Out of My Shell

Chapter 3: The Deviant

Chapter 3: The Deviant

Raphael turned over in his bed and blinked his green eyes awake, looking around the shadows of his bedroom. He couldn't help but feel he wasn't alone. It almost felt like something had been there, watching him sleep.
He rubbed his head sleepily and got up, peeking just outside his bedroom door. But the hall was empty. Everything was still and quiet, even the stale air of the lair seemed somehow asleep. He looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was 10:42 am.
Why was he awake at 10:42 AM? He didn't have a damn clue. Nobody in the lair was awake at 10:42 am but he did know one thing in his groggy half-asleep state:
He was hungry.
Rubbing his eyes, Raphael lumbered his way to the kitchen and peeked inside the refrigerator, hoping to discover some leftover pizza. He internally cursed the brightness of the fridge light for forcing his eyes awake and then he remembered.
No pizza. Canned ham.
He grabbed one of the cans lazily in his fist and trudged over to the can opener... only to find for some reason it wasn't there. He glanced around the countertop, thinking maybe he was looking in the wrong place. But it was nowhere to be found. It was just gone.
"...Did Donnie kidnap it or supmn?" he grumbled. Then he thought he heard a sound and he lifted his head. It seemed to be coming from Donnie's room. It was just a small wisp of a sound, but it still definitely had to be Donnie, as a faint light still illuminated his bedroom door. He must be awake for some reason, working on something.
Maybe it was the can opener.
Raphael approached the room tentatively, wrapping his knuckles quietly against the door. "Yo, Donnie!" he called softly. The door creaked back against his touch, allowing him to peek inside. The room glowed its strange impersonal glow it always did when Donnie was inside and he reluctantly stepped in. Donatello's room was always eerie to him, particularly at night. Beakers shimmered with a strange life, books stood tall in ominous stacks and the sinister glow of Kraang tech stared him down as if they knew he didn't belong there. He didn't remember the room being quite so creepy. Raph supposed that Donnie's lack of presence had something to do with that.
Well, it was too soon to rule that out quite yet. Raphael saw the light on his desk in the back of the room was on, and that was only ever on if he was here, so he decided to investigate further. "Donnie! Ya in here?" He strode past the tables towards the actual bedroom part of Donnie's room, where the light made things less creepy.
His eyes trained to the empty swivel chair and the computer desk, a tricked out nerd station of controls and unfamiliar gadgets. The wires snaked like vines over the table and reached out towards Donatello's bed.
It was vacant. He really wasn't here.
But Raphael sensibly knew that if the desk light was on and the door was open that he'd be back soon. He could wait. He'd probably just missed him. Raphael plopped down into the spinning chair, staring in disinterest at all the wires that somehow meant something to Donatello.
Man, this place was boring. How could he stand it?
"Is there anything interestin' in here?" He looked around and grabbed a handful of books from a stack beside him on the floor and read the first title aloud. "Quantum Chemistry: A Guide to Electronic Structure..." He recited, opening the book, "More like: Quantum nerd's guide to ultimate Nerdsville." He tossed it haphazardly over his shoulder to mockingly read the next. "Theory of... I don't care..." He threw it back, losing interest instantly, the next title cheerily staring him in the face. "Calculus? Really?" he leafed through it. "Does he seriously read this stuff?" Obviously he had, as Raph noticed a few of the pages had been marked with sticky notes. He looked down at the pile of books he'd grabbed from to see each one of them were filled with different colored bookmarks and sticky notes. Raph shut it with a hard thunk and chucked it across the room like a Frisbee, staring critically at the last book's title. "Advanced BDSM. Oh, this ought to be exciting," he said sarcastically, opening the book with a particular violence.
His hard green eyes scanned the pages below. It only took Raphael a moment to process what he was actually reading before his eyes grew wide. With an uncharacteristic yelp, Raph shoved away from it in horror, as though the book had suddenly become radioactive and covered in roaches.
"What...?" He read the title again. Why did Donnie have a book like that? Better yet, why was it full of bookmarks and sticky notes? Raphael glanced around the room to verify he was alone and scooting back towards the desk, began to turn through the pages once more. It was graphic, filled with pictures of humans tied up, chained and contorted into all kinds of positions Raphael had never even considered. The mutant turtle blinked, adjusted in his seat, and in captivated interest, actually started to read.
"Raph? What are you doing in here?"
Raph turned, quirking a brow at his younger brother standing in the doorway. "You're... uh... into some pretty freaky shit, Donnie."
Donatello raised a brow back, and pushed his door open further, surprised to see Raph reading of all things. "You're reading? ...Is that my anthropology book?" He walked closer.
Raphael grinned evilly and closed the book, waving it tauntingly so he could see the title.
And Donnie stopped dead in his tracks.
Raph flipped to the inner cover, reading the full title out loud, a taunting lilt in his voice: "Advanced BDSM for the Sexual Deviant... Huh... Something you uh... care to share with the rest of the class?"
Donnie's normally pale green face flushed a shade of red as he dove for the book. "G-Give me that!" he snapped.
Raph's eyes gleamed devilishly and he stood up, keeping the book out just of his brother's reach. "So you're into bondage..."
"I said give it back!" Donnie craned his arm and after struggle, finally succeeded in wrenching it from his brother's hands. He gritted his teeth, trying to hold back the ire and embarrassment he felt for having Raph violate his privacy in such a way. "It's for educational purposes!" he defended.
"Tch... yeah, I've got a couple 'a mags in my room I keep for educational purposes as well."
"Stop it! I really did get it for educational purposes! I found it in a dumpster a while back with a bunch of other books. All of which, I'll have you know, had nothing to do with... t-that."
Raph gave him a look. "A dumpster? What, behind a sex shop?"
"At a library. They may be unfamiliar to you... maybe you should try going to one sometime," he jabbed.
"...Nah, not interested," Raphael leaned back in his seat, letting the insult wash over him. "I just can't believe you're into that stuff. I mean, that means... you probably know more about that stuff than me!"
"That's because I read," Donnie reiterated coldly.
"Yeah but, you could actually teach me things," he said in disbelief. He couldn't get over that. Donnie was still his younger brother after all. It just didn't seem right.
Donatello's dark eyes washed over his brother, for once feeling slightly superior. "You're right," he agreed, "...I probably could."
Raphael stared at him a second. There was just... something about the way he said that...
"Now, if you're quite finished," Donnie continued, "you may kindly see yourself out."
"Pshhht glad ya asked," Raph shot, getting up. He strode briskly out of the room and the door slammed shut behind him. It was only then that he remembered. "Darn it! I forgot to ask him about the can opener."