Raphael woke from a deep sleep and immediately reached out to check if Yoshi was breathing. The steady rise and fall of the tiny chest, eased Raph’s nerves.
Comforted in knowing Yoshi was alright and sleeping well, Raph leaned back against Leo with the intention of going back to sleep. Leo nuzzled Raph’s neck and pulled him closer.
At peace with is surroundings, Raph shifted his position so that he could turn his head and kiss Leo’s lips. What he had intended on being a quick gesture of affection, was turned into a deep and fervent kiss.
Raph had never known Leo to kiss with such passion and it was starting to stir a desire in him that he though had been kill off by Hun’s abuse.
When they parted Raph looked up and instead of seeing the steely grey eyes of Leo, he was met with Mikey’s bright blue ones. “The fuck?” Raph exclaimed as he pulled away and sat up, the sudden movement causing the stitches to pull.
“Good morning,” Mikey replied with a grin unaware of Raph pain.
“What are you doing in here,” Raph demanded, moving carefully to prevent any further aches.
“I’m always the one who stays next to you in the mornings,” Mikey said as a matter of fact. “Donny dragged me in here when he came to get Leo so they could take care of the kids.”
Raph struck Mikey’s shoulder. “Why did you kiss me?”
Rubbing the spot where Raph had hit him, Mikey sat up. “You kissed me.”
“I was half asleep and had intended it to be a quick kiss on the lips,” Raph argued. “You took advantage of it and turned it into a wrestling match for our tongues.”
Mikey’s smile faded and his merriment was replaced with an apologetic look. “I thought you knew it was me since I’ve been the one waking up next to you for the past few months. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not mad,” Raph mumbled, looking down as he brought his knees up to his chest. “I was just surprised. That’s all.”
“You gotta know that I would never take advantage of you,” Mikey said as he tentatively reached out to touch Raph. “I love you.”
Raph’s heart pounded as he anticipated the touch but he did not shy away from it. When Mikey’s hand reached him, he was pleasantly surprised when it ended up easing his nerves rather than fraying them.
“I love you too,” Raph admitted, pressing his cheek against Mikey’s hand. “I should have known you weren’t Leo. He’s never kissed like that.”
Mikey chuckled. “I am pretty good at it.”
“Oh good, you guys are awake,” Leo said as he entered the room followed by Alba and Savio.
Donatello carried Nevio who was sucking away on his pacifier. “Everything okay?”
“Hi,” Alba squealed as she rushed over towards Raph.
“It’s fine,” Raph said, uncurling himself for Alba.
“She is always happy to see you,” Mikey said with a smile.
“At least one of them is,” Raph replied while Alba climbed into his lap. “The boys don’t want me to touch them.”
“They’re still getting used to you,” Leo said and sat down on the bed. “How’s Yoshi?”
Raph looked down at the slumbering baby. “He’s still asleep. I fed him around four so he should be good for another hour.”
Alba lifted her head to see what Raph was looking at and as soon as she saw Yoshi, her eyes lit up. “Baby!” Sitting on Raph’s leg, Alba grabbed the edge of the bassinette and looked at Yoshi. “Awww… cute.”
“Careful,” Donny said, taking a seat close to the bassinette. “Be gentle with the baby.”
Nevio babbled around the pacifier and pointed at Yoshi. He leaned down, causing Donny to lower him so that he could have a closer look. Pointing at the feeding tube in Yoshi’s nose, Nevio looked up at Donny and babbled.
“It’s so we can feed him,” Donny explained. “He’s too weak to eat on his own.”
Savio walked around the tatami to the other side of the bassinette, eyeing Raph while giving him a wide berth. Once he sat down, he pulled his eyes away from Raph to look down at the baby.
“That boy does not like me,” Raph muttered, shaking his head.
“He’ll come around,” Leo reassured him.
Raph wasn’t sure that was true. It was almost as if Savio knew the circumstances around his conception and Raph’s initial feelings about it.
The children remained fixated on Yoshi as if they were trying to figure him out. It wasn’t the first time they had seen him but they tended to be fascinated by him whenever he was around.
“Play?” Alba asked, looking up at Raph.
“He’s too little,” Raph answered and reached down to touch Yoshi’s cheek. “But, you can play with your brothers.”
Savio grunting had Raph looking up to see that there was a strained expression on the small turtle’s face. “You okay,” Raph asked and then glanced at Donny. “He looks like he’s taking a dump.”
“That’s because he is,” Donny replied.
Leo leaned in close to Savio. “Are you pooping?”
“No,” Savio said forcefully, getting up to move across the room and squat behind a table.
“Believe it or not, it’s a good sign,” Donny said as Leo got up to go after his son. Leo eyed Donny as he walked passed. Raph chuckled to himself when he realized that it was the exact same look Savio had given to him earlier. Maybe he was more like his father than Raph had initially thought.
“I fail to see how it’s a good sign,” Leo said while he reached down in an attempt to pick up Savio. The toddler had other ideas and backed way, hiding under the table while screaming ‘no’. “He’s being defiant.”
“His desire for privacy will help with potty training,” Donny said as a matter of fact. “Training Nevio, on the other hand, is going to be a difficult.” Looking down, he smiled at Nevio. “You don’t care about privacy. You’ll poop while I’m holding you and smile when you’re done.”
Mikey moaned. “When did conversations about poop become normal?”
“Get used to it.” Leo managed to grab Savio, who screamed in protest. “It’s gonna be the norm for a while. I’m gonna take him to get him cleaned up.”
“We’ll meet you in the living room,” Donny said and then turned his attention to Raph and Mikey. “There’s French toast in the kitchen.”
“You cooked breakfast this morning,” Mikey said with a smile. “Leo would never make something so sweet.”
“Did the kids eat,” Raph asked.
Donny nodded. “We fed them before coming to get you so you could sleep a little longer. Leo said you were up several times last night to take care of Yoshi. You know Leo would have helped you if you had let him.”
“I’m okay with doing it myself,” Raph said with a shrug. “Besides, Leo’s up early to take care of the kids.”
Yoshi whimpered and started to move. Raph was quick to reach down and pick him up. He didn’t want a second to go by that Yoshi thought that he was alone.
Raph placed Yoshi on his chest with his head resting on his shoulder. Immediately, Yoshi’s hand stretched out to rest on Raph’s throat. “I’m ready for some breakfast,” Raph said to Mikey and moved to stand.
“Not so fast,” Mikey said. “You don’t want to strain your stitches. Let me carry Yoshi.”
“Mikey’s right,” Donny said. “The doctors said that you shouldn’t carry anything heavy.”
“Yoshi’s hardly heavy,” Raph argued.
“He’s heavy enough,” Mikey said, reaching out. “I’ll give him back when you’re able to sit back down.”
“Fine,” Raph said and reluctantly allowed Mikey to take Yoshi.
When Yoshi whimpered, Raph had to resist the urge to take him back. Mikey adjusted Yoshi in his arms and gently reassured him by patting his back. “I’ve got you, little dude.” Mikey placed Yoshi’s hand on his lips and kissed it. “You know me.”
“Let’s get to the kitchen so I can sit down and you can give him back to me,” Raph said grunting in pain as he got to his feet.
“I’ll take these two to the living room,” Donny said, taking Alba by the hand.
“We’ll join you after breakfast,” Mikey said, leading the way out of the room.
Raph followed him out, staying close so that he could reach out and touch Yoshi. He knew that he was hovering. Fortunately, Mikey was understanding enough not to be bothered by it. Whenever Raph leaned in to check on Yoshi, Mikey would lovingly nuzzle him. Raph couldn’t help but smile, knowing that he didn’t have to fear his brothers’ touch.