Loving Raph Is Red (TMNT) ✔

7: Under the Moon

"H...Hi..." Alice muttered back, her eyes slightly wide and focused at Raphael's face. Although Raphael thought she was frightened of him, Alice was somehow prepared of what she was about to face. She had seen it all in the news; shredder, pigs in gangs talking like people, and other things. A talking turtle hiding in the dark was indeed crazy and a little weird, but it was not frightening.

To her, it was fascinating.

Alice gazed into his eyes and gulped. "Sorry." She immediately said and shook her head and kept quiet. It was crazy enough to see about these creatures on TV, it just seemed a little crazier when she's standing a few inches away from one.

"You're--"

"A ninja."

"A turtle."

They spoke all at once, then Alice grimaced.

"Well...ninja turtle." Raphael awkwardly joked, his voice still calm but Alice could sense nervousness.

She nodded once to acknowledge, still a little unsure about how she should react. "Ninja turtle, huh," She said nonchalantly.

Raphael grinned awkwardly at her; a turtle with a huge figure, smiling and feeling nervous in front of a human girl. He felt terribly nervous. But Alice finally, quickly thought of a way to make things a little better.

"So you're who I've been talking to."

Raphael slowly extended his hand without breaking eye contact. His face became serious now as he tried to push away his nervous thoughts, "Raphael."

It took her a second before glancing at his unusual hand. She wondered how it felt to touch him for the first time. Without hesitation and curiously, she gently reached for his hand to shake. As she shook his hand, she looked up at him, "Alice."

The name sparked Raph's heart. It made him automatically smile. "Alice?" He repeated,

"Raphael." She acknowledged his name.

The handshake lasted longer than both expected, but neither cared. The handshake slowly stopped, but they both had their eyes on each other as both obviously observed each other's features. Alice unconsciously smiled warmly at him, "So you're the one who threatened me."

Raphael hoped she was joking, "I was just being safe."

"So you think I'm a threat?"

"What?" Unconsciously, their hands were still moving slowly,

"You think a girl like me could be a potential threat to a tall-ass turtle like you?" She joked then chuckled with him. Then, when they paused, she glanced at her hand and realized they've been holding each other for a while.

Raphael panicked and pulled his hand away just before she did. He cleared his throat.

"Well," he started and ran his hand through his neck, "I really couldn't let any small piece of evidence made known, you know."

She crossed her arms, "So...a flying pepperoni isn't such a small piece of evidence that could possibly be made known?" Alice's tone of voice changed as she teased him, and it made him laugh again. He was slightly embarrassed, but he did not have the slightest urge to leave.

So did she.

She stared at him again and so did Raphael.

"I'm sorry for staring." She finally said.

"It's alright. It's not everyday you see a talking turtle."

"A talking ninja turtle." She corrected him, almost sounding ridiculous.