent and slightly terrified teenagers watching.  When he was done, Leo returned his swords to their sheaths before signaling for his brothers to vanish.

\tThey reached the roof tops just as the first large raindrops started to fall.  After putting a long city block between themselves and the teens, the group stopped under the overhang of a maintenance shed.

\t“Whoa-ho dude!” Mikey chirped.  “You scared the shell out of those guys.”

\tLeo shook his head.  “I shouldn’t have taken it that far.”

\t“Ya’ got fed up with their line of bullshit bro’,” Raph said.  “You’re allowed ta get pissed sometimes.”

\tThis was something that Raph both loved and hated about Leo.  His brother had the ability to be extremely dangerous, but he always managed to hold himself in check.  Those few times a deeper emotion took control of him were absolutely exciting to behold, but then Leo would clamp down on his feelings.  Raph could never understand why Leo would remonstrate with himself over fully experiencing his emotions and it annoyed the red banded turtle to think that Leo believed he was better than his own feelings.

\tFeelings were what Raph was all about.  He embraced them when he could, fought to understand them frequently, and let them consume him in certain circumstances.  They seemed to do that most often when he was dealing with Leo.

\t“Anger is an enemy that steals rational thought,” Leo told him.  “They were kids who showed poor judgment.  I should have chased them home with a warning, not done to their jackets what they were trying to do to the old man’s cart.”

\t“Maybe that’s the best lesson of all,” Raph insisted.  “Ya’ showed them what it’s like ta lose something of value.  Words like ‘integrity’ and ‘honor’ don’t mean much ta bad kids who ain’t learned how ta listen.”

\t“Angering them further isn’t much of a lesson either,” Leo said.

\tThe sky to their North was beginning to brighten with frequent flashes of lightning, and a nearby boom of thunder reminded at least two of the brothers that a storm was coming.

\t“Could you guys take this argument back home?” Mikey asked.

\t“If the lightning moves this direction while we’re up here it could turn us into fried turtles,” Don added.

\tLeo glanced up at the menacing sky and nodded.  “We’ll call it a night.”

\t“What the shell, we haven’t done anything but roust a couple of kids,” Raph protested.  “We can get off the roofs and patrol at ground level.  The Dragons wouldn’t let a little rain stop them.”

\t“I’m sorry you slept away the afternoon and now have so much bottled up energy,” Leo said, “but I’m not going to put this team at risk because of that.”

\t“How is patrolling in a little rain risky?  None of ya’ are made of sugar, so ya’ sure as shit ain’t gonna melt,” Raph fumed.  “You’re kinda missing the whole point of why we go out on patrol.”

\t“We go out to protect this city from the darker elements that prey on its citizens,” Leo said.  “I haven’t lost sight of that, but you need to remember that bringing all of you home safely is my uppermost priority.”

\t“Then what the hell is the point of patrolling at all?” Raph asked.  “We should all stay home and knit sweaters.  Maybe Don could set up a weather satellite ta tell us when the atmospheric conditions are just right for us ta go topside.”

\tLeo frowned, growing annoyed that Raph was arguing with him over something he considered minor.  Raph knew that expression well; Leo’s only concern seemed to be having his orders followed no matter how anyone else felt about them.  Being a simple minded sheep was not in Raph’s makeup.

\t“And when exactly would you consider the weather conditions bad enough to go home, Raph?  When one of us is hit by lightning, or when we’re so soaked and cold that we get sick?” Leo asked.

\tMikey leaned close to Don and whispered, “They used to fight about important stuff, dude.”

\tDon shook his head, rolling his eyes as he did so.  “Sexual tension.  They’re both going to lose it big time if they don’t work through this macho crap.”

\t“Ooh, Donny said ‘crap’,” Mikey said with a chuckle.  “They must be getting on your nerves.”

\t“Look Leo,” Raph said, inhaling deeply to control his frustration.  “Ya’ wanna drag Mikey and Don home, fine.  I need ta stretch my muscles.  I’m going for a run.”

\t“Raph, that isn’t . . . .” Leo began.

\tThe larger turtle interrupted him.  “I won’t look for any fights, okay?  I’m gonna run and that’s all; even if I see Purple Dragons busting up a bodega I’ll avoid ‘em.”

\t“Would it do me any good to say no?” Leo asked.

\tRaph’s mouth lifted in a cocky grin.  “Nope.”

\tRaindrops began to hit the roof faster and Leo gave his brother a last annoyed look.  “No searching for fights.  You won’t have any backup.”

\t“Like I need backup,” Raph snorted.  Leo stepped closer to him, a severe expression on his face and Raph said, “I said I was just gonna run.  Go home before ya’ do melt.”

\tRather than wait for Leo to say anything further, Raph spun away from his brothers.  The roofs edge was only a few feet away, and he jumped down, catching a drain pipe to slow his descent.

\tThe strangled feeling Raph had gotten from just standing around began to dissipate as he ran, puddles splashing beneath his feet.  Leo would be riding him to avoid them if they were running together; his brother took that silent ninja shit way too seriously.  Sometimes Raph thought that Leo’s feet didn’t even touch the ground, which seemed only right with his holier than thou attitude.

\tRaph sort of hoped that Leo had wanted to come with him.  He loved to watch Leo in motion; loved the way his sinewy muscles flowed under the forest green skin.  Leo’s movements were always so smooth and rhythmic, almost like a ninja ballet, only this dancer was as deadly as a cobra.

\tThere were times when Raph thought Leo might be part cobra, ‘cause his oldest brother had a way of mesmerizing him.  They could be running through katas and Raph would suddenly come to a standstill as he stared at Leo’s form, his own work forgotten in a sudden overwhelming rush of primal lust.

\tA hard rap from his father’s stick would snap him out of it, and Raph would quickly pretend that Leo had done something to piss him off so that sensei wouldn’t know what Raph was really thinking about.

\tLeo always managed to ignore them; all of them.  He was so supremely focused when he worked out that nothing could break his concentration.  Raph had certainly tried.

\tThe feeling that he was being watched snapped Raph out of his thoughts and he made a quick and unexpected turn down a side street.  Watching his back trail he spotted nothing, but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave him.

\tSince the lightning and thunder seemed to be moving away, Raph decided that he’d feel better back on the roof tops where he could see if someone was stalking him.  At the first fire escape he came upon Raph climbed to the top of a building and then looked down, spending a few moments eyeballing the street he’d just been on.

 \tEven though the lightning had moved away, the rain didn’t lessen.  Raph was thoroughly drenched and should have been feeling the cold, but thinking about Leo had a warming effect on his body.  

\tAs he began to run again, an image of his brother performing a perfect split kick came unbidden to his mind.  Raph desperately wanted to be between those muscular and flexible thighs, he badly wanted to see Leo’s look of intensity focused on him.

\tAgain there was the feeling that someone was keeping pace with him, and Raph leaped to another roof top before looking around.  The rain was coming down in sheets, making for limited visibility, but Raph’s eyes were trained to see things in even worse conditions.  Nothing was there.

\tRaph slowed his pace slightly, the skin on the back of his neck crawling.  Even while he grew cautious, a part of his brain still fussed away at his problem with Leo.  His damn brother wouldn’t even talk about options; wouldn’t discuss a way to work things out.  Leo was fucking obstinate in his stance on the subject of bottoming and Raph didn’t have a clue as to what he could do about it.

\tNo wonder Leo wouldn’t let him have his ass, Raph thought sourly, big brother already had a stick up there.

\tSudden movement to his left drew Raph’s eyes and he skid to a stop, turning to try and catch sight of whoever was following him.

\tRaph felt the breath leave his lungs.  On the next roof over stood Leonardo, rain coursing over his body, his amber eyes fixed unblinkingly on his younger brother.

\tEverything about him seemed to beckon to Raph; his stance, his expression, even the way he held his ground as though waiting for something.  It was almost like he was silently asking for Raph, maybe giving in to the need they both had been feeling.  Using the shield of the rain to let his guard down, Raph thought with a momentary flash of excitement.

\tThen the bitterness of his earlier feelings crept into his brain.  Leo wasn’t there to offer him a damn thing, he was there because he didn’t trust Raph to stay out of trouble.  Raph’s word carried zero weight with Leo, who seemed to find fault with everything the red banded turtle did.

\tBeing watched over like some three-year old was the last straw.  Raph began to stride towards Leo as anger like hot lava came bubbling to the surface, consuming every other emotion in its wake.

\tAs Raph drew closer, he saw Leo’s facial expression suddenly change.  It was quick; one second there was a look of almost erotic expectation, and then Leo’s head tilted to the side, as though he’d just noticed that Raph was angry.

\tIn the next second Leo appeared confused, his brow furrowing as he studied his fast approaching brother.  He took a step back, then another, and as Raph watched, Leo’s face almost seemed to merge with the rain.

\tAnd then he was gone.  Faster than the speed of light, Leo had disappeared.

\tRaph rushed forward, leaping the gap between buildings in a giant bound.  Landing in almost the exact spot where Leo had been standing, Raph spun in a circle, frantically searching for some hint of where Leo had vanished to.

\tThe rain hid Leo as though it was his own personal bodyguard, washing away any clues to the blue banded turtle’s whereabouts.

\tFrustrated and furious, Raph could only stare into the watery veil through brightly hot eyes.

TBC……………", "pools_count": 1, "title": "The Witchery Way part 3", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "application/msword", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "7", "views": "137" }