Loving Raph Is Red (TMNT) ✔

19: Go

Leonardo's arm is twisted and hits the counter hard. He groaned in pain but immediately, he grabs Raph with his other hand and pulling him towards his knee. Leonardo falls but quickly jumps back up.

The brothers end up fighting one another once again. Donny and Mikey tried to separate both of them. Lucky enough, Splinter arrived, and he was not at all pleased.

He shouted at both of them, grabbing each and pushing them hard enough to be separated. That was when all turtles remained silent. But then Raphael could not control himself any longer. He groaned loud even in front of his father.

"Raphael! What is this?" Splinter glared at him,

"I've had it!" Raphael exclaimed, "I am tired of being treated like a caged animal!"

Splinter allowed him to speak his mind. He knew the day that he would want to tear away from the shadows would come. And indeed, it was that day. He watched him angrily shout his heart out.

"I am leaving, and that's the end of it."

"After all these years, you're leaving?!" Mikey shouted. This made Leonardo turn around. His heart broke for his brother.

"You all don't understand." Raphael suddenly spoke low. He was tired. He wanted to tell them the truth: Alice and their relationship, but he knew they would end up blaming her. When in fact, he realized, that this is something he had always wanted. Before Alice, Raphael had been fascinated with the world outside the shadows. He always dreamt of finally leaving and exploring the world in his own terms.

He loved his family, yes. But he knew that he could not be happy staying low. He needed to understand the world. He needed to understand himself.

Not like this. Not caged and forced to stay with Leonardo who seemed to suddenly oppose whatever it was he did. Not treated like a child. In fact, he was already twenty years old. Recently, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and realized that he was good enough to face the world. He was good enough, as Alice told him, for her. And he wanted that. He needed that.

If only they understood him.

"You don't understand...I...I want be out there." He said, staring at the walls. "I want to be with...Alice." He looked at his brothers.

But who was he kidding? He'd sound ridiculous if he won't tell them what exactly was bothering him. He loved his brothers, too. They had the right to know, too.

If he told them the truth and they could not understand, then he'd have to go.

Mikey's eyes furrowed and squinted at him. Donny slowly gaped, staring at Raphael. Leonardo looked intently at Raphael as if he could not believe that his own tough brother uttered a woman's name and sounded weak as well. Splinter only looked at his son and sighed, for he knew about this as well.

He would watch Raphael smirk when he would sit in front of the television at the sight of a couple in movies. He would smile faintly, randomly, like a young boy. Splinter knew, and understood.

"Alice?" Donny repeated,

Raphael glanced at him and nodded once, back on his firm stance. "I met her nights ago. She...she's different. I was being careful around her, I didn't show myself." He looked at Splinter who patiently listened, "But she convinced me somehow. So I did."

Mikey gasped, "You did?"

Raphael sneered, "Hell, she accepted me. Every night, I go to her to talk." He paused and thought if he should continue. But the look on Splinter's eyes encouraged him, "And this morning, before I left her, she cried."

The room was silent. His brothers could not believe that Raphael was standing there, explaining himself.

"She needs me." He stated. But the truth was, he needed her. He needed a woman's touch, specifically her, only her.

Leonardo sighed, but could not get rid of the glare in his eyes. He could not believe the courage that Raphael had to speak of such matter. But then again, that was Raphael. He was reckless, a risk-taker, daring, and just too much.

Raphael sighed and looked at his brothers. "I lied and I'm sorry." he gulped, "But I'm telling you this now because I can't keep lying anymore."

They knew he was right.

"Go." Splinter suddenly said, breaking the silence. Raphael looked at him. "Go, my son." He said calmly.

Leonardo's eyes widened. He watched as Raphael looked at Splinter, grimaced and nodded. "Thank you..." Raph said so low that it only echoed faintly in his head. Then, finally, Raphael was gone.

---

Alice was on her way home when suddenly, sadness hit her.  She drove but her thoughts revolved around Raphael. How could they make it work? Raphael can't hide secrets forever. Then, she questioned their relationship. What if he disappeared again one day, leaving her broken? She did not even know where he lived. What if tonight, his plan wouldn't work?

Then everything would be shattered.

She drove as fast as she could to reach home. And when she did, she lazily dragged herself inside her house. Alice looked out the balcony, hoping he would be home already. But somehow, she told herself that she should be prepared for the worst.

She waited for a few minutes, standing there, watching the moonlight. Until, she grew tired and went back inside. She cupped her pocket and fished out her phone and dialed for her sister. Then, Alice began to prepare for a shower.

Lazily, she removed her clothes one by one and threw them in the laundry bin. Her impatience and anxiety got the best of her. She walked inside the bathroom and began to clean herself gently. Her mind still busy thinking about what must have happened to her lover. She closed her eyes and allowed the hot shower to pour over her head. She keeps herself relaxed at least, trying not to think about Raphael when suddenly she hears a loud sound outside the bathroom. She completely stops and turns the knob.

Alice grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her as she slowly took steps towards the bathroom door. She peeked once, making sure that the cost was clear of any intruder. Then, she saw that her balcony door was completely open.

Alice walked out and suddenly, her peripheral vision noticed a large figure by the door frame. She jumped in surprise and realized it was Raphael. She screamed enough to startle him as well.

"What the hell!" Her hand rested on her chest, "You couldn't knock? You almost scared me to death."

Raphael slowly approached her, "Hey, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He chucked and grabbed her face gently, making her look at him. She was glaring, "I wanted to surprise you. If anything I've been here the whole day."

"The whole day?" She wondered,

"Yeah. I was here."

"Then why the hell did it take you so long?" He laughed, "I had to get lucky and get those." Raphael pointed at the pizza on the table.

Alice gaped at the stack of boxes on the counter. "How did you even get that? Why did you even get that much?"

Raphael smirked, "It's enough for a long time, don't you think?"

Alice looked at him, "A long time?"

Raphael paused, smirked and slowly approached his lover. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down, "I'm moving in."

And instead of smiling, Alice's eyes widened. Indeed, she was shocked.

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Well? Did you guys enjoy that? Sadly, this 'oneshot' is about to end. There's just two last chapters to be published and finally, you'll get your happily ever after! I want to thank you all for being so patient and so nice with the comments! Feel free to tell me anything: may it be negative or positive, I will hear you out. If you want me to write more stories, just let me know!