Schrank
“Yes!” Michelangelo called out happily, ran over to Raphael and kissed him.
His brother sputtered: “W-what the... Mike!” he shouted, flaring red. Michelangelo backed away from the outbust and quickly altered his opinion of the situation.
“S-sorry!” he squeaked, breaking into a run. His hopes that Raphael would be too dazed to follow proved futile, as he galloped around the lair in the effort to shake him off.
“Leo!” he spotted his blue-banded brother. “Hide me!”
“Mikey, what is...” Leonardo tried to turn around and face him but Michelangelo had got a hold of his shell, using him as a living shield. Leonardo found himself stuck inbetween Raphael (who was bellowing and spitting in his face) and Michelangelo (who was imploring him not to abandon him), unable to tell them to calm down lest raising his voice an octave.
“Quiet... quiet... guys, hey... SHUT UP!” Leonardo yelled finally. He was awarded with temporary silence. “What’s going on?”
To his surprise, Raphael jerked and looked away. He reached around Leonardo’s shell, nearly hugging him, and hit Michelangelo on the head. Then he walked away.
“What the shell?” Leonardo mumbled, gazing after him.
“Is he gone?” peeped Michelangelo.
“Yes...” Leonardo sighed. “What did you do to...”
“Cool!” Michelangelo heaved a sigh of relief and, in his happines, turned Leonardo around and kissed him.
“The shell Mikey?!” roared Raphael from across the room.
“Meep!” Michelangelo let go of the leader and tried to hide behind him again, but Leonardo turned before he could grab his shell and glared at him.
“Why did you do that Michelangelo?” he inquired. Mikey winced and took a step back.
“Aw shell. I’m sorry guys, I wasn’t thinking...” he spluttered.
“You never think,” Raphael snapped, closing in with an intimidating expression. “Why did you do that?” he growled.
Aware of being cornered, Michelangelo looked around wildly and dove out of Leo’s reach, fleeing to Donatello’s room. His brothers’ shouts muted as he flung the door closed, groping for a lock.
“What are you doing Mikey?” asked Donatello with light concern.
“Shell, shell, can’t you lock this thing?” Michelangelo jabbered.
“No, I never considered it necessary to install locks,” Donatello said, watching amusedly as Michelangelo tried to block the door off. “What happened? Did you do something to Raph again?”
“Not just Raph,” Michelangelo mewled, “Leo too. Now they’re both after me and – shell!”
“Open up!” Leonardo’s voice called from the other side. Michelangelo looked at Donatello pleadingly. “I said open up! Michelangelo! Donatello!”
“Back away, Leo! These doors’re gonna go down with force.”
“Hide me,” Michelangelo begged, his gaze having the power to move mountains. Donatello couldn’t take that look.
“Oh, alright,” he mumbled, swiftly getting up and shouting: “Don’t smash the door Raph, you’ll break the lock and I’m sure as shell going to have you repair it!”
A short hesitation was all it took for the two ninja brothers to disappear up a grille on the ceiling. Raphael predictably crashed through the door right after that, very surprised that the action sent him rolling across the room.
“Where are they?” he yelled, now in a particularly bad mood. Donatello and Michelangelo held their breaths. Shuffling of feet was heard.
“They aren’t here,” Leonardo stated.
“They ain’t here my foot,” Raphael snapped. “Mike ran in here, and Don answered. They’ve got to be here somewhere.”
Sometimes, Michelangelo hated when Raphael used his scanty sense of logic.
“That grille. Where does it lead?”
Or his sense of observation, which was ever scantier.
“They can’t be there,” Leonardo said, “Don told me that it’s sealed.”
Michelangelo looked at Donatello. The scarce light showed that he was biting his lip.
Raphael growled. “They can’t have disappeared.”
“Apparently they have,” Leonardo told him. Michelangelo thought for a second. That the leader didn’t push the search for him, must have meant that he didn’t think it was justified or perhaps he wasn’t ready to learn the truth.
...Which was that Michelangelo hadn’t thought at all. He’d acted upon instinct. Why his instinct told him to kiss Leo or Raph, was utterly beyond him.
“Come on,” Leonardo continued. “Let’s go before you break something important you hothead.”
Raphael grumbled something resembling Splinter Junior, and did what sounded like leaving the room. Michelangelo pricked up his ears. The door closed and Leo’s low voice said something he couldn’t distinguish, sinking into Raphael’s snort.
“...ever you want... guard the door... sneaky bastard...”
And then, silence.
Michelangelo eyed Donatello and was eyed back. “We’re stuck right?” he asked in a whisper.
“Yes, we are,” Donatello answered matter-of-factly.
Michelangelo looked up into darkness. “Where does this lead?”
“Up,” Donatello said. “Long way up with several fortified grates on the way.”
“You don’t happen to have some shuko spikes on you, do you?”
Donatello raised an eyeridge at his brother. “I do, but I refuse to run away from my own room,” he whispered firmly. “Plus, cutting through the grates with the gear I have here would take hours, and putting them down would cause noise that Raph would surely hear. Not to mention that I’d have to fix them back in place after you’re out.”
“Okay, okay...” Michelangelo waved his hand. “Plan B. How much air do we have left captain?”
“Considering this is a ventilation shaft...” Donatello left the sentence unfinished, leaving the hidden sarcasm seep its way out of the silence. Michelangelo shook his head.
“So air supply isn’t gonna be a problem. How about food? Drink? TV? You know I need my daily dose of sugar, and I know you need your caffeine...”
“I can deal with a cold turkey, thank you,” Donatello smiled. “I’m more concerned about what’s going to happen once you start bouncing around. This is quite a closed space.”
Now that he mentioned that, Michelangelo did notice that even standing shells to the wall, they were only at arm’s lenght from each other.
“Well shell,” he mumbled, feeling a little claustrophobic. The breeze helped that. “So what are we gonna do? Wait until Raph leaves?”
“I guess so,” Donatello shrugged. He took his Shellcell out of his belt and started playing with it. Michelangelo watched his underlit face. It reminded him of the recent Halloween.
“Whatcha doing?” he whispered. Donatello looked up.
“I’m calibrating the tracker to higher resolution. I want to know when Raph leaves the door, so that we can get down as soon as possible,” he explained.
“Oh,” Michelangelo said, settling for watching Donatello once again. “Say Donnie,” he erupted 30 seconds later, “why did Leo say that this grille’s sealed?”
Donatello’s eyes perked up. “That was weeks ago,” he mumbled. “He noticed the grille and asked if it posed a security threat. So I told him that no one can get in or out because the tunnel’s sealed. I didn’t mention that the grille can be opened, but I guess he interpretted it other way...” his whisper drifted off.
“Man I’m glad he did,” Michelangelo assented. “It’s tight but safe. Mind if I hide here again some time?”
“Raph will notice that you hide in my room more often,” Donatello pointed out.
“True...”
Donatello put the Shellcell away. “Why did you want to hide anyway? What did you do to have both Raph and Leo after you?” he asked, tilting his head curiously.
Michelangelo rubbed his temple. “Yeah, I sorta... kissed them both...”
Donatello took in air and blinked a few times. “I see,” he said slowly. “Mind telling me why?”
“I don’t really know dude,” Michelangelo shrugged. “I was real happy ‘cause of something, and the next thing I know, I’m kissing Raph. Next thing, he’s chasing me around the lair. I hide behind Leo, Raph walks away, I kiss Leo, and then both of them are chasing me. I really don’t know what got into me...”
“Just kissing?” Donatello asked with his usual clinical nosiness. Michelangelo however didn’t miss a hurt undertone.
“Just that. And real quick too, just a peck. Nothing a brother couldn’t afford. Well okay, kissing a brother on the lips is kinda off but still... Man, this sucks, I’m stuck up a ventilation shaft and I don’t even know how long it’ll take before I get out...”
Donatello wasn’t listening to him. Now that Michelangelo’s eyes were adapting to darkness, he could see Donatello’s daydreaming face quite well. Wonder what he was thinking about...
“So just like that, you walked up to the first person you saw and gave him a kiss?” Donatello queried, his expression still dreamy.
“Well, yeah, kinda...” Michelangelo admitted.
“And if it were me standing there?”
“Then I’d probably kiss you...”
The corner of Donatello’s mouth twitched upwards. Michelangelo couldn’t help thinking that Donnie wanted to be kissed as well.
“I see...” Donatello breathed out. A strange silence that Michelangelo really wanted to break filled the small space. Somehow, it made words impossible and Mikey found himself gazing at Donatello. He looked him up and down, regarding the well-toned muscles and rough ceratin of his plastron and shell. He realised how soft all that looked, despite the strength that radiated out of it, soft, gentle, heady and kissable.
Michelangelo took a step forward and kissed Donatello.
This brother gasped a little, trying to follow his movement when Michelangelo pulled away. His dark eyes were glinting.
“What was that for?” he whispered. Michelangelo smiled.
“You were feeling left out, right? I fixed that,” he told him. Donatello’s eyes widened and set on him like he was the first thing they’d ever seen. Then, they melted into a deep loving look. Donatello raised his hands and hugged him.
“That’s nice of you,” he mumbled into his neck.
“I’m always nice,” Michelangelo chuckled.
“Yes... yes...” Donatello murmured.
Michelangelo’s Shellcell went off. “Damn!” he yelped quietly, jumping back from Don to take the device out and silence it. Donatello took it out of his hand, pressed one button and the ringing died out. They both listened carefully.
“I know you’re here,” Raphael’s voice said from down under. “Come out Mike, I don’t wanna kill you.”
Donatello bent over to lift the grille but Michelangelo stopped him halfway there, puling him up again and gesticulating wildly: “You mad?”
“Come out Mikey!” Raphael called.
“Hey Raph, I told you, they aren’t here...” Leo’s voice came in.
“I called Mikey on the Shellcell. It rang inside. He’s here Leo. I’m just trying to tell him that I ain’t mad anymore, and I just want to talk.”
Leonardo sounded impressed: “Whoa... really?”
“Suprised I can do that, eh?” Raphael smirked. “Yea, really. Just talk. Don’t want to use my fist for getting out of him why he did this to me.”
“So, he did kiss you too?” confirmed Leonardo.
“Yeah, and you right afterward. Think we deserve to know some kind of a reason.”
“We do,” Leonardo agreed. “Mikey! Don! If you’re here, come out! In case of emergency, I’m here and I won’t let Raph hurt you!”
“Christ, put some trust in me, would ya?”
“That hasn’t paid off so far.”
“Oh you’re so smart.”
“Whatever. Mikey! Donnie!” Leonardo called. Michelangelo’s inner batle was decided as Donatello lifted the grille and jumped down.
“Oh, so you were here.”
Michelangelo crossed himself and followed. He landed next to Donatello and faced the inquisitive looks of his brothers.
“So.” Raphael crossed his hands over his chest. “I think we deserve an explanation. Spill,” he ordered.
“Okay so...” Michelangelo swallowed. “Like I told you, I don’t really know why I did it. I was just happy and... it happened on its own. Honest.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Leonardo observed.
“I guess it doesn’t,” Michelangelo admitted, “but it’s true...”
“You kissed us just because you felt like it?” Raphael asked incredulously.
“It was on the spur of the moment...”
“Spur of the moment my ass! You had to have a reason.” Raphael paused. “You’re Mikey. You don’t need a reason. Right.” He sighed.
“Sorry, it won’t happen again?” Michelangelo offered. Raphael looked at Leonardo, who looked at Donatello, who looked at Raphael.
“I don’t really think that’s the solution,” said Donatello.
“Come again?” Leonardo raised an eyeridge.
“I think that making Mikey promise he won’t do that again will solve nothing,” Donatello explained. “He’ll just do it on the spur of the moment again.”
“And what do you suggest?” asked Leonardo.
“Letting him do as he pleases,” answered Donatello, attracting the stares of everyone in the room.
“Did you just suggest that I should kiss you again?” Michelangelo ventured. Donatello smiled – it reminded them of the mad scientist smile.
“Can’t hurt,” he said as if he were talking about having cereals for breakfast.
“I ain’t having it,” Raphael announced.
“Neither am I,” Leonardo joined. “Just because he did it once doesn’t mean he’ll do it again.”
Michelangelo gulped, remembering how molestable Donatello’d managed to look. “Yeah, I kinda can’t guarantee that,” he said in a small voice.
Raphael clutched his head and began pacing around the room. “What the shell?” he kept repeating. Leonardo gave Michelangelo a calculative look.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice an impenetrable cover for something Michelangelo couldn’t see.
“Pretty much.”
“You too Don?”
“Positive.”
Leonardo contemplated. “So... you wouldn’t mind kissing me again?”
Michelangelo was taken by surprise but shrugged anyway. “Not really,” he said and planted a kiss on Leonardo’s mouth. His brother looked undeniably happy with it.
“So now Mikey’s giving out kisses?” Raphael suspended his What the shell tirade, coming closer. Michelangelo felt his cheeks flush.
“I guess,” he mumbled.
“In that case... I want some of it too,” Raphael demanded, leaning to Michelangelo.
“Fine,” Michelangelo murmured and gave his hot-headed brother a second kiss. He’d call Raphael’s face stupefied, if that wasn’t the standard of the whole room. Donatello’s arms wrapped around him from behind and Don’s chin rested on his shell.
“I like your new function, Mike,” he purred in his ear. Michelangelo laughed a tad uneasily and quickly found himself the centre of a group hug.
He had no idea whose hand it was that groped his butt, and he was sure that this was going to be interesting.