The Silent Partner

I scratch your back...

As Mona Lisa and Raphael headed for the shower, the hothead's mind repeated the instructions Donatello had shouted at him as Mona had dragged him out of the lab:

"For water-based paints, simply wet the hair and apply a liberal amount of shampoo to the hair. If the paint in question has dried, then you may need to allow the shampoo to sit on the painted strands and allow it to soften. Once the paint has softened, use a fine toothcomb to gently remove the paint from the hair. When the paint is out, you can rinse the hair as normal, and use a good conditioner to smooth the strands."

As soon as they were in the bathroom, Mona Lisa immediately began to pulling insistently at Raph's arm. She really just wanted the horribly disgusting stuff out of her hair.

The lizard mutant didn't like it when people messed with her hair. She didn't really like people touching it either, so she was a little hesitant about this whole thing. But if Donnie said she would need help, then she would need help. And as long as Raph was willing to give it, she'd rather have him help her than any of the others.

The only problem at the moment was that Raph had ground to a halt, and no matter how hard she pulled he refused to budge. One thing she had learned quickly about the hotheaded turtle was that pulling him around was no picnic. He was heavy and stubborn and if he didn't want to do something it was very hard to get him to do it anyway, still...she always found a way. With a smirk Mona lifted her hand to Raph face and stroked his cheek softly to get his attention. At the turtle's bright blush and startled stammer she pointed towards the shower and began to drag him in that direction.

"Wait! Wait! I..."

Mona glanced curiously over at the turtle and Raph's blush only intensified.

"I-kinda have ta take off my wrappings and pads first..." he admitted softly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as his face grew hot with embarrassment.

Mona Lisa raised an eyebrow, not really understanding.

Raphael just began to unwrap his hands and feet. The red masked turtle had to fight back a blush as Mona Lisa watched his every move. Desperately attempting to find something else to focus on, Raphael turned his attention to the task of removing his elbow and kneepads.

Mona watched in fascination as Raph pulled the leather pads off slowly. She was amazed. She'd never seen any of the turtles without them. In fact, up until this very point in time, it had never occurred to her that they could be removed.

Raphael finished removing his elbow and kneepads and cast them off to the side. When he turned back to Mona Lisa he tensed as he realized that she was now less than a foot away from him. Ever so slowly, she reached out and rested her hand gently on his elbow.

Neon green eyes were wide as Raphael stared a her. He couldn't bring himself to move a muscle. With another sweet smile Mona leaned upward and kissed his cheek. Then she turned around and gestured to her hair.

Raph quickly pulled out of his stupor with renewed focus. Slowly, before they got in the shower, Raph approached Mona from behind and carefully undid her braid. He paid no attention to the flecks of red that stained or chipped off on his fingers.

Mona Lisa hissed a little as he attempted to pull the hairband out. Immediately Raph brought his hand back. His eyes softened. I really don't want to hurt her. He thought sadly. Raph turned her around and stared down into her eyes. "Listen Mona, let's get started and maybe I can soften it up some in the shower and pull the hairband out, okay? I don't want it to hurt you."

The lizard mutant nodded and smiled softly. She placed her hand in Raph's, never moving her eyes from his. Raph grinned and gripped her hand softly. The hothead allowed her to lead him to the shower.