Together As Mutants (Book Six)

Prologue

For many people, finding something to do in peaceful times is a common occurrence. Some people spend their days working at their jobs, others work out or read books or hang out with friends, and the possibilities continue.

For the Hamatos, much of their young life has been about survival. Every week comes a new threat, something big and bad that only they can stop, but now they have reached a plateau. With the Kraang gone, the appearance of rogue mutants has dropped to almost zero. With Shredder dead and his army scattered, the constant threat to their lives is gone. What are the heroes of New York supposed to do when heroes aren't needed?

They find new hobbies and explore what it's like to be normal teenagers, or at least as normal as they can be.

Leonardo and Destiny, in a way, have reverted back to the honeymoon stage. While comfortable with each other, the new status of their relationship leads to more blushing, more nervous glances and questions to what's okay and what isn't. They spent so long tiptoeing around their feelings that having them back out in the open is jarring, but exciting.

Destiny consistently forgets that, yes, she can cuddle up to Leonardo when they watch Space Heroes together. Leonardo still asks if he can hold her hand when they go on walks together. The only thing that gets more confident is the blatant flirting. Raphael thinks it's annoying. April and Sarina think it's adorable.

"It's like they're fifteen again," April giggles. Raphael groans at the idea.

Raphael has to admit, part of the reason he's so bothered is because he's jealous. Things with Taylor are alright, but there's nothing adorable about their awkwardness (at least, in his mind). Their prior relationship was built up on attraction and tongue-in-cheek remarks, so much so that now whenever they try to act more normal, it feels strange. It doesn't help that there's a lingering feeling of mistrust between them.

He wants to make it work. He longs to have the solid, steady relationship that Donatello and Sarina have built together. He wishes he felt the nervous, giddy butterflies that Leonardo and Destiny feel. He envies how easily Michelangelo and Annalise have slipped into a routine. Instead, he watches his every move, hesitates to text Taylor, and clams up whenever she tries to have a deeper conversation.

He feels like the worst, most inexperienced boyfriend ever, and Raphael is not used to feeling like that.

What puts the icing on the cake is that he feels stupid trying to talk to anyone about it. You won't catch him admitting anything to the women in his life and he definitely won't set himself up to be taunted by his brothers. That leaves Casey, and while the hockey player is (surprisingly) the most understanding of the bunch, his advice isn't the strongest. Most of the time, it amounts to him talking and Raphael figuring something out from his words.

"I dunno, dude," Casey says, swinging his legs at the open air beneath their building perch. "I don't feel like the best guy for April either, but I keep trying."

"So," Raphael grunts, bringing one knee to his chest. "What? I just keep...trying?"

"I think what April tells me all the time is just...talk? Communicate," he corrects himself, nodding a bit as he strokes his chin. Raphael eyes him, wondering whether the scruff of a beard on Casey's jaw has always been there. "I just try to listen when April tells me that I upset her, try to be better...and I'm still with her, so hey? I must be doing okay, right?"

"If a lunkhead like you can keep a girlfriend, then so can I," Raphael says, jabbing his elbow towards his friend.

"Okay, I'm done with the sappy talk," Casey says, standing up and stretching his arms to the sky. He flashes a grin at Raphael. "How about we go find some petty crime to bust?"

Raphael cracks his knuckles. "Shell yeah."

----------

"Has Raph talked to any of you?" Taylor asks, taking a long sip of her peach lemonade. She glances around the school cafeteria, manicured nails tapping on her bottle as she sets it down. "He's so..." She mutters something in Spanish, searching for a word, before she finishes with, "hesitant."

Annalise chews thoughtfully on a French fry and glances over at Casey and April. "He hasn't to me," she says. She offers a tiny smile. "But I'm sure he's just getting used to things. Give him time."

April nods. "Raph's a different kind of guy and you, well..." She waves her hand a bit. "You know."

Taylor shifts her converse against her ankle monitor at the thought. "Sí," she mumbles.

Casey musses his hair a bit before nabbing a potato chip from April's tray. She retorts by taking one of his carrot sticks. "He talked to me," he admits, making Taylor perk up. "He just said he's a little unsure of what to do and that he doesn't want to be a bad boyfriend."

"Aw, he said that?" Taylor asks. She smirks a little. "That's...so cute."

"It is," Annalise agrees. She grabs five fries at once and bites them in half. She adds around her mouthful, "Sounds like you just need to relax."

"I'm relaxed!" Taylor snaps, crossing her arms over her chest. April and Annalise arch their eyebrows at her and she huffs, blowing some her dip-dyed bangs from her eyes. "Okay, maybe I'm not..."

"Maybe?" Casey asks with a grin.

She shoots him a brief glare. "Cállate, Jones."

Casey howls with laughter.