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“Hey Raphie,” Leo greeted the back of his mate’s battle scarred shell as he entered their bedroom.
The emerald turtle was seated on their bed with his shell to the door and grunted in acknowledgment but didn’t turn around. Leo smirked and rolled his eyes, not completely surprised by the indifferent reaction, and headed toward their bookshelf. Finding a book was the reason he’d come into their room in the first place.
When the door didn’t click closed, Raph gasped and turned his head so quickly Leo heard the bones in his neck crack. The sai wielder pointed one silver knitting needle at the bookworm and demanded, “Shut the damn door or that cat will try ta run off with my yarn again!”
The blue clad ninja paused, arm still outstretched and hand hovering in the direction of the book he was picking out. Leo raised an eye ridge in surprised confusion while slowly, clarifying, “Klunk is going to steal your yarn? Are you… knitting?”
A deep blush crept up the younger mutant’s neck and flushed his beak before his eyes narrowed and he growled, “Just shut the door, will ya?”
Leo withdrew his hand from the bookshelf and strode across the room. He closed their bedroom door then quickly joined his mate on the bed. His eyes widened when he saw that Raph was in fact knitting.. a pink blanket?
“Shuddap.”
“I didn’t even say anything,” Leo huffed in amusement as he laid down on his side next to his lover and curled closer so he could watch Raph work.
“Ya were thinkin’ it though.”
“Thinking what?”
“That s’not manly that I’m knittin’ the baby a blanket… but I figured it could be a baby shower present so the little squirt don’t get cold,” Raph stated defensively and resumed his knitting. The blush didn’t dissipate.
Leo placed his hand on Raph’s knee pad and gently stroked the sensitive scales beneath the protective gear until his mate looked at him warily. “I wasn’t thinking it’s unmanly. I think it’s very sweet of you. Donnie and Mikey will love that you knit their baby a blanket!”
Golden eyes bulged and Raph spluttered, “Ya can’t tell’em I knit the blanket! I’m tellin’em I bought it on Etsy.”
The leaf green turtle’s face contorted in confusion and he removed his hand from Raph’s knee to touch the light pink blanket his mate was working so hard on. “Why wouldn’t you want them to know? This is beautiful!”
“Cause s’not manly. And I got a reputation ta keep up,” Raph responded flatly and tightened his mouth in a grim line.
“Well, I think you make it look manly. You make anything you do seem manly.” Leo grinned. “I think it would mean more to them if they knew you made this.”
When the boys were young teenagers, Master Splinter introduced knitting to Raphael as a way of calming his fiery temper, but Leo didn’t know his mate still knit (and that was saying something if Raphael kept this secret from him for the past 6 years they’d been mates). This blanket was quickly turning out to be the most beautiful and complex creations Leo had ever seen Raph make.
Raph grunted in response and continued his work in silence.
When it became clear that Raph wasn’t going to say anymore on the matter, Leo drummed his fingers on his mate’s knee pad and continued watching in awe as his lover weaved the beautiful present into existence. The tough turtle somehow made the craft look mesmerizing and effortless.
“It’s kind of crazy isn’t it?” Leo mused and nuzzled his forehead against Raph’s leg.
“What is?”
“That Donnie and Mikey are going to be parents.”
Raph nodded in agreement and replayed the stitch instructions in his head: knit, purl, yarn over, pass slip, stich over.
It had been a month since their younger brothers’ big announcement and since then April helped them acquire a Red-eared Slider egg from a reputable breeder they found on Craigslist. Mikey immediately set about turning his former bedroom into the most extravagant nursery and it was no surprise to the mutant family when Don busied himself with even more research to make sure they would be as prepared as possible whenever the egg hatched. Their baby shower was scheduled at the end of the next month so it would be closer to the time of the hatching.
Leo studied the red masked turtle carefully and asked, “How do you feel about that? I mean we’ve talked about it before but it’s really starting to sink in now with the closer it gets.”
“M’ happy for them,” Raph stated simply with a shrug. He put down his knitting needles for a moment so he could stroke his mate’s left cheek since the right was now pressed against his knee. “What do you think about it?”
“I’m happy for them too! We get to be uncles, which I never thought in a million years would happen! And I’ll finally have a student!” Leo grinned and looped his fingers around a strand of yarn, “You really should tell them this was made by you! It’s amazing, Raphie.”
Raph flushed as brightly as his mask again and tried to ignore the compliment. After that it was quiet and peaceful while Raph worked and Leo watched... peaceful until the concentrated mutant was startled by his mate quickly untying and removing his knee pad. Almost immediately, a hot, wet tongue painted a stripe across his exposed scales just above his kneecap. Golden eyes shot towards the ninja leader and eyed the strip of saliva making his scales shine. Leo flashed a flirtatious smile before repositioning himself so he could more easily pepper the emerald knee and thigh with kisses and teasing nips. The younger turtle paused his knitting and watched.
“What’re ya doin’?”
“Distracting you,” Leo smiled at him angelically before painting another slow sweep over the current wet strip.
Apparently Leo was getting restless, which was ironic since Leo’s patience ran deeper than any of them. Even if he was the most patient turtle, it was obvious to Raph that his mate had different plans in mind for the rest of their night and was attempting to get him on board. The younger male tried to resist seeming affected by the attention because it would just encourage his lover and right now he needed to focus on finishing their niece’s blanket.
“Not now, Leo.”
The hazel eyed ninja jutted out his lip in a classic ‘Mikey pout’ and asked, “Can’t you take a little break?”
Raph sighed and rolled his eyes. “Later, babe, I need to work on this a little longer.”
Leo nodded in approval of this compromise and closed his eyes. When it seemed like Leo was content with this plan, the emerald turtle looked at his resting mate and smiled softly before he got back to work.
Knit, purl, yarn over, pass slip, stich over.
Knit, purl, yarn over, pass slip, stich over.
Knit, purl, yarn over, pass slip, stich over.
“Why did you choose the color pink?” The blue clad turtle asked a few moments later without opening his eyes.
“Cause they want a little girl,” Raph explained as if it were obvious, which he figured it should be since that was all Mikey and Don seemed to talk about now.
“But we don’t know for sure if the egg will hatch into a girl,” Leo reminded him, opening his eyes just a crack and looking up at the sitting turtle.
“Don says the gender is determined by the temperature of the incubator. So there’s a good chance it’ll be a girl, but if it is a boy Mike will havta repaint the nursery and I’ll dye this blue.”
Leo hummed in agreement. That backup plan seemed logical. But then he was frowning and looking past Raphael toward the cracked cement ceiling.
The quick change in expression did not go unnoticed by his mate whose beak also curved down before asking, “What’s wrong?”
“I still don’t know what to get them for a baby shower gift,” Leo muttered.
Raph chewed his lip thoughtfully before suggesting, “Well ya keep sayin’ they’d like my gift since it’s handmade. Maybe ya can make something too.”
“Like what?”
“Mike said they don’t have one of those spinny things fer the baby ta look at when she’s in the crib.”
“A mobile?”
“Yeah whateva it’s called,” Raph waved his hand dismissively as if the actual name was unimportant. “Ya could make her one out of those origami cranes ya like so much. I’m sure they’d love that.”
Leo’s eyes lit up and he flung himself at the knitting turtle with ninja speed. The emerald mutant’s eyes widened in alarm as his beak was suddenly captured in a hard kiss and Leo’s arms looped around his neck.
“Watch my knittin’ needles,' Raph reprimanded in slight annoyance when Leo carefully maneuvered himself into Raph’s lap.
The older turtle ignored his warning and grinned appreciatively. “Thank you for the idea!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Raph nodded arrogantly. “I know I’m awesome.”
Raph expected his mate to lay back down when Leo crawled out of his lap, but it became clear very fast that the ninja leader wasn’t interested in watching anymore. Leo knelt close to his mate on the bed and started pressing chaste kisses to his shoulders and neck. The sai wielder narrowed his eyes as teeth teasingly grazed the skin at the base of his neck. When he told Leo later, he meant later than 5 minutes!
Raph ignored the affectionate display, but the longer he resisted giving his mate the attention he so obviously was craving, the more insistent Leo’s mouth became. Leaf green hands kneaded his strong bicep muscles as an expert mouth suckled the textured skin of his neck. Raph chewed his lip as the suction increased and sent a shock wave of pleasure throughout his body. He shivered and set down his knitting needles when an involuntary moan slipped past his beak.
The moment the noise sounded, Leo pulled his mouth away from his mate’s neck and admired the area blooming into a particularly dark hickey. Raph could easily picture the pleased, almost predatory grin on his mate’s face as the blue clad turtle gently stroked his fingers over the reddened area then pinched lightly. Leo loved marking Raphael and smirked smugly when his mate whimpered softly. He knew Raph also liked when Leo marked him.
“Can we take that break now?” Leo whispered seductively into Raph's tympanum.
“Didn’t ya co~me in here fer a book?” Raph asked, his voice cracking slightly when Leo’s fingers stroked his bridges with feather light touches.
Raph hissed when the answer to his question came in the form of a sharp bite to his shoulder. Leo’s tongue laved the crescent bite mark he'd left and hummed in response. Leo did originally come in for a book, but now he wanted to play with Raphael instead. Raph sighed in exasperation and tried once more to ignore Leo’s flirtatious advances so he could concentrate on his work.
He did want to finish the blanket, really, he did, however, the idea of taking a break was sounding better and better since his leader was being oh so convincing . Only his pride helped him keep up his facade of indifference so he wouldn’t give Leo the satisfaction of knowing he was caving so quickly to the elder’s insistent ministrations.
Unfortunately for the emerald mutant, Leo knew exactly how to work him up and Raph was quickly losing his will to resist. Any hopes of denying the leader his wish any longer completely dissolved when Leo reached around and tweaked his sensitive tail. Raph groaned loudly, closing his eyes suddenly, and then growled in annoyance. Damn Leo!
The leaf green turtle chuckled and rolled the thick tail between his fingers, earning a low moan of approval from the hothead. With an exaggerated sigh the younger turtle folded the blanket and set it gently on his nightstand. He rolled up the yarn and impaled the pastel pink ball with the needles before also setting them aside next to the dark pink yarn he was considering using for accent frills. He could feel Leo smirking victoriously even if he wasn’t looking at him while he packed up his things. Smug son of a –
Leo yelped in surprise when Raph pushed him over and the leader landed on his carapace with the emerald turtle leering above him. When the katana master regained his bearings, his mouth split into a cheeky grin. Before Leo could say anything sassy, Raph pressed their beaks together in a hard kiss that left the leader breathless.
“Mmmhmm...Yes, Raphie,” Leo churred happily in encouragement when the younger turtle released his beak, dragging his teeth along the leaf green jaw before suckling at his neck, simultaneously trailing his hand down the leader’s body to roughly grope his right buttock.
“You’re such a naughty turtle, Leo, distracting me like that,” Raph growled in a husky voice and bit down hard on the leaf green shoulder.
Leo gasped and keened beautifully from the bite then closed his eyes and shivered when the pain was replaced by electric pleasure. He didn’t care if he was a naughty turtle as long as it earned him Raph's undivided attention. Raph nibbled lightly at his pulse point and the leaf green turtle groaned, wrapping his strong legs around his mate’s shell to bring them closer so their lower plastron plates scraped together. He’d been looking forward to this all day and soon they were both churring from the biting, kissing and licking they were lavishing on each other. Although, the more pleasure Raph dished out, the more Leo realized he did feel a little bit bad about drawing his mate away from his important project.
“W-what pattern are you using f-for the blanket?” Leo gasped and stuttered. He arched when his mate’s touch slowly wandered towards his lower plastron.
“Really Leo? Now ya wanna talk knitting?” Raph asked and rolled his eyes before capturing the leader’s beak in another kiss, forcing his tongue into his mate’s mouth. Several minutes later, Raph smirked against Leo’s lips when the older mutant moaned shamelessly. “Bamboo stitch.”
“What’s that?” Leo squeezed his eyes shut when Raph teasingly traced the soft skin of his upper thigh, just under the lip of his plastron.
“It’s what the blanket looks like, dumbass.”
Leo stuck out his tongue and glared halfheartedly at the insult, but then his eyes rolled back and he churred again. God, Raph knew just how to make him feel amazing and he hadn’t even started prepping him yet, which meant it was just going to get better! The leaf green turtle nuzzled his mate’s sweaty neck and inhaled the intoxicating scent that was so distinctly Raphael. Raph’s smell alone was arousing enough to distract the ninja leader at any point during the day and his scent just got stronger when they were in the throes of passion. Leo couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face when Raph’s hand moved to the nightstand to grab the –
“Fuckin’ cat!” Raph roared and scrambled off of the leader. “I thought ya closed the door!”
“I did!” Leo sat up panting, his face flushed from arousal, and watched in shocked dismay as his mate ran out of their room after Klunk. The cock-blocking cat was carrying the darker pink ball of yarn in his mouth. The loose thread flapped mockingly behind him just out of the emerald turtle’s grasp. As the orange cat and his mate disappeared down the hallway, an exasperated whine escaped the leader as he looked down at his own problem.
Stupid cat.