(I think this song describes Raph and Juliet/Emma's relationship perfectly, and I love their relationship so much guys. Is that weird? Since I'm the author?)
***
The roof doesn't seem to solve my problems and control my thoughts even though I'm staring at it for ages while I'm lying flat on my back on the couch. I don't register when Vern walks towards me with two mugs in his hands. He's been in the kitchen preparing coffee for us for quite a while now, it was about time he was finished.
"Is it alive yet?" He asks, looming over me and extending one of the mugs to me.
"What?" I ask as I sit up and take the mug from his hands.
"The ceiling. You've been staring at it for so long I swear it's come alive." He takes a seat next to me and gives me a half amused glance which I return with an eye roll.
I look down into the mug and scrunch up my nose. "Tea?" I ask, disappointed that it's not my usual cup of strong coffee.
"Chamomile. You look like you need it."
"That obvious, huh?" I mutter to myself, not meeting his eyes.
He silently eyes my feet which are red with scab marks from how I ran home after Raphael told me he loves me. What could I do? I didn't know what to say or what to feel. I still don't.
"What happened last night?" his voice is soft, as if he doesn't want to offend me.
"A lot." I'm vague at first, "Did you know that your life is in danger?"
He flinches as I ask this, and I can visibly see the regret in his eyes. "You weren't supposed to find out. I told them not to tell you."
"Raph did." I swallow, refraining from allowing my emotions to control me as they usually do. I'm trying to stay calm and level headed. "Ninjas were here the other night while Vi and I were asleep." Vern's eyes flicker from regret to worry, but before he can talk, I continue. "It's okay, we're okay, but who knows when they'll come again? They aren't the type to waste time, especially not Shredder's ninjas. Violet and I are lucky we didn't even see them this time around."
"Then how did you-"
"Raph told me. He's hurt because of it." there's a lump in my throat as I say this, and I will myself to take another sip of tea. "Is that why you want to move?"
"I figured it's the only way." he looks down, sounding defeated. "My life is in danger here, and the turtles can't protect me forever. Let's face it, I'm known for a lot of things, but being able to hold my own is not one of them." my heart clenches at how sad he sounds. Vern rarely shows me when he's sad, he doesn't like worrying me. "I can't protect myself, I can't protect anybody. At least if I leave and you stay, you'll be safe with the turtles."
I swallow hard and take in a shaky breath. So the turtles didn't tell him everything then.
"Vern, I'm in danger too." I tell him, and he looks at me quickly, shaking his head.
"No, I'm the one who keeps 'saving the city', so they'd want me, right?"
"Or someone close to you." I tell him. "How does this sound in the media: 'The Falcon retires after tragic loss of his younger sister in a ninja-related tragedy'?" Vern shuts his eyes and inhales deeply.
"I'm sorry. You were right, I shouldn't have taken the credit in the first place." he says, "I just...want to keep you safe, and I've been doing a terrible job at that." his voice cracks.
"Hey, hey, you haven't." I say almost immediately, scooting closer to him. For the first time ever, I see his brokenness. "Look at me, look at us," I try to sound encouraging. "We're still standing. We're doing good, and we'll grow stronger as long as we have each other." I sound so cliche, but I can't think of anything else to say.
