Adult-FanFiction.org : Comics

For Love or Freedom	By : sss979 Category: Comics > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Views: 2966 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
She didn't hear him come in. She didn't hear him approach. She had no indication he was in the apartment until his arms were around her and his lips and teeth were nibbling at her neck. She jumped, surprised, and laughed at him quietly. "Boy, aren't you subtle?"
"Mmm..." He nipped at her earlobe, sucking gently. "I'm ninja, babe."
She patted the side of his face, chuckling. "You're also horny as hell lately, you know that? 'Cause I just wanna make sure you're perfectly aware of that fact."
He rubbed her face against her hand, urging her to pet rather than pat him. abe,abe, I think I'd be the first one to know how horny I am."
She smiled and ran her fingers down over his cheek, pulling away gradually so that by the time she reached his neck, she was barely touching him with her fingernails. "You've got a good point there."
"Hmm…" he murmured, inhaling deeply as she pulled her hand away. He smiled. "Heh, I got a great point." He shifted his stance a little, giving himself a little more room. He was mostly just teasing her. He wasn't particularly horny. In fact, he was actually pretty tired. She just looked like she needed some nibbling.
In the past month, he'd spent more time here than with all his other girlfriends combined. He wasn't sure exactly why that was. Maybe because she'd taken the initiative to figure him out, and she could touch him in ways no one else had ever been allowed to before. He didn't know why, exactly. But he kept coming back. Even in times like this, when he was just looking for a place to go and relax that wasn't home. He was exhausted, and still not quite sure how he knew that he could come here and relax, and she'd not think anything of it. He didn't have to give her anything, or do anything for her. This place was like a haven of some sort. He didn't let himself think about it enough for it to bother him.
She laughed again, quietly, and turned to kiss him. Her hand slipped around behind his neck and massaged gently as her lips met his collar bone. "Hi Raph," she finally greeted. "Nice to see you."
He slid a little closer, running warm hands over the length of her stretched out arms. He squeezed gently as he pulled a little, stretching her muscles ever so slightly under his warm palms. He moved down to her wrists, and held them, then gave her a quiet smile. "Hi yerself," he whispered. A teasing light glinted in his eyes. "But ain't it always nice ta see me?"
She relaxed under his hands, glancing away as she considered his words. She could think of a lot of people she'd like seeing a lot less. He'd been around so much lately, she'd certainly had no chance to miss him. But she didn't mind. He wasn't pushy or demanding. He didn't expect anything from her except for what she was more than willing to give. That usually consisted of her sex and her TV. And then he complained about the lack of cable...
"Yeah, I usually like to see you," she admitted. "'Cept when you're pissed off. You get too high maintenance when you're angry."
She turned and grinned at him to let him know she was just teasing. Still smiling, she leaned in to kiss his lips, letting him control her hands for the time being. He kissed her back, then once again, the second time catching her lower lip for a second between his own before letting go. "High maintenance, huh?" he repeated. "Like a precision tuned engine.... Comes with the territory babe." He squeezed her wrists gently and moved back down the length of her arms, enjoying the smooth feel of her skin. "You wanna ride, you gotta take care'a the whole machine."
She smiled as he dipped his head to taste the side of her neck again. He was still chuckling over something, and she raised an eyebrow. "What?"
He moved up to her hear, brushing lightly. His words were more a tease of air than speech and she shivered as it tickled her nerves. "Yer green machine..."
Her head tipped back as she laughed, exposing more of her throat to him. "So, what? We go for a ride and then I gotta check your oil? I think I can handle that." She ran her fingers over the back of his neck, stroking gently, happy just to touch him. As strange as it was, she kinda liked having him around. She'd never been able to say that about anyone, really, her entire life.
Raphael grinned, catching the slang even though it was a bit before his time. His broad tongue licked her neck in a long pull, then pulled away to blow cool air on the wetness. She tasted good, smelled good, looked good… "You do that, babe, and I'll take you miles..."
He slipped his arm under her legs and without much warning, picked her straight up. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she clung to his neck. "Raph! What're you…"
She cut off as he slipped underneath her and set her back down on his lap. "Tha's all. Go back ta what you were doin'."
She stared at him for a moment, but the shock had already worn off, and she laughed as she leaned back against him. His hands ran over her with no particular goal in mind. He liked the silky feel of her skin, and the smell of shampoo in her hair. Breathing in deep, he let his hands travel up her smooth arms and then down again. They moved over her shirt and her rib cage to her waist where they slipped forward and caught her in a loose embrace. She smiled and rested her head back on his shoulder, turning her head to kiss his neck.
She pressed back against his plastron as she sucked gently on his skin, nuzzling him. His strong arms felt good around her, and she let her palms rest on his forearms, massaging gently. She ran her nails up and down his hard muscles, tickling lightly and moving to rub away the sensation just as quickly as he could register it. Raphael sighed deeply, idly wondering why there weren't more moments like this. This felt good. Not erotic, not dangerous, not exciting. Just good. He had to laugh at himself. If this happened too often, he knew he'd get bored with it. But it didn't hurt every now and then.
He sat quietly with his cheek against hers for a moment more. "So what are you up to today?" he asked her quietly. "Teasing more eight-year-olds?"
She grinned, and looked over her shoulder, out the window. There was no sign of anyone on the street, and much less the kids who she knew should be in school anyways. "They weren't eight," she clarified. "More like thirteen."
He snickered quietly as he nuzzled her cheek. "Ya know, I'd've been a much dirtier little boy if I knew where you lived…"
She chuckled. "You were dirty enough without me, I'm sure."
"I'd've been dirtier earlier, how's that?"
She smiled, and her hands returned to the keyboard. She considered typing, beverever actually did. "Actually, I've been trying to get this damn scene done, but... it's not working for me. And I'm not all that interested in it to begin with so..." She finished with a shrug and glanced back at him. "I'm looking for ways to procrastinate."
"Procrastinate, huh?" He looked around the room. Papers, dishes, and clothes littered the floor, along with the miscellaneous shoe, cd case, and empty bottle or can. "Well... you could clean..."
He grinned at her as she shot him a pathetic look. "You're kidding right?" She studied the floor and decided that yes, it was very messy but no, she was not going to clean it. Her eyes turned back to the computer screen. "The only reason I clean is if I've got someone coming over."
"I'm someone," he grinned.
"Someone who doesn't walk in like he owns the place," she clarified. She glanced over her shoulder at him. "But thanks for the suggestion. Keep it up and writing this scene might not sound quite so bad."
She leaned back against him as she turned to the computer, but still didn't actually type, just stared blankly. He kissed along the rim of her ear. "What kinda scene's it?"
She sighed. "The kind I don't really want to write."
He smiled, sucking gently on her earlobe. "Need some… inspiration?"
She considered him for a moment, and the scene on the computer, and pushed away, rising to her feet. "I gotta find something to do."
Raphael grinned. "Well, I could suggest a few…"
"No," she answered. She laughed as she shot him a dirty look, her hands going to her hips. "As if you don't get enough sex around here!" she teased.
He shrugged slightly, and followed her out of the office and into the living room. She grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV, then stared at it for a few moments. He couldn't help but raise an eyeridge. He'd not seen her turn that TV on all by herself once in all the time he'd known her. But he wasn't going to complain. He sat down on the other end of the couch and glanced briefly at the screen, but kept one eye on her. "You alright, baby?"
"Mmm hmm."
She leaned her head back and rested it on the back of the sofa. "You sure?" He wasn't going to pry, but he knew it was beyond weird for her to be turning that TV on willingly.
"Yes."
His eyes closed as he relaxed and for a few minutes. Only the sounds of a random soap opera interrupted the silence. He'd see how long this lasted. She had no particular interest in the program and he knew it was only a matter of time before the TV went off again.
"Okay I have come to the point of boredom where I am picking apart my already too-short cutoffs and making them even shorter..."
He opened one eye and glanced at her, eyes lingering on the shorts that barely covered her hips. A faint smile crossed his face. "That's a problem?
She turned to him and grinned. "Well, not for you... but I won't be able to go out in public with them anymore if they get much shorter."
He closed his eyes again. "S'okay. You don't need to go nowhere tonight."
She sighed. "No. And I'm glad. Kinda worn out."
"Tired?'
"Nah, just… worn and bored and… yeah."
There was a long silence. It wasn't uneasy and neither one was in any particular hurry to break it. Raphael finally spoke, if only to keep himself from falling asleep. "How'd yer pictures come out?"
She shrugged, ignoring the fact that his eyes were closed. She wasn't going to offer information. He raised an eyeridge. "Can I see 'em?"
"Maybe." She turned and glared at him. "I'm still mad at you for taking that picture, you know."
He shot her a knowing smile. She knew what he was after. He could care less about the 23 other pictures on that roll, which she'd taken for some kind of a website or project. He was interested in the one he'd managed to flash of her in the shower. "Oh, come on. Ain't like I never seen you naked before."
"No," she agreed. "But I would've rather the people developing the pictures hadn't seen it. You're supposed to use a Polaroid when you shoot porn."
He reached toward her, wrapping his fingers around her upper arm and pulling her onto his lap, gently if a little insistently. "It wasn't porn," he mumbled. "It was candid. There's a difference. An' besides, you got nothin' to be 'shamed of, baby."
"Well, neither do you, but we'll not go there."
He briefly considered those words, and what exactly she might be threatening, but pushed the idea aside. By now, the last thing he was worried about was her compromising his safety. His mind drifted again. "It came out good, didn't it?" he teased, smiling.
"Mmm," she acknowledged, resting her head against his shoulder. "They wouldn't develop it."
"What?" he laughed. "Why not?"
"Against policy. And I'm not too crazy with most of the shots on that roll that did come out."
He hesitated for a moment, then decided to rise to the bait, letting her shift the conversation. "Why not?"
She sighed. "Ever notice how a camera picks up every single scar? Most of the shots were close ups of my hands and arms. I never realized quite how many scars I have all over there."
They both looked down at her hands. "Yeah, well. I got my share a scars too, baby."
"Yeah, I know. Guess that's 'cause we're both stupid enough to use sharpened weapons for practice."
He grinned, and nuzzled her gently. "Who said anything about practice?"
"Well, most of my injuries are inflicted by freestyle sparring. Or by my own stupidity. Drop a sharpened shurieken and have it just touch your leg on the way down..."
He chuckled quietly. "I've done that. I've done worse, too. You got that 'danger' thing goin' though," he mumbled. "I'd be laughing if you didn't have scars to back that shit up."
She grinned, massaging the back of his hand gently. "Yeah," she whispered, grinning. "I'm dangerous!" She quickly realized it was very difficult to come off as dangerous while sitting on someone's lap, and gave up dangerous for a yawn.
He smiled at her attempt, rubbing his hands over her arms. "You need a nap."
"Nah. I'm yawning 'cause I'm bored." She sighed and tipped her head down, her forehead against his warm skin. "I'm not too good at procrastinating. So I'm just kinda... sitting."
Grayson jumped up, climbing from her ankles all the way up to her chest. She looked at him as he placed his front paws on her breasts and purred loudly against the side of her face. Her hand came up, stroking his fur lightly, and he ducked away with a meow, settling on her lap. She half laughed at him as he shunned her. "What's your problem?"
He ignored her, curling up and purring until she attempted to touch him again. He protested, then moved a little further down her legs before curling up again. Raphael smirked at the smartass cat. "Damn."
"Yeah, he gets like that sometimes," she mumbled, a faint smile on her lips. "Doesn't really wanna be pet, just wants to be close." She glanced up and smiled wider. "As opposed to you, who I'm sure would rather be pet. But I can only please one male at a time."
He looked down, studying the white ball of fuzz. A few minutes were spent debating whether or not he wanted to take back seat to a cat. Grayson looked up at him and watched for a moment, then lay his head back down and continued to purr. Raph grinned as he amused himself with thoughts of a shaved kitty cat.
Fingers along the side of his face brought his attention back to the woman on his lap. She smiled and directed his attention back to the cat, scratching behind its ear. Grayson's head raised and he leaned into her, happy to let her touch him so long as her entire hand wasn't on him. "Oh, come on. You couldn't hurt that sweet face, now could you?"
Grayson purred in agreement, eyes closed. "Not hurt," Raph mumbled. "But scare the piss outta? Yeah. I do worse ta my brother all the time."
"Aw, come on…" she cooed. "I know you're really just a big softy at heart. You'd never hurt anything in real life."
He gave her a flat look, no more amused by her condescending tone than he was by her words. "Do that again an' yer off my lap."
She laughed, caressing the side of his face gently. "Oh, you can be sweet when you try, Raphy…" she breathed, the same tone just slightly quieter now. "Give it a chance. Commune with your inner self."
Grayson purred happily, communing with his inner self. Raphael only stared at her and mouthed, "Raphy?" In one swift movement, he picked her and the cat up, stood, and dropped them both on the sofa. Grayson scrambled away and Raph bent down until he was eye to eye with her. "Raffi was that freak with the guitar and the kids' sing-a-longs. Don't ever call me that."
He was serious, and she knew that. But she also knew that he was seriously fighting the laughing light in the back of his eyes. She gripped the top edge of his plastron and kept him close. "You don't like Raphy?" she smiled. "Aw, come on. It's a term of endearment."
"'Daddy's lil' blowjobber' is also a term of endearment. You want me using that one on you?"
A grin was starting to form in the corners of his mouth. She smiled back. "Preferrably not in public, no," she whispered. "But then, I wouldn't call you Raphy in public either so I guess it's all good."
He crouched down until he was eye level with her. He didn't really understand why he was enjoying this, but he was. "Look. Cum-sucker. You're not callin' me that. Ever."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "That an insult or a challenge there?" She let go of the edge of his plastron, but continued to watch him just as carefully. "Or was it supposed to be both?"
He leered at her. "Well, sugar-pussy, I figure it's a statement of fact."
She licked her lips. "Mmm… now I gotta figure out if that one was a statement of fact or if it was an invitation. Either way it sounds kinda kinky. Raphy."
He stared at her, completely straight-faced. "You do know it's impossible to get an erection while someone's calling you something stupid like that."
She continued to grin. "Oh, please. I could get you off callin' you 'sweet sugar muffin' along the way." She leaned toward him and kissed his cheek lightly. "And you know it."
He caught the side of her face before she pulled all the way back and kissed her soundly. "Only if I had earplugs, doll."
She returned, then pulled away slightly, her lips still brushing his. "Wanna wager on that?"
He considered that for just a moment. The honest truth was, as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't have the energy for sex. He was tired, and sore, and knew he could fall asleep right there, crouched on the floor, if he allowed it. "Sorry toots, gonna hafta take a rain check. I'm still frickin' inverted from all that Raffi business."
"Aww..." She grinned at him, then glanced away. "But in that case... I guess you'll have to owe me, huh?"
He stood again. "Hey, you killed it with that 'guitar gimp' shit. Scoot over." He picked up her shoulders and settled himself on the sofa, then set her back down across his lap.
She relaxed, resting her head on his shoulder, eyes closed. "I killed nothing," she smirked, nuzzling him gently. "I am fully confident in your ability to get over yourself when it comes to matters of your stubborn pride and not wanting to be seen as anything other than a bad ass."
A long pause answered her, and his hand stopped moving over her hair. "You know… I was feeling sorry for you fer a minute there…"
She smiled, reaching up to brush her fingers over his hard bicep. "But even if you can't, I love you anyways."
He turned his head toward her and studied her for a moment, then his eyes moved to her arm and up toward her wrist. "Okay, that's better."
She chuckled quietly, stroking his arm gently. "Would it make you feel any better if I told you that you'll always be a bad ass in my eyes?"
He sighed, eyes closing as he relaxed against the back of the couch. A quiet smirk formed on his lips. "Yeah, you 'n every other girl out there. Even when they're tryin' ta get me singin' fuckin' karaoke."
He shuddered, and she chuckled quietly. "Now that I'd like to see," she whispered. "Not that I think you'd be bad at it."
"No," he answered, pulling away to shoot her a flat look.
"No?" She glanced up at him. "Aw, come on. You'd sing for me if I asked you to. I know you would." Her fingers slid upward, over his neck and cheek until she touched the bottom of his red mask. "I might have to get you drunk and laid first, but you'd sing..."
His eyes opened again, eyeridges rising. "Why the hell would you want to hear me sing?"
She shrugged. "I dunno. I don't think you'd be too bad at it." She pulled away further and slipped both hands under the mask, raising it up off of his face. She pulled it away and dropped it on the coffee table, then leaned into him again. His arm slid around behind her as she rested her head on his shoulder again. "Could work to your advantage since you're occasionally... lacking in the romance department."
Raphael laughed. "You've never bitched about that one before…"
Her eyes narrowed, just slightly offended by his wording. "Just because I don't bitch at you doesn't mean I always like what you're doing. You can take that as you will, but I rarely bitch at you, and you know it."
His laughter came to an abrupt stop. He stared at her for a moment before reaching his other arm up to slowly run his fingers through her hair. "I know you rarely bitch. But I ain't no mind reader, babe. I figured if it was somethin' you'd been wantin', you'd say somethin'." He nodded slowly. "Guess you jus' did. I'm just surprised 'cause I ain't heard that one from you before, that's all."
She relaxed again, nuzzling his neck gently. "I would. I'd tell you. I hadn't thought about it until you just said that. The whole 'sweep you off your feet' romance bit is so not like you I never even thought to ask you for it." She frowned. "But you make it kinda hard for me to tell you about my fantasies if it's gonna come out sounding like I'm bitching at you..."
"Babe…" She pulled away and studied his pensive look. "You'd laugh in my face if I said I'd always take you seriously."
"Probably," she agreed. "And I wouldn't want you to always take me seriously."
"Good," he mumbled, stroking her hair. "'Cause I don't think I could do that anymore than you could do for me. If you're willin' ta do what you just did and lemme know…" He shrugged. She smiled as she let him ramble for another minute. "And yeah, I'm an ass from time ta time. But it's part of the deal. And it's part of…"
"You're missin' the point, baby."
He cut off abruptly. "What?" His eyes moved to her and he waited for her to elaborate.
She laughed and pulled away. "This isn't as hard as you're making it." She held his cheeks, watching his eyes. "You want me to talk to you, correct? Want me to tell you what I want? Well, don't act like I'm bitching at you when I do. 'Cause I don't wanna bitch at you. And by all means, I'll stop. That's all I meant."
She kissed him lightly, then settled again, letting go of his face. She wasn't really sure whose fault it was that they weren't communicating on this topic, but she didn't particularly care. It wasn't like it was worth fighting over. He frowned. "When yer pissed an' you sound like you think I'm doin' it on purpose…" He sighed. "Okay. Fine. Whatever. This is Raph shutting up."
She chuckled quietly. "I don't think you're trying to piss me off. And I'm not pissed so just relax. Just because you're not gonna get any tonight doesn't mean I'm mad at you."
He just rolled his eyes. "Baby, if I wanted it, you know you'd give it to me."
"Yeah, but talking does not always have to end in either sex or violence, you know," she whispered, nudging him.
He made a snorting noise and turned to look at her. "I know that…"
She smiled at the hint of a grin hidden under his statement, then stretched out, sliding down. When she recoiled, she was on her back with her head in his lap. "Suuuure you do…" she teased.
He arched a brow at her. "'Course I do. Sometimes it ends in… TV or something. Or…" She was still grinning at him. "What're you smilin' at, huh?"
He stretched an arm along her side and poked her side in a tickling motion a few times. She swatted his hand away and grinned up at him, curling away from his hands. "Better be careful, baby, or I might get it in my head to tease you mercilessly while you're too tired to do anything about it."
"Who're you kiddin'?" he challenged. "You might decide ta do that whether I'm ticking you or not!" Nevertheless, his hand stopped, resting flat against her with no intention of tickling again.
She grinned up at him. "No… I'll be nice as long as you are." She rested her hand over his and looked away, eyes closing. "Maybe..."
He gave her a knowing smirk and nodded. "Yeah. Okay."
She laughed and looked up, watching his eyes. "Nah, I wouldn't do that to you. Yer fun when you're frustrated but not if it's a permanent thing. I'm not that mean."
He nodded. "I'll remind you a that next time."
She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "I'm not mean to you. I might frustrate you, but I get you off afterward. I'm not a tease for the sake of teasing. At least not to you."
She winked at him, and he studied her for a moment, considering her words. "No, actually, you have done that, remember?"
"Yeah, but I made it worth it, didn't I?"
He glared at her for just a moment, then looked away, not willing to fight with her about it. "I ain't criticizing. I've seen some of the shit women like you put guys through."
She laughed. "Women like me? Is that an insult?"
"No." He grinned at her. "But I bet you had every guy before me whipped, didn't you?"
She laughed. "And you're not?" She glanced up at him, smiling. The words were said just for the sheer fun of seeing his reaction, whether or not she believed them.
"Hell no," he answered. He looked down at her. "I'd do just about anything for you. But babe… I don't fawn on you fer fuck's sake. I'm my own man." He grinned as his hand brushed over the side of her cheek. "Who just happens ta know just what a good thing he's got."
She smiled up at him, then reached up to touch the side of his face. "I know. And I'm glad. If you couldn't survive independent of me, I would be frightened."
His brow furrowed. "So would I."
She crinkled her nose as she considered the thought. "Yeah, that would get kinda smothering. And I can't handle smothering. Fuck me good and be there when I need you… but don't hang on me." She grinned. "And you do that quite well."
He nodded, lng png pretty damn satisfied with himself. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled, turning her onto her back. She moved without fighting him, and he rested his hand against her back, offering an impromptu one-handed backrub just because he felt like it. She smiled and stretched again as Grayson jumped back onto her legs and wandered toward his hand.
"Hey Raph?"
"Yeah?"
She chuckled quietly. "So, um... define teasing. 'Cause I don't really wanna be mean but that would feel really good without the shirt." She grinned and glanced up at him. "Of course, if it'd help, I could call you Raphy. That would negate any teasing, wouldn't it?"
He was cool with the idea for all of four seconds. "Keep yer shirt on if yer gonna call me that," he warned. But he was still grinning, and his hand was still running over her back.
She pushed up, careful not to disturb the cat, who was feigning sleep at her knees. She pulled the shirt off and dropped it on the floor, then lay down again. "So are you saying you wouldn't want me anymore if I called you... that?"
He grinned and decided that with her choice of wording, the backrub could continue. "I'm sayin' I'd rip the arms offa anyone else who ever called me that, and stuff 'em down their throat to keep it from happening again."
"Heh." She buried her head in her arms and managed to find skin, kissing his thigh before resting her head to the side. "But I'm not anyone else. And you love me, remember?" She laughed. "Or at least you love fucking me, so that's gotta count for something."
He grinned back, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "You still got yer arms, so it must be somethin' like that, yeah."
He unhooked her bra and moved it aside, then switched to a slow kneading motion that he knew she liked. She moaned just slightly, tensed muscles slowly relaxing as she pondered his threat. "You'd kinda miss my aif Iif I didn't have them. With arms come hands. And my hands are kinda valuable to you, no?"
"Yeah," he replied thoughtfully. "You'd be a lousy sparring partner without yer hands."
She chuckled. "Aw, I'd still kick yer ass." She was teasing. She knew she couldn't kick his ass. She'd sparred with him once. It had been a lesson in humility.
"Yeah, well, that's just 'cause kickin' at me'd be all you could do if I'da taken yer arms."
She considered the idea of sparring with no arms, just because her mind was wandering. "That would suck..." She pondered the idea of doing other things with no arms. "A lot." She glanced up at him and grinned. "I pity the person whose arms you're not attached to..."
He smiled back. "If they're stupid enough ta call me that, then they don't deserve pity."
He kneaded slow at her lower back just as the cat decided he was going to make a nuisance of himself. "Oh, so I'm stupid now?he jhe joked. Grayson wandered up and lay down, as much on top of Raphael's hand as he could. "'Cause I've called you that and I'll do it again at some point. Once the shirt goes back on, all bets are off, baby."
Raph shrugged and pulled his hand out from under the cat. "I tol' you. Anyone other than you. But don't expect nothin' if you go back ta that shit."
He flicked the cat's ear with his finger, but Grayson didn't seem to notice. "As if you could really withhold from me for any amount of time," she laughed.
Raph thumped the cat's head with his knuckle to see if he'd notice that. Grayson meowed in protest at being awoken from his impromptu nap and stood, moving back to her knees before curling up again.
"Okay. So what's so fuckin' wonderful about callin' me that, huh? I mean... why's it matter so much? 'Cause I know you don't really..." He stopped mid-sentence and squinted at her. "This is just a stubborn thing, ain't it," he realized. "If I just let it go, you'd prolly never call me that again 'cause we both know how retarded it sounds."
She grinned, enjoying the warm massage of his hands on her back. "In honesty, I've never been particularly fond of... that name. And I dunno if it's so much a stubborn thing as it is that you're fun to tease. And not just in a sexual way."
"Right," he mumbled. "Figures." He rubbed harder at her tensed muscles. "As long as we agree it makes you sound like a twat waffle when you say it and make me feel like a jagg-off when I answer to it.
She burst out laughing, pulling away from him. "Sound like a what?" she choked out, pushing herself up. Her bra fell down her arms and his eyes lingered for a moment on her naked breasts.
"What? Jagg-off?"
"No, I've heard that one," she managed, between fits of laughter. "Or I can at least guess."
He grinned, his eyes moving back up to faceface. "Oh. You mean..." He paused, and enunciated the rest of his sentence carefully. "... twat. Waffle?"
She laughed again as she considered what that insult might actually mean, and decided it's better to just not try to envision it. He smiled as she lifted her arms one at a time and pulled the bra aside. He reached underneath her, unable to resist even if he was too tired to finish her off, and he groped lightly at her breast before she lay back down, pressing it to his thigh.
"Anyways," she mumbled as she continued to chuckle, settling again. "I don't care if I sound like a 'twat waffle' when there's no one else around. Not any more than you should be concerned about feeling like... whatever you said. Jagg-off?"
He sighed. "Baby? You ain't gonna make me cool with that name. I don't care what you say. Have you seen the guy whose name yer calling me?"
She laughed quietly. "Oh, yes. My grandmother used to play him for me when I was three. I could sing the songs for you if you'd like."
He glared at her. "An' I could vomit on yer head from here."
She chuckled. "Not a fan?"
"Why would you wanna even… consider calling the man you have sex with by that name? I mean… that'd be like me insisting on calling you 'Leo'."
Her eyes widened. She wasn't entirely sure who 'Leo' was, but she had an idea. At any rate, it was definitely a guy, and probably even a family member. That was not something she wanted to think about. "Okay, now that's a thought I didn't need…"
"Right! See? By rights, that image should be the sort of thing that nightmares are made of…"
She grinned, turned away from him. "I'm having auditory hallucinations now," she informed him. h, Rh, Raph!' 'Oh, Leo!'"
He shuddered. That was something he'd never wanted to hear. "Okay. Quit it. That's sick an' wrong."
She nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, okay. But I don't think of the dude singing about the friendly snake under the bed when I call you… that… any more than I think of a Renaissance painter when I call you Raphael."
He blinked at her. "Friendly snake in the bed?" He choked back his laughter for loud enough to manage the rest of his thought. "What the hell kinda stuff'd yer gramma make you watch?"
"Not in the bed," she laughed. "Under the bed. The snake he found on his walk and it was a friendly snake and it became his pet? And he kept it under the bed?"
"Under's so much better!" he smirked, cracking up all over again.
She was still laughing as well. "I said under! Under the bed. Or the octopus in the garden? I remember that one pretty well too..."
He snorted. "Okay, so you like tentacles and snakes, huh?" He laughed harder.
She shut up and just laughed, realizing she was just digging the hole deeper. He pulled her up and turned her over to pull her into his lap, still chuckling. "The difference, baby, is that Raphael is my name, shared with a dead painter or not." He kissed her forehead. "But whatever. If you wanna call me yer 'friendly snake in the bed' I can swing with that too."
She grinned at him. "Yeah, well... I call 'em like I see 'em."
They stared at each other for a moment, and the laughter faded. There was a long silence, and he remembered just how tired he was as she ran a hand over his shoulder up to his neck. "You wanna go take a nap?" she asked quietly.
He sighed. "I can't stay, baby," he informed. "Sorry."
She tried to pull away, but he stopped her, slipping an arm around behind her and bringing her in close again. Their lips met, and he kissed her deeply, moving down then to kiss at her neck. "You can just rest," she whispered. "C'mon. It ain't like anything's gonna happen at home while you're away."
He stared at her for a moment. That was the least of his worries, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tell her that. "I dunno babe..."
She brushed her fingers lightly over the back of his neck and leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder. "S'okay. You don't have to stay long. Just relax."
He stared for a minute at the TV screen, and heard her breathe deeply against his chest. Very hesitantly, he turned l hel he was lying on his back in the folds of the couch, guiding her on top of him. She nuzzled against his neck and within minutes, he felt her breathing deepen. He sighed, and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. Maybe it wasn't such a terribly big deal. It wasn't like he was going to stay the night or anything. Just a cat nap...
Very carefully, he withdrew his weapons and set them on the coffee table, well within reach. His arms came around her then, and rested low on her back as he closed his eyes, and allowed himself to fall into a very light sleep.
- 8
- 9
- 10
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

For Love or Freedom