"What is it with you and toothpicks?"
Raphael's eyes trailer to the ceiling fan in a lazy roll.His gaze rested back on the vinyl punching bag hanging from across the room,still in good condition after a year of daily use.Donnie has been the one to suggest switching from leather to a more synthetic material so that the humidity in their didnt infest the lining with mildew one of the down sides to living in a sewer.
The two eldest turtles were lounging on raphs bed,side by side,mildly exhausted from their earlier workout,and the round of intense "post-workout" that followed. Typically,they'd exchange praises and silly banter for the first couple of minutes,and then a comfortable silence would blanket the concrete-insulated space until there was nothing but the sounds of soft snoring and the occasional dream-grunt.
Every now and then,however,leonardo still har enough energy in him to keep a steady trickle of conversation going,which raph normally evaded by pretending to fall asleep if the topic began to bore him.this could be another one of those nights.
With a sigh,the larger mutant threw his hands up in a non-committal gesture and answered his brothers questionthat had come seemingly out of nowhere.
"I dunno,leo.What is it with you and chopsticks?"
"Okay,no.We're not getting into that again." leos penchant for aspects of japanese culture was a sore subject nowadays,seeing as he was the only one who appreciated adopted it into his personal life style,besides master splinter,of course.(why was it okay for their sensei to immerse himself in this stuff,but he got a hard time for it? Thats what leo wanted to know!)"and dont try to change the subject.I'm the one who's asking you-"
"Why do you care?" raph cut him off,eager to get this line of interrogation over and dont with.
"Because you have one in your south,like 24/7! Where do they keep coming from?! Do you have an entire pack of them hidden in your shell,or is it just the same toothpick that you keep tucked away until the opportune moments presents itself?"
"What the fuck are you even talkin' about?"
"Oh,come on.As if you dont whip them out everytime we get into a brawl.Seriously!turn around,and there you are,grinding a 2 inch piece of wood between your teeth like it's some sort of intimidation tactic."
"Well, if it works, then who gives a shit?"
"Aren't you afraid of swallowing one while you're fighting?"
"Uh,no,cuz' i dont have it in my mouth while i fight."
"But it's always there after we kick some shell."
"Yeah,after. I dunno,man," he shrugged. The only way to sate leos curiosity was to provide a straight forward answer,so raph blurted out the first thing that came to his mind."it calms me down.whatever."
Leo thought about this new perspective for a few seconds before coming up with his own conclusion."So...it's like having a cigarette,for you."
"Cigarette?" Raphs face scrunched up in confusion.
"Yeah,you know.like how people have a cigarette after a hard days work to relax themselves?"
It was a strange comparison,but the larger turtles mouth turned down into a thoughtful frown."i guess you could put it that way,yeah."
"I mean,at least your habit is healthier than smoking,right?" the older mutant turned on his side to face his partner,place one hand on the muscled chest in reassurance. He looked hard at raphs face to make zure his brother hadn't settled into a bad mood,and carefully added,"i'm not saying there's anything wrong with you chewing on toothpicks, i hope you know. I was just...wondering is all."
"Pfft! Even if ya did have a problem with it.there's nothin' you could do about it. Half of the time, i dont even realize i do it-just magically appears in my mouth,like mikey and pizza."
Leo chuckled at that."looks like oral fixations run in this family. Donnie goes through pens like a machine. Every one of the caps are either missing of mutilated beyond repair. And i'll occasionally see dad gnawing on a thing or two when he tinls no one is around. Might be his rodent tendencies though."
"You dont have an oral fixation. Although,you like to tongue at your lower lip whenever you're concentrating real hard,which breaks my concentration,so thanks for that."
"Oh?" leo smirked."i dont think my tongue really counts,though."
Raph paused to think for a moment before looking down at his own naked torso,devoid of the usual gear and weapons."well,there is..."
RAPHAEL. Finish that sentence,and i'll make sure you choke on that toothpick of yours," leo muttered in the same clipped tone his younger sibling knew all too well.
"Oh,i dont know,leo,you sure enjoy choking on things that are significantly larger than toothpicks,so maybe i wont mind so mu-"
There were no more words said between the couple that night.
I'll leave what happened after raphs provocation up to your imagination.
I hope you enjoyed the story i may do a part two about donnie habits if you guys want me too bye my cookies
