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Braving it in the New World	By : EvaBrick Category: Comics > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Views: 10090 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the Ninja Turtles, nor am I making any money from them. I'm just borrowing the boys for a while. I do own my original characters.

Chapter List
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Donatello felt his heart lighten as he unlocked the sewer door that led to the secret passageway to the church basement. Nothing felt as good as coming home to Charlie. Even with the extra help they'd hired, there was a lot of extra work to do now that she was on maternity leave. All the turtles were tired and it was nice to be home. Tomorrow was Sunday and, for the first time, they were all taking it off. They'd hired a weekend manager who was running things well and, in time, the manager would also take over Saturdays so the whole clan could have the weekend off.
The store was doing well, although it would be years until they had the bank loans paid off. Don smirked to himself. What a normal life they led now. It was everything he'd ever wanted. If Charlie hadn't inherited the store and land from her grandfather and then gotten the huge insurance payout when it all burned, they never would have been able to make their current lives happen. Following the Japanese tradition of honouring elders, they'd hung a picture of Charlie's grandparents in the dojo, along with some of the pictures Splinter had brought back from Japan. Without the love and sacrifice of their ancestors, the clan would not be where it was today.
Don could smell food and his stomach rumbled. He really needed a day off... especially after the bomb Raphael had dropped on them on the walk home.
“I know you hate it when I do the fearless leader thing, Raph,” Leo had said. “But I've given you time to come clean on your own and you haven't. For the safety of the clan, we need to know where you learned Spanish.”
“Ugh,” Raphael grumbled.
“Raph,” Mike warned. “Leo's right. Tell the truth.”
Raphael rubbed the back of his neck. “Yer not gonna like it.”
“Son of a bitch,” Leonardo spat. “People know about us, don't they? Who did you show yourself to?”
Raphael put a hand up. “Chill, okay.” He looked at his brothers' stormy faces and knew they weren't going to be fobbed off with an excuse. “When we were thirteen, I went out on my own.”
“Which we definitely weren't allowed to do,” Don interjected.
“Yeah well, I did,” Raphael grumbled. “I did it all the damn time.” They walked along for a few moments in silence. “One night, I saw a kid about my age delivering pizza. He got mugged and they were beating him up real bad. I saved him.”
“And he taught you how to speak Spanish?” Leo asked.
Raphael looked away and said nothing. Mike kicked him in the back and the red turtle stumbled. “Keep talkin' Raph,” Mike said. “You're not getting out of it.”
“His grandfather, aunt, and uncle all saw me save him. The aunt and uncle spoke a little English but Al and his grandfather didn't.”
“Al?” Leo asked.
Raphael nodded. “Alejandro. He's... he's my friend. He's got a tattoo parlour in the Bronx now.”
“Is that where you go when you disappear?” Leo asked.
“Sometimes, yeah,” Raphael admitted. “They're nice people.”
“Damn it, Raph!” Leo moaned. “Does anyone else know about us?”
“No,” Raphael sighed. “Do you see why I had to keep it quiet though? You would never have let me have a friend!”
“Aren't we your friends?” Don asked.
“Do you understand the danger you put us in?” Leo barked.
“Leo, chill,” Mike commanded in a voice that made them all stop talking. “Raphael, you can't keep any more secrets like that from us. Leo... just chill. Take some breaths. It's done and it can't be undone.”
Leo opened his mouth, “But he...”
“Chill!” Mike ordered. “Is there anything else we need to know?” he asked.
Raphael shook his head and they walked along in silence.
“I'm going to bed as soon as we get in,” Leo said. “That just sucked the life out of me.”
Raphael looked like he was going to say something mean, but Don put a hand on his shoulder. “He's depressed. Let him rest if he needs too. Everybody just...”
“Chill,” Mike repeated.
“I want to meet this guy,” Don said. “I'm not trying to walk all over your privacy Raphael, but I think you owe us the right to see him for ourselves.”
“No,” Leo muttered. “If Raph wanted us to know his friends, he would have introduced us. If this Al guy was going to out us, he's had twenty years to do it. Just leave him be.”
Raphael looked shocked. “Leo... thanks.”
“Whatever,” Leo mumbled.
The turtles trudged up the dark stairs to the main area of the church that was now their living room. The shadows outside were long but the last rays of daylight sliced through the old church windows and gave their home a welcoming glow.
“Raphael!”
Miguel shot through from the kitchen and launched himself at the red turtle, who looked surprised to see him. Miguel leaped into Raphael's bulky arms and the big turtle swung him up easily to sit on his hip. The little boy hung onto Raphael's neck with his little arms.
“Que estas haciendos aqui?” (What are you doing here?) Raphael said. He grinned at the boy and Miguel giggled.
“Mama me trajo,” (Mom brought me.) Miguel said.
Mike and Don exchanged looks. If they lived to be a hundred, they would never get used to seeing this side of Raphael.
Raphael carried the giggling boy through the huge living room, joking with him in Spanish all the way. Leonardo slipped away and went up the back stairs to his room.
“If I didn't know better,” Mike whispered, “I'd swear one of those alien pod people took over Raph's body.”
Don murmured in agreement.
Estrella stepped shyly out of the kitchen to meet them and Raphael leaned down to give her a quick kiss. “Oje hermosa,” (Hi, beautiful.) he grinned.
“Hey Papi,” she said. Estrella hugged him around his neck and he grabbed her under her ample backside and picked her up as he stood. She flushed and slapped his plastron as he carried them both into the kitchen where Charlie and Evelyn sat at the table.
Raphael set Estrella back down and swooped down and kissed Charlie's cheek. He looked at the blind girl who had spooked him so badly in the cafe. Miguel reached for some cheese cubes but his arms were too short so Raphael leaned down a bit to let him grab some then he approached the newcomer.
“Hi,” he said. “I'm Raphael. I make your coffee.”
“Evelyn,” she said. She carefully reached her hand out for him to shake.
“She can't see,” Miguel informed him.
Raphael glowered at the boy. “Hey,” he said. “We don't talk about people like that. Tell her you're sorry.”
“Sorry,” Miguel said through a mouthful of cheese.
Evelyn smiled and Raphael noticed that her eyes seemed dead. “It's okay,” she said. “Kids are very honest. I am blind.”
“What's all this?” Donatello asked as he and Mike walked in. He knelt down by Charlie and kissed her. She took his hand and moved it to her belly where the baby was kicking.
“We're having a party,” she said. “Splinter and April are coming and Casey, too.”
Mike kissed her temple and grabbed a taco shell. “Awesome! I haven't seen Casey in a month!” He cruised through the food, building a giant taco. “Hey Evelyn,” he said.
“Who are you,” she asked.
“Mike,” Mike said. “I'm the costume with the pulse.”
Everyone laughed and Evelyn blushed a bit. “Hi,” she said.
Donatello left his wife and went to Evelyn. “I'm Donatello,” he said. They shook hands. “It's nice to have you here. We like meeting new friends.”
“You could have fooled me,” Evelyn said.
Mike cringed. “Yeah well... it's a new thing for us.” He stuffed his taco in his mouth. “Want me to take you to Leo? He doesn't know you're here.”
“Sure,” Evelyn said. She picked up her cane and held her hand out. “New places are tricky. I don't know my way around.”
Mike took her hand and waited while she stood. He led her out of the kitchen and through the living room to the stair case. She held the railing in one hand and he stayed close beside her as they went up together.
“Leo's not having a great time,” Mike said, carefully.
“I know,” Evelyn said. “He's suffering from depression. Me too.”
“Then you understand,” Mike said. He sounded relieved.
“You sound like you understand, too,” Evelyn said.
Mike nodded.
“You have to use words with me,” Evenlyn said. “Blind, remember?”
“Oh... sorry,” Mike said. “Yeah, I've been there. It still gets me sometimes, but I'm better than I was. A lot better.” He stopped outside of Leo's door. “This is it,” he said before he left her. “See if you can get him to come down and eat with us.”
The knock on the door surprised Leonardo. He was lying back on his bed, staring at the big window as the last of the daylight faded.
“Go away,” he said, tiredly. “Whatever it is, I'm not in the mood.”
The door opened anyway.
“Hey,” a soft voice said. “Can I come in?”
Leonardo rolled over and gaped at Evelyn as she tapped her way into his room with her cane.
“Tell me if I'm going to walk off a cliff, stud,” she said.
Leonardo hopped to his feet and hurried to greet her. “Evelyn!” he gaped. He took in her new haircut and clothes. She was wearing tight jeans, ballet flats, and a pretty lavender top. “You look great,” he said. “Really great... but what are you doing here? How did you even find this place?” He took her hand and froze. He didn't have any chairs.
“Charlie brought me. She says she wants some proper family time and she's invited a bunch of people. I think your parents are coming later.” She jiggled his hand. “Are we going to sit down?”
Leonardo cleared his throat. “I don't have any chairs.”
“What were you sitting on then?” Evelyn asked.
“My... bed.”
Evelyn batted her eyelashes. “Ooooh!” she teased.
Leonardo laughed in spite of his bad mood. “You're never shy, are you?”
Evelyn laughed too. “Deep down I am but I've learned to speak up.” She put her head to one side and her glass eyes gazed off at nothing. “Shall we sit on the bed or will that give you a panic attack?”
“C'mon,” Leo said. He led her to the bed which, thankfully, was made. They sat in silence for a minute, still holding hands. He was heavier and the mattress dipped more where he sat. Leo thought about letting her hand go because maybe she would think it was weird that he was holding it... but she wasn't letting go either so he just rolled with it.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she finally asked.
“Talk about what?” Leo replied. “The crippling depression or... last night.”
“Whatever presses your cider,” Evelyn said.
Leo smiled and shook his head. She was so easy to talk to. “I... I've never done anything like that before,” he said.
Evelyn smiled too. “I know,” she said, gently. “But you were great. Did you like it?”
“Yeah,” Leo whispered. “It was easier knowing you couldn't...”
“See you?” she asked. “I can't see anyone, remember?”
“...touch me,” Leo finished. “I just...” he looked down at his three-fingered hand that was laced with her pretty fingers. “You don't know what we are,” he said. “You think you do, but you don't.”
“I know I'm only guessing at what you look like,” Evelyn said, “maybe I'm not picturing quite the right face or body, and maybe I don't have your skin colour right... but I'm not sure what colour Estrella or Charlie's skin is, either.”
“Charlie is about the same as you,” Leo said. “Estrella is the colour of milky coffee... but yeah... fair point.”
Evelyn nodded. “Your sister-in-law seems pretty happy with your brother,” she said. “And Estrella sounded pretty happy to see Raphael. Miguel ran to see him.”
“Each of those things is a miracle for us,” Leo said. His shoulders slumped. “Over the years, people have seen us and they all screamed. All of them. Sometimes they even faint. I just... I'm scared that you're going to get your sight back and commit suicide or something because you're so disgusted with yourself for having been with me.”
“Wow,” Evelyn said. “That's heavy, stud.”
“Did Charlie tell you about Bubba and Frank?”
Evelyn shook her head. “Who are they?”
Leonardo let go of her hand and leaned on his knees. He covered his face with his hands. “Fuuuuck,” he muttered. “Alright, settle in, I'll tell you a story...”
It took him about an hour to get through a quick version of the museum night. Sometimes he got up and paced. Sometimes he caught himself ranting a bit but he got himself back on track. He gave as many details as he could about how it felt to kill someone... how sick it was that he liked it sometimes... how he had liked taking Bubba's head off his shoulders... then he even told her about Slash and about Raphael's friend, Al.
By the end of it, Evelyn was propped up against his headboard with her legs up, but she didn't interrupt. Not even once. When Leo finally flopped down on the end of his bed, exhausted, she scooted forward until she bumped into him. She put her hand on his plastron and felt around until she found the ice pick injury. Leo just lay there, staring at the ceiling with his knees hanging over the edge of the bed.
“Do you want me to psychoanalyze you?” Evelyn asked.
“Whatever presses your cider,” Leo responded, flatly.
Evelyn stroked his plastron. “I can't really feel that,” he reminded her.
“It's not about you,” she said. “I'm learning what you look like.” She blew her bangs off her face with a breath. “I think you're so hung up on what other people think of you that it's warped your whole mindset. This Lisa girl sounds disturbed... I'll pray for her.”
“You pray for people?” Leo asked. He had one hand tucked behind his head. His other hand brushed over his chest to hers.
“Of course, I do,” Evelyn said. “I pray for you, too. Every day.” She propped her head on her hand and went on, “You weren't kidding when you said she messed you up. She totally did. Worse than I originally thought. It's like she took all your fears and insecurities and amplified them.”
“What about the rest of it?” Leo asked. “How can you not hate me? I've killed. I've killed and liked it. And I know I'll have to do it again, eventually.”
Evelyn shrugged. “You seemed to be trying pretty hard to scare me off.”
“Is it working?”
“No,” Evelyn said. “It's not my place to judge... that's between you and God, although it doesn't seem like you go out looking for people to bump off... you're not a murderer.”
“You should be scared of me.” Leo said, darkly.
Evelyn flopped back on the bed beside him. “Do you want me to be scared of you?”
“No,” Leo whispered.
“God could have let the cancer kill me,” Evelyn said. She swallowed blinked back a couple of stinging tears. “But He didn't. There's something important I'm meant to do and until I do it, He's going to keep me alive, so I really doubt you're going to hurt me.”
Leo turned his head to look at her. Her skin glowed in the moonlight like it had in his dirty fantasy the night before. “Do you really believe that?” he asked.
She nodded. “That's what faith is all about... following the voice of the shepherd in the dark, even when you can't see the way, because you trust that the voice will lead you home.”
“Wow,” Leo said. “That's beautiful.”
“That's Sunday school 101,” she said.
They lay in silence for a while, just holding hands.
“Are we dating?” Leo asked. “'Cause I don't know what this is. I don't really feel like we are, but I do know we're not in love... but I don't talk to my other friends like I do to you... and I sure as heck don't have phone sex with them. So... what is this?”
Evenlyn snickered and to Leonardo’s surprise, she actually blushed. “Friends with benefits?” she asked.
“I don't think I can do that,” Leo said. “I'm not a friends-with-benefits kind of guy.”
Evelyn sighed. “Do we have to label it?”
“No,” Leo conceded. “But there would have to be some ground rules. I don't want to get hurt... and I don't want to hurt you either.”
“Ok,” Evelyn said, carefully. “What did you have in mind?”
Leo thought for a moment. “If we did start a sexual relationship... I couldn't handle it if I knew you were looking for someone better. I mean... obviously anyone out there is better than a freaky mutant like me, but still...”
“That's fair,” Evelyn said. “No dating other people while we're seeing each other.”
“And what if one of us starts to get romantic feelings?” Leo asked.
This time, Evelyn took a moment to think. “Then we would have to say something right away. No keeping it a secret.”
“Okay,” Leo said. Honesty was honourable. He could work with that. But there was one more thing. “And... and it's over if you ever get your sight back,” he said.
“You don't give me much credit, do you?” Evelyn said, quietly.
“That's how it has to be,” Leo said, firmly. “You and I are not Charlie and Don. We're not going to fall in love and live happily ever after. This will have to end sometime, so it might as well be then, when you get your fresh start.”
“Anything else?” Evelyn's voice sounded tight and that made Leo feel bad.
“No,” he said, more gently. “You?”
She shook her head. “I'm good.”
Leo looked up at the blue window that was now black from the night. He felt so tired and miserable... he just wanted to feel good again. Happiness felt like a memory of warm sunshine from a long time ago.
- 48
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Braving it in the New World