Out of My Shell

Chapter 13: Lover's Knot

Chapter 13: Lover's Knot

"Don..." Mikey stared in surprise, the scene of battle still playing out, forgotten in his hands.
"What.... happened?" Donnie sat up and blinked painfully around his surroundings, the mother of all headaches ringing in his temples and set hard to confusion. "...Why am I in your bedroom?"
Mikey's eyes jumped back down. His momentary negligence cast his doom. A bold red GAME OVER lit up Mikey's game screen and he laid it aside to pout at the loss.
"Looooong story, dude. Basically: you fell asleep on the floor. But then your room was all flooded so Raph carried you in here—Huh..." he blinked. "Actually come to think of it that's a pretty short story."
Don lowered his eyes, massaging his pained temples and he straightened his mask. "...How long have I been out?"
"Seventy hours."
"SEVENTY HOURS?!"
"Or....... Wait... Seventeen hours.... Probably.... Idunno you should probably ask Raph."
The name brought life a little more into focus and he cleared his throat. The words resettled their way into his head and he twirled his fingers uneasily over the fringe of his blanket. "....You said... Raph carried me in here?"
"Yep!" Mikey smiled cheerily. "He was super worried about you.... I mean, he didn't say anything but it was pretty obvious. If it wasn't for Leo he might have stayed here the whole time brooding... or... whatever he was doin'..."
Donnie lowered his eyes, trying to kick that nervous flutter again in his stomach. It was like no matter where he turned he was bombarded with him. He could hardly catch a break.
And it was at that moment, as Mikey studied his face, that he grew a bit concerned. "Hey, you okay? You're lookin' kinda feverish..."
"Knock knock." Leonardo's voice called out and he peeked his head in through the door. "I thought I heard... Donnie! You're awake!" Blue eyes smiled widely beneath his mask and he came over to the bedside. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Donnie assured. "...A bit of a headache but I'll recover."
"No surprise there! You really gave us a scare back there. You hit the floor pretty hard. You were out for almost seventeen hours."
"See? I was totally right about that one!" Mikey grinned.
"We were worried you'd gotten a concussion. Raph was..." Leo paused and looked around the room, realizing the party in mention was missing. "Where's Raph?"
"In the shower," Mikey prompted.
Leonardo looked over him seriously. "Raph was worried about you the most. He carried you all the way in here on that foot of his and then he hardly wanted to leave your side..."
And then Leo cocked his head to the side curiously, much the same way Mikey had done.
Perhaps it was just a trick of the light but... Donnie's face seemed rather flush.
"Hey are you... alright? You look like you've got a fever..."
"W-What?" Donnie's eyes widened and he flinched back, reflexive and self-conscious. "NO! I-I'm fine... really... it's just the headache..."
"Who's got a fever now?"
Donnie froze. That voice he didn't want to hear right now rushed hot through his scales all the way down to the pit of his stomach. And there he was, leaning casually in the door frame, bright eyes and gleaming muscles, the towel scrunched in hand as he scrubbed the moisture down from his collar.
And now Donnie couldn't help but turn a shade of red.
Raph blinked in surprise. "Don..."
Mikey smiled. "Yep! He just woke up!"
"Abduhh ummmm y-y-y-yes! Hi! ...Raph."
Raph raised a brow at the weird reaction. "...Hi?"
"....Hi."
The silence was awkward. They stared too long. And Raphael noticed well the way Donnie's eyes climbed his body until Mikey broke the silence with his own cheerful: "HI!"
Reality glared. Raph lowered his eyes, instinctually rubbing the back of his neck the way he often did when he was nervous. "Uh! So... feelin' better?"
"Better?" Donnie blinked. "Uh, yes! Much better! Perfect, actually! ...I should get up...."
"Take it easy Donnie," Leo urged on his arm. "You might need a bit to recover."
"I'm fine.... You guys need help right?" Don looked them over seriously. "How bad is the lair?"
"Pretty rough shape," he admitted.
"There was ceiling ham," Mikey stated seriously, as though that were a perfectly logical means to measure property damage. Donnie turned back to Leo.
"...Do we have power back?"
"Master Splinter did what he could. We've got a light in the kitchen and a few emergency lamps but... it's all rather makeshift," he replied. "You know wires better than we do... according to the scans on the Shellraiser though, everything's shot."
Donnie thought it over, allowing Leo to assist him to his feet.
"That doesn't surprise me. Mutadroid not only tripped the power, he also sabotaged the backup generator. Raph and I saw the damage." Donnie paused, his senses wise to his Raphael's sidelong gaze but he continued out the door, his mind now hard set on wires. "Fortunately, not everything should be lost. A while back I took the liberty of converting a few of our security wires and sensors to be powered by Kraang tech... or a... sort of fusion between battery and synthetic Kraang laser... both a little more durable and waterproof than its... other counterparts. They should have survived the flood at least..."
"So what do we have?" Leo asked, as they all followed him out into the garage, which was surprisingly dry, all things considered.
Though that didn't count for much with the damage from the chainbugs.
Donnie continued his trek and climbed into the Shellraiser, pushing his way to the station's computer and immediately put his fingers to the keys.
"I'm not sure yet," he answered. "I'm running a few scans now but... ehhh I wouldn't hold out for much..."
Numbers and digits lit the screen in neon green as Donnie's eyes sifted through until he finally found the answer he was looking for as the scans completed. "Oh! We have a few pings. On the North, West and Southeastern tunnels!"
"What does that mean?" Leo wondered.
"It means we have... partial perimeters, but they seem weak. Likely the North and West ones were damaged too." It was then that an alarm lit up the screen up red, showing Donnie to a pointed location on a map. "...Huh."
"What's that?" Raph asked.
"Something tripped the wire on the Southeastern tunnel... not even an hour ago."
Leo's eyes hardened. "Something's still down here."
Mikey stared wide eyed at the computer screen and then turned unhappily to his brothers. "Please don't tell me we're going to investigate~"
"No, you most certainly are not." The four jumped turned around to find their father, glaring at them sternly from the Shellraiser door.
"We weren't Sensei," Leo promised, "but there could be something down here. And aren't we sitting ducks if we can't repair the damage to the lair's security systems?"
Master Splinter paused and closed his eyes, mulling it over deeply. "...Donatello. I believe it would be wisest for you to first repair the security around the immediate facility and the surrounding area if you can...."
Donnie nodded and he continued sternly: "However, we should not be wandering around aimlessly.... Even if our enemy truly is hiding amongst the sewers, a ninja has no business looking for a battle he is ill-prepared for."
"Yeah. He kinda kicked our shells in," Raph agreed.
"But we are going to need to run out at some point to get more supplies," Donnie pointed out. "I don't know what I have!"
Master Splinter looked over and put a strong hand on Donnie's shoulder. "You must try to make do with what you do have.... Be resourceful, my son."
Donnie sighed and looked at his computer. "A bit difficult to do with my lack of resources..."
His father smiled knowingly. "I believe you will both surprise and surpass yourself... if you allow it."
Mikey smiled and put an arm around Donnie's shoulder. "Don't worry, D. We've got your back."
"Yeah, we're not about to sit around and let you do all of this by yourself," Leo agreed. "We work together. Anything you especially need, Donnie, let us know."
"Yeah, it's not like we're morons. We can fix stuff too," Raph piped in.
Donnie smiled to each of them. "Thanks guys."
And with that, Leonardo stood straight. "Alright team. Let's get to work."
--
The next several hours were thumping hammers, clicking ratchets and power drills. Dedication and tedious rewiring finally brought their damaged generator back to life. There were a few burn outs due to wet circuits frying, but it was enough. And every one of them pushed forward together, trying to restore their home to a state of its former glory.
"WRENCH!" Mikey called.
Raph responded in kind and tossed it over and he put down his screwdriver, continuing his operations on the hinges of Leo's door.
Many of the parts had to be recycled for other use, but as Master Splinter had ordered them, they got creative, trying to use every scrap and screw they possibly could. And it was coming along. Leo and Raph had done wonders patching up the holes in the walls.
It was finally starting to feel like home again.
"Yo, Don. Ya got a pair of wire cutters?"
Donnie paused from his work at his voice, his hands hesitant as he searched for the tool in need. When he found it he immediately pushed it across the floor towards Raph's direction, without so much as a word or a passing glance.
It had been like this all morning. Donnie was acting strangely. He almost seemed to be avoiding him. And when he wasn't, it was like he was sizing him up before he ran away from him again.
Leonardo however, hardly noticed the transactions of his brothers as he put the finishing touches on his latest patch job and stood back to admire his work. "Everything's finally coming along." He smiled over. "How's it going over there, Donnie?"
"Eh, it's alright, but I don't have enough juice to extend the security anything past seventeen feet. I just don't have the means..."
Mikey peeked his head in. "Ya gotta be resourceful, dude."
"I am!" Donnie insisted, unable to hide the exasperated bite in his voice.
It was just so frustrating! He wasn't a miracle worker after all! Resourceful or not, he needed supplies!
They slowly all got back to work and now Raph's eyes slyly panned over to the others.
They were all distracted. Now may be his only chance to put his plan into action. Raph waited still a moment longer for the tools to become loud again and he slid across the floor, putting his ninja skills to the test as he tip-toed behind the corner and pulled the hideous pink glob out from its hiding place.
It had taken forever to sneak the terrible sculpture out of Mikey's room. If it wasn't already gross enough, it was even nastier and heavier up close. But soon it would all be worth it.
Raph peeked again around the corner into the living room, the quiet drone calling each of them back to their duties.
Raph strutted quietly out into the living room, struggling with the awkward weight on his stride, but he kept going, his goal in sight...
Unfortunately, sneaky as he was, he just wasn't sneaky enough. A few steps later Mikey paused, his ninja vibes catching the movement from the corner of their eye. And when he turned his eyes instantly widened in horror, as Raph carried his precious statue towards the turnstiles!
"HEY!" He scrambled over. "What are you doing with Hamantha?!" he demanded angrily.
Raph turned slightly to see him past the giant pink monstrosity. "The fact that you named it Hamantha is just another reason why this thing needs to go," he replied, continuing on.
"YOU CAN'T!" Mikey leaped in front to bar his path. "Hamantha is my precious~ my baby! ...She's MINE! And you can't take her away from me!"
"She's a slab of meat! A creepy, misshapen, disgusting slab of meat!" he argued. "You need to stop naming meat!!"
"You do need to stop naming meat, Mikey," Leo admitted.
Raph turned to Don, looking for his vote. "Don?"
"I'm staying out of this one," he called distractedly.
Mikey glared harshly. "You guys just don't know art when you see it!"
"Oh, I know art. This ain't it." He pushed past and now Mikey leaped to his ankles.
"Please~" he begged. "Have a heart~"
"No."
"Please~?" Mikey clutched his ankles even tighter, letting Raph drag his weight behind him. "Please please please please pleaaaaase~"
Raph now struggled with every step. "Get off!" He kicked.
And Mikey pulled himself sadly from the floor. "Can't I have this one thing?! First it was my spoons and the TV, then you named the monster without me and now you're taking my sculpture too?!"
Leonardo instantly cringed, his words striking a guilty chord. He thought it over. "...Let him keep it," he sighed.
"Huh?" Mikey looked over at him. "For real?"
Raph paused and looked back to find those shimmering blue eyes giving him the saddest look he could ever muster. "What?!" He glanced back angrily and instead caught Donnie's eyes from across the room.
Raph's eyes instantly fell a little and he shifted on his feet, feeling Mikey's eyes gnaw at him again and he finally caved. "...Yeah, fine whatever." he grumbled, pushing it back into his brother's chest.
Mikey beamed with delight. "Come on Hamantha! Let's get you home." He hauled it away in his arms, humming a cheery tune all the way to his bedroom.
Raph shook his head. "...Does anyone understand him?!" he demanded.
"Why would you want to?" Leo wondered.
"Because I'm amazing!" Mikey called back loudly. In a matter of moments Mikey had bounded back, still humming to himself all the way to his work station, a spring in his step.
Unfortunately all his skipping had caused the nuts and bolts he had collected to come flying from his open tool belt pocket, now skipping and scattering all over the floor.
"MIKEY!" They all growled.
"Heh....oops." Mikey grinned sheepishly and the others groaned. "Don't worry, I'll get 'em!"
True to his word, he quickly scampered after each of the parts with a ninja's ease. All except for one bolt that was proving particularly difficult to catch. It rolled its way out from his grasp, past the door into Leonardo's bedroom.
"You think you've got the drop on me?!" he challenged and he bounded after, watching it clatter beneath Leo's old desk and stop short. "I've got you now!" He narrowed his eyes he stretched down on his belly to reach. "Go ninja, Go ninja... go?" He picked it up though paused in his victory as something else caught the corner of his eye.
On closer inspection, it appeared to be a picture, soak-plastered to the floor on the underside of one of the broken drawers.
Michelangelo put the bolt in his pocket and cast the drawer aside, picking it up with careful fingers, turned it over...
And he stopped.
"Hey, did you find all the pieces? I don't want to step on any the next time I come in here," Leo warned from the doorway. And then he paused curiously, at the something in his hand. "...What's that?"
"H-Huh whaaaat?" A bright, casual smile covered his face and he tried to slip the picture away so Leo wouldn't see. "Pffft nothing, bro. Since when do I ever have things?"
But Leo wasn't buying it and with a raised brow held out one of his hands. "Come on. Let's see it. What did you find?"
Still Mikey hesitated.
"Come on," he insisted, "it could important."
"....." Mikey lowered his eyes in resignation and set the photograph delicately in Leonardo's hand.
Because it was important. It was probably the only one he had left of her.
Immediately a bright casual smile covered Mikey's face, a weak effort to force something lighthearted back into the room. "Ya still keep a picture of Karai, huh? Man, I almost forgot what she looked like! Dude I still remember the first time she tried to kick your face in. Good times~"
But it was no use. Mikey's words fell on deaf ears. And he watched that turmoil wrench anew at his brother's insides.
He wanted to apologize. Just take it all back. He should have never come in here.
Leonardo numbly turned on his heel out of the room, eyes hollow, his footsteps nothing. And Mikey cautiously followed.
Raph glanced up from his hammering.
Donnie paused from his work.
"...Leo?" Raph got up. "You okay?" He looked to Mikey curiously.
"...I found a picture," he hushed.
Instantly their eyes grew wide.
"Leo..." Donnie swallowed.
"....C'mon Leo!" Raph called. "I could really use your help over here! These new crate boards are heavy and the bathroom ain't gonna fix itself!"
But still there was no reply.
Donnie stepped forward bravely. "....Leo..."
"I'm fine," he said.
"But..."
"I said I'm fine." Suddenly his T-phone trilled its cheery tone from his belt pocket and Leo readily answered it. "Hello."
"Yo Leo. Long time, no speak."
Leonardo blinked at the receiver, surprised at the familiar voice. "...Casey?"
"The one and only! I hear you guys are in need of some new stuff and I thought: what better than to receive some from the infamous and generous Casey Jones?"
"It would sure help us out a lot..." he smiled.
Mikey bounced in. "Ooh! The TV. Ask him about the TV! CASEY! WE NEED A TV!!" he yelled. "NEEEEED~"
Leo held the speaker and glared over at his brother.
"TV, huh? Well you're in luck! I happen to have one right here. And an air mattress. And some old kitchenware from my dad's attic... if you're interested...."
"That would be perfect! It's exactly what we need!"
"I know. I'm awesome like that. Oh, but I can't really stay. If Red suspects I'm trying to cop out of studying again, she'll probably go postal. But I'm out for pizza now. I can meet you guys half way."
"Roger that," Leo smiled. "Thanks Casey. It means a lot."
"It means a lot to me too," Mikey's mouth watered eagerly. Though it may have been difficult for him to hear Casey through the phone, Mikey had a sixth sense when it came to the word pizza.
"No problem," Casey insisted. "See ya there!"
The call ended and Leonardo tucked both the phone and the picture safely away in his pocket.
"If you're going, take the West or Southeastern tunnel," Donnie suggested. "Those should be the safest."
Leo shrugged. "He's probably just going to meet us on south anyways. You're not coming?"
"Nah. I think I'm just going to stay and finish this up..."
"Well there's no way I'm not going!" Mikey piped. "Somebody has to carry New TV to her new home. Plus! I heard pizza~"
Raph's eyes widened. "Oh no!" he cracked sarcastically. "What will Hamaryllis think?"
"It's Hamantha," Mikey made a face and stuck out his tongue at his brother.
Leo rolled his eyes. "You coming, Raph?"
"...Um..." Raph thought it over a moment, his mind quick with the math. "...You guys go ahead. I'm gonna finish patchin' up the walls."
Leo shrugged. "Alright. Let's go, Mikey."
"Oh yeah!! PIZZAAA~!!!" He cheered running out into the tunnel and Leo followed, knocking him upside the head as he passed. "...Ow."
--
Donnie's eyes fell to the many colored wires that threaded beneath his fingertips. He was well aware of Raph's decision to hang back to finish patching but he wasn't going to think about it... He was just going to keep doing for the security systems.
But while his fingers moved to their task, his mind was somewhere else entirely. It had been all day.
It was strange. Yesterday he had been so sure of what to do and say about the situation with him and Raphael. At least, he had been pretty sure. The logic seemed to have lined up perfectly then, but today...
He couldn't even look at him. It was as if he was hyper aware of his every move.
He felt completely distracted. And it showed again in those small burns on his fingertips.
What was it about today? Was it the whole shower thing this morning? Sure, that had been... a bit surprising perhaps but... it hardly warranted...
"Don.... Donnie! HEY NERD BREATH!"
Donnie blinked and whirled around with a yelp of surprise, his shell crashing into the wall as he stared unprepared at his brother.
Raph stared. An eye ridge raised beneath his red mask. "Subtle."
"Raph! Hi! Subtle. Yes... NO," he blathered.
".......Ya know I originally came in here lookin' for the quarter inch socket. Now I'm thinkin' more of beatin' ya over the head with it."
Donnie lowered his eyes guiltily. "Raph I'm sorry."
"It's okay. While you were deep in La La Land reuinitin' with your inner nerd, I already finished my work on the wall and took the liberty of goin' through your bookcase." Raph held the forbidden book up with one hand, letting the smutty pages haphazardly fall open and dangle in front of his face. "I found it this mornin' in the living room and fanned it out. Thank goodness I snatched it up before Mikey did." He grinned. "That bein' said I think I've earned a few minutes of quality readin' time." He turned around and threw himself into Donnie's chair with a flourish.
All Donnie could do was just stood there blankly. "...I give up," he muttered. He wasn't even going to fight it this time. "You're... impossible!" Frustrated hands went back to the wires.
What had he been so nervous about?! He was the same typical Raph he always was, just trying to get under his skin. Toy with his emotions!
Maybe that's what all of this was. Just him, flaunting his power over him just because he could. It certainly wouldn't be the first time....
That heat found its way to his cheeks. A bare wire crossed his skin and he pulled his hand back at the harsh electric zap.
...Why was he so strung out?!
"...Hey Don. I've made it to the next chapter."
"...Wonderful."
"Gotta say the last one was riveting. A real educational page turner... Yellow tab material! In fact, I was wonderin' if you could offer a little insight..."
Suddenly the book was inches from his face, paged to the image of a woman dressed in naught but knotted rope splayed erotically over a table in wait.
Donatello's eyes widened in shock, his face flushed a cherry red and he quickly shut his eyes.
But Raph's devilish smirk still seared his senses.
"I know right?! I was surprised too!"
He was picking on him again. Like he was his plaything!
And something snapped inside Donnie. If Raphael wanted his 'insight', he'd give insight.
Donatello took a deep breath and he opened his eyes. He stared at that picture. He took in every curve and intricate detail. He committed it to memory.
"So whaddaya think?"
His eyes wandered to Raph's smug expression and he turned coolly back to his wires. "Well..." he began, "it's clear that whoever the gentleman was that... tied her that way, took care she was fastened in a way that would not at all harm her circulation. If you look to Image A you will notice the common square or reef knot, as is common practice with simple bondage techniques, however; her wrists and ankles are actually bound with a fisherman's loop, which, while it will heighten senses and serve well in restraint, will not tighten at all with her struggle. Lastly, her breasts have been cleverly tied off with a Lover's Knot, an old, simplistic bend commonly honored by sailors, originally derived from traditions of the ancient Celts.... I'm sure she and her lover will have a lovely evening."
Raph just stood statue still, completely stunned that Donnie had turned his teasing against him.
Donnie paused. "Is that all you wanted?"
Raph blinked and glanced down at the book. And the words fell out of his mouth before he could really stop them. "Do you seriously know how to tie all those?"
Donnie raised a brow. "....Most of them are common knots we all know from training... Besides the lover's knot... which is just a sort of fisherman's knot pulled tight."
At his brother's following silence, he reached back into his red toolbox and retrieved a few short lengths and began to tie.
And Raph watched, slightly unnerved as his eyes hardly needed to stray downward. His hands never paused, turning the lines over and under until, in no time at all, it was complete. And he dropped the finished line to the table.
"A Lover's Knot."
Raph stared, no words in his head.
"Fun fact: there is another similar version that is so tight that it will sooner break before becoming undone..." he laughed. "Imagine being tied up with that!"
Still Raphael was quiet. He wasn't sure if Donnie's fighting back was supposed to be sarcastic, educational or...
Something sexual.
Donnie's eyes narrowed dangerously.
And Raphael coolly found his voice. "...A'right," he conceded. "...I'll admit I deserved that."
Donnie waited and in the quiet he sensed the change of atmosphere, the shift in Raph's demeanor and his brown eyes softened. "...Can we talk?"