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Sunlight shone right through the partially opened window and warmed the side of your face. You lay in bed, sprawled across the sheets, your blanket lying on the floor in a messy heap. It was warm enough to sleep without it, so you had just pushed it away from you at night. Your eyes slowly opened and were greeted by the sight of sparkling rays of light, playfully twinkling between the leaves of that big old oak tree in front of your house. You loved the sight of it and hoped it would never change. With a smiling yawn, you began to sit up, rubbing your eyes before stretching your entire body, your hands reaching as far above your head as possible. Your striped pajamas hugged your soft form as you stood up and began to select your clothes for the day.
You could hear whickering from the meadows nearby. Seemingly everyone was up and about already and decided to let you sleep in today, but you knew there was always something to do. You lived on a rather impressive farm with your family and never failed to help your parents and big brothers.
Bringing the horses inside? No problem.
Feeding the cows in the stables or collecting eggs from the hen house? You would do it without batting an eye.
And even though you appreciated to sleep in as much as every other person would, you couldn't help but feel the need to get busy. It was part of your daily routine after all and old habits die hard, as your father would always say.
You looked out of your window one last time and relished the chirping and bustling of various birds sitting in the oak tree, before turning around and making your way downstairs.
Just as you were about to skip the last two steps, a deafening bang shook the entire house. You yelped, nearly falling, before frantically looking around. What was that?
What was that?
You heard screaming ... and something else.
Alarmed, you ran outside, still not dressed for the day, but you couldn't care less.
You dashed through the hallway, desperate to reach the source of the screams.
The front door magically opened for you and you could see what was wreaking havoc: A summer storm!
How was that possible? There hadn't been a single cloud in the sky just moments ago!
"Mom? Dad? What's happening?!"
But no answer came. All you could hear were screams and the sounds of panicked animals, trapped, scared, dangerous.
Flames emerged around you, they seemed to seek you, tried to catch you with their painful tongues.
You began to scream as everything turned into a mixture of red and black.
" ... ley!"
Did you hear something?
"Ashley! Wake up!"
Your screams stopped and your eyes snapped open. All you could see in the darkness of the night was a huge silhouette in front of you, big hands on your shoulders and two glistening eyes full of uncertainty gazing back at you. You immediately knew who it was.
"R-Raphael? What are you doing here?"
The red-clad turtle huffed, but wouldn't let go of you.
"Ya invited me, remember? Ya said I should come over for the night. That we would watch a movie, eat pizza, things like that."
You had to process his words for a moment before letting your shoulders drop. A sigh that couldn't be more annoyed left you, while you turned on the small lamp on your nightstand.
"Oh gosh, I totally forgot. The last week was so exhausting, I was just so tired. I- ... I'm sorry, Raphael. I really am."
The big terrapin just shook his head and looked into your hazel eyes, watched how they reflected the soft glow of the bedside light in the most mesmerizing manner.
"I can see that, Ash. The dark circles under yer eyes would get you a job at a local ghost train in no time."
You blushed and looked to the side.
"Is it really that bad?"
"Well, the sweat on yer face ain't helpin' either."
Your shoulders slumped more if that was even possible. You wanted to apologize, but Raphael cut you off.
"Y'know ... ya don't look so good. Bad dreams? Are ya feelin' sick? I can leave, if it helps ya."
"No!"
Both of you were surprised by that little outburst of yours and your cheeks turned a deep crimson.
"I ... I don't want to be alone. L-lets watch a movie or something."
Raphael nodded, before standing up and pulling you out of your bed. He was a little bit too rough because you lost your footing and stumbled right against his chest.
At this point, you didn't even dare to hope your face would get back to a normal color.
Both of you should bring some distance between each other, but neither of you moved even an inch. It was clear for everyone around you, that you two had feelings for each other. You often lay in each other's arms on the couch in the lair, but up until now, nobody addressed your current situation. As soon as it came to matters of the heart, Raphael was a helpless puppy and you were just too shy to talk to him about it. Too scared of rejection, of losing him as a friend.
So both of you just stood there, letting the awkwardness sink in.
"Err ... we should go into the living room," you said.
"Probably", was all Raphael could come up with before he stepped away from you and left the room. As he waited for you, he took a deep breath.
Get it together. She doesn't feel good. She just needs a friend. Nothin' more.
As you emerged from the bedroom of your small apartment, still in pajamas and with a more than special hairstyle from rolling around in bed, you could watch Raphael rummaging through your movies.
You couldn't help but smile. It looked so funny, a giant mutant turtle, muscles everywhere, carefully pulling one DVD after another out of the shelf, inspecting it and pushing it back in place, desperately trying not to break anything.
"Found something interesting?"
Raphael just nodded while you got comfortable on the big couch, waiting for him to join you ...
Raphael's presence calmed you and all seemed well until a house exploded in the action movie and trapped a child inside. You felt a big lump in your throat and the burning behind your eyes. Before you could even try to resist the urge, you began to cry. Raphael's shocked expression would've been funny under other circumstances because he had not the slightest clue of what was going on.
"Ashley? H-Hey, Ash! What's wrong? Have I done somethin' wrong?"
He immediately paused the movie and turned his whole form in your direction.
The tears ran down your face and you internally begged them to stop, but somehow you couldn't. The dream from merely an hour ago was back in your mind, all the memories came back crashing down on you, taking your breath away.
Raphael's hands hovered in front of you. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to touch you. Had he done something wrong? Were you sick of his presence? He wasn't good at that whole 'talking-thing'. You didn't seem to calm down, so he did the only thing he thought was reasonable.
"I ... I can get Leo if ya want. Or Mikey. He knows how to deal with ... this." He tried to stand up, but you just looked at him in the most pleading way and stopped him in his movements.
"Please ... don't leave me. I don't want to be alone. It's not your fault, so please don't leave."
Raphael swallowed heavily before sinking down onto the couch again.
"Ashley, I really wanna help. But ... I'm not good at this. I dunno how ta deal with this. With you ... cryin'."
You sniffed, rubbed your nose against the sleeve of your pajama and tried to slow your breathing.
"Listening would help."
Raphael nodded. He could do that.
And so you told him everything. Of your past, how your whole family lived in a nice little farm town, how you had cows, chickens, pigs, horses and how you gave each and every one of them a name. And then you told him of the summer storm. Of how it wreaked havoc in the whole town, how it set your barn and stables on fire. You still knew which animals got caught in the flames. You loved them dearly. Your brother had severe burns because he tried to help the panicked horses. It was a memory and a nightmare that would always haunt you.
As you apologized, Raphael just shook his head and without hesitating, pulled you into a tight hug. Your eyes widened, but only a moment went by before you leaned against him, relishing the warmth of his skin. His regular and deep breathing soothed your mind. Slowly your hands began to reach for his sides, holding him as much as he was holding you at the moment.
"I'm sorry. Didn't know ya lost parts of yer family as a child. If I'd been there, I would've saved every animal for ya, I swear it."
You lifted your head to look him straight in the eyes.
"No, don't say that. I ... I couldn't stand the thought of losing you."
Raphael's eyes grew wide and he couldn't help but smile.
"Y'know, I'm ... err ... thanks."
You nodded with a slight smile. A strand of your red hair fell in front of your face and the giant turtle didn't hesitate and delicately brushed it behind your ear. You blushed.
"Sorry, I must be rather horrid to look at."
Raphael shook his head without missing a beat.
"Yer always lookin' perfect."
Raphael felt as if his heart had just stopped. Did he really say that out loud? He thought about telling you for a long time now but just couldn't find the courage to actually do it. He was a turtle of action, not one of words.
"D-do you really mean that?", you asked, not really believing his words. Raphael seemed to hesitate, you could clearly see the uncertainty in his eyes, but just as you were about to put some distance between the two of you, he pulled you against him and pressed his lips on top of yours.
It was not the best kiss you ever received. It felt stiff and rough, but your heart skipped a beat nonetheless. He was kissing you, after all!
You couldn't help but softly moan into the kiss, which spurred Raphael on. His arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you on top of his lap. He slowly ended the kiss, only to stare into your brown eyes as if nothing else existed around him. You couldn't help but stifle a shy giggle. He grinned at you, before leaning in again and planting kisses along your jaw, working his way down to your neck. You tasted wonderful. Your form felt divine under his rough fingers. Slowly the both of you sank into the cushions behind you, Raphael's huge figure hovering above you, not wanting to crush you with his weight. Without any hesitation, he began to caress your neck again. After a while, you could feel the hot and wet tip of his tongue against your pulse. A shiver ran down your spine and Raphael couldn't help but groan quietly against your soft skin.
He had waited way too long for this and he wouldn't let you go before he had enough of you. Which would never be the case.