Friday, the fourteenth of February. It was the one day of the year the proprietors of Valentino’s Bakery, in conjunction with a few other local businesses, truly outdid themselves in order to provide a comprehensive service to their patrons. It was a day Tausha had been dreading for weeks.
Deliveries had started early, five am to be exact. And Tau had been shocked to discover how many idiots considered delivering sweets, flowers and corny poetry to their ‘one and only’ at the crack of dawn to be ‘romantic’. Her day really hadn’t gotten much better since then.
The only respite she got from wearing the oppressive, floppy rabbit suit was in the car between deliveries. And even then she only got to take off the ridiculous, oversized head of the costume. She was starting to wonder if she should explain the definition of ‘respite’ to her companion. Enrico had been given the responsibility of driving her on her delivery rounds, and he had not stopped talking the entire time they were in the car together.
At first Tau had tried to seem interested in his chatter about the nightclubs, parties and drag-races he loved. But now the conversation, such as it was, had degenerated to Enrico enthusiastically detailing all the modifications he had, would and wished he could make to his fluoro-green Mitsubishi Lancer. Tau seriously could not care less that he wanted to increase the wattage of the lamps that lit the road in a brilliant blue under the chassis. Especially considering the car rode that low to the ground it could barely scrape over speed bumps as it was, let alone allow much of the light escape from beneath it.
With a little sigh, she caught herself staring into the side mirror again; looking for a motorbike she knew she wouldn’t see. She didn’t even have that to break the tedium today. It left her feeling edgy, not being able to see any evidence of those that watched over her as she walked the streets in broad daylight. So far, there had only been one punk she’d made a point of silently giving a very wide berth to as she’d passed him on the sidewalk. However, she’d had to agree with Leo that it would have been too much of a risk for Raph to follow her on his bike the whole day.
Somehow Enrico managed to pull into a parking spot on the side of the busy down-town Manhattan street, almost directly in front of the office building that was Taus’ next point of call. Glancing at the clock in the dash, she figured it was about time they copped such a break today, it was well past three in the afternoon. Running her fingers over the smooth stone dolphin in her palm, the strand of the necklace wrapped around her hand to secure it in place under the bulky gloves of her costume, she briefly pressed the small button set on the charm to alert her friends she was getting out of the car.
Tugging the cumbersome bunny-head back on, Tau plastered an inane grin on her face in an attempt to at least sound happy to her customers. She then wrestled her out-fit, and the large basket of various goodies she had to deliver, out of the low riding vehicle and onto the side-walk.
Spotting a group of prepubescent girls giggling at her nearby, Tau was glad for the concealment of the mask. She shot the girls an evil scowl, silently mouthed a string of obscenities Raph would’ve been shocked to hear, held her head high and marched into the building before her with as much dignity as she could muster.
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“No!”
“Aww, but…”
“If you press play on that CD one more time Mike, I’ll shove it where the sun don’t shine!”
“Fine! We’ll just sit here in silence then!” huffed Mike, noisily shoving another handful of chips in his mouth.
“Yeah right, ‘silence’.” Raph muttered sarcastically, eyeing the crumbs spilling down his brothers’ plastron with disdain.
Glancing about at the many empty packets and cans littering the floor of the Sewer Slider, Raph couldn’t help but grimace.
“Tell me; how is it you can pack enough food to feed an army, but only think to bring one CD, huh?” he asked derisively.
“What?” shrugged Mike in his defence. “It’s a good CD, and I thought it would be fitting for today. You know, suit the occasion an’ all that?”
Raph gave a disgusted grunt.
“The last thing I wanna listen to when I’m stuck with you for a day is some stupid cow wailing soppy love songs!”
“Hey!” Mike sat up straighter to give his argument more impetus. “She’s not a ‘stupid cow’! Chastity’s gotta be one of the most genuine singers out there, man! D’ya know she donates almost half her album royalties to charity? Most to some orphanage in Africa, but some to the World Wildlife Fund too! She’s beautiful, kind, young, talented, sweet, pure…” The dreamy look that had infused Mikes’ face fell into a scowl as Raph started to retch.
Tossing himself back into his seat in grump, Mike shot his brother a frown.
“Well I shoulda known you wouldn’t appreciate anything the slightest bit romantic. I can’t believe you haven’t gotten anything for Tau! Just ‘cos she doesn’t like ‘girly crud’, as you put it. You gotta do something special for her today!”
“I am!” declared Raph. “I’m respectin’ the fact she hates all that girly crud, and not buyin’ into all that clichéd crap!”
Mike shook his head in pity for his brothers’ lack of understanding.
“But if you spice things up a bit for her, things might work out for the better. Hey, I know! Why don’cha both come to the concert tonight? I’m sure you could find a spot away from the crowds, there’d be no Leo at least. And I wouldn’t look…”
Raph choking on the soda he’d just taken a swig of gave Mike pause. A succinct burst of Taus’ alarm sounded.
“Oh yeah, that’d be real private, Mike!” Raph scowled after recovering his breath, roughly wiping away the bubbles that had frothed out his nostril. He reached to have his hand ready on the key in the ignition, fixing his gaze on the tracking screen set in the dash. “‘sides, aren’t ya goin’ with Ape?”
“Yeah.” shrugged Mike. “But I could always give Tau my ticket, an’ you and I could sneak in. Then meet up with the girls once we’re inside.”
“I don’t think so. After listenin’ to that rubbish all day I don’t think I could take hearin’ it live… or dubbed anyway.” Raph flashed a devilish grin.
“Wha…? You take that back!” cried Mike. “Chastity doesn’t dub her stuff for her live shows, I just know it!” Despite his indignation, Mike didn’t argue when Raph suddenly held up a hand for silence, both turtles craning forward to peer at the little dark blue dot on the screen. First it moved a short distance to one side, only to return along the same line a few moments later.
“Maybe she’s havin’ to come down the stairs?” suggested Mike.
“Then why would she have buzzed us she was leavin’ the building already?” countered Raph. “And she’s too close to where the car pulled up to still be inside.” He glanced up briefly in a futile attempt to see through the thick concrete to where he knew Tau was pacing on the surface nearby.
Looking back at the screen, he saw the dot come to a halt. A few seconds passed in silence, with the monitor showing no change. Evil possibilities started to parade through Raphs’ mind. Had she been mugged? Was she surrounded by Purple Dragons? Was Enrico trying to seduce her? He had to know!
Suddenly Raph reached over the back of his seat to drag over his coat, his eyes never leaving the screen as he awkwardly tried to slip on the long sleeves in the restricted space behind the steering wheel. A moment after Raph first moved Mike leapt up to stand on his seat. He brushed the crumbs off his front and grabbed his own trench-coat from the short flatbed of the Sewer Slider, quickly tugging it on.
With a few choice curses, Raph finally managed to shove his way into his coat. He was already digging in his belt pocket for his Shell-cell when Eminem sounded. Thinking evil thoughts regarding the brother he was convinced had decided to check up on them at just this in-opportune moment, Raph didn’t even bother glancing at the screen before he snarled,
“Not fuckin’ now!”
“Oh! Bad time?” came a reply that stopped his finger a hairs breadth away from the ‘end’ button. It was delivered in a tone that was mostly surprise, mingled with a light sarcasm, and that he was incredibly relieved to hear.
“Tau? Uh, no! I thought you were… ah, were someone else…” Raph gave his head a quick shake to clear it. “Listen! Are you alright? What’s happening? Are you in trouble? Do you need us? Huh?” he demanded brusquely.
“Yeah, don’t stress! I’m fine.” assured Tau. She didn’t sound totally ‘fine’ to Raph. Her voice seemed tinged with fatigue and annoyance, though he couldn’t see her face to be sure. With her Shell-cell pressed against the mesh in the ‘mouth’ of her costume, he could only really make out the line of her jaw moving as she spoke.
“I just freaked out a little when I stepped outside to find Enricos’ car gone.” she explained. “Turns out he mouthed off to some cops, and when they decided to check under his bonnet they found some ‘modifications of dubious legality’. So they had the car towed! Gees, the cops in this town work fast. I can’t have been gone for more than half an hour! Or maybe it’s only when they get riled things get movin’ so quick.” she presumed, Raph getting the impression the ire in her voice was directed more at Enrico than the NYPD.
“So what now?” asked Raph. “You need a lift back to the bakery?”
“Nah, I just spoke to Mr Valentino. They have another guy with his own bunny suit doing deliveries today as well, and he’s agreed to take on what I had left to deliver. Turns out it’s cheaper to pay him more than to hire a cab or something to run me about for the rest of the day. Besides, I didn’t have too much left to do really. Heh, Marcello did sound very pissed though! I think anything extra this palaver ends up costing him, he’s gonna beat outta Enricos’ hide once he gets his hands on ‘im!”
Raph had to chuckle at that, he’d never liked the little grease ball much.
“You finishin’ early then?” he guessed.
“Yeah.” confirmed Tau in relief. “The extra couple hours’ money woulda been nice. But I’ve already worked practically twice as long as normal today as it is, so I can’t complain really. Heck, I’m quite happy to finish up now actually, I’ve had a gut-full of this today. I can’t wait to get this damn costume off! And Mr Valentino offered to pay me for an extra hour anyway, if I could make my own way home. Nyeh, cheaper than him having to dole out for a cab fare I guess.”
“Hey babe!” Mike commandeered the phone by grabbing his brothers’ hand that held it and tugging it towards himself, crouching to peer into the upside down screen. “You wanna come out to a concert with us tonight? Music, dancing and… darkness.” he cajoled, with a wink for his scowling brother.
“Do you mean that thing you and April are goin’ to?” asked Tau.
“Uh-huh. Raph said he might like to go -ow, ow, ow- or not!”
“Heh, thanks Mike. But it’s not really my kinda music. And I feel knackered, I’d rather just put my feet up tonight instead. So tell Raph to let you go, he’s safe.” she chuckled.
Raph yanked back control of his phone as Tau continued,
“Anyway guys, I’m stood out here on the street lookin’ like an idiot. Where do you want me to meet you?”
“Head north.” instructed Raph. “On the next block there should be an Asian grocery store with an alley runnin’ down the side of it. We’re under the first manhole you’ll come to; it’s a little way down the passage, on the left hand side.”
“Cool, I think I can see the store already. I’ll be there in a couple a minutes. See ya soon!” she lilted, ending the call.
Tucking his Shell-cell back in his belt pocket, Raph didn’t realise what Mike was doing until he heard his brothers’ feet hit the concrete of the tunnel walkway.
“Where d’ya think you’re goin’?” he demanded. Mike gave a shrug, in part to settle his coat as he finished doing up the last button.
“Figured I may as well head over to Aprils’ place now; ya know, to give us plenty of time to get ready for tonight.” he explained casually.
Raph scowled in confusion for a moment; surely the concert was still hours away yet. Then something made an almost audible ‘click’ in his brain.
“Oh, yeah.” he drawled with an exaggerated nod. “I’m sure you’ve both got plenty to do... an’ stuff, gettin’ ready... You don’t wanna lift to Apes’?”
“Nah, the walk’ll do me good; thanks. You kids make sure you have fun now!” winked Mike with a dirty grin, before his face became unusually solemn for a moment. “Just make sure you take her somewhere better’n this, ‘k? I reckon even she’d appreciate something a little nicer than the back of a skiff in a sewer tunnel!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever Mikey.” grumped Raph, turning his face away in the hope his brother wouldn’t see it flush.
Shaking his head, Mike set off at a brisk pace down the tunnel.
“Catch ya later then bro!” he called over his shoulder, happy to see Raph swivel in his seat to return his wave. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” he taunted cheekily as he vanished into the shadows.
“Tch!” muttered Raph with a roll of his eyes, turning back to grasp the steering wheel. He sat motionless for a minute, tying to calm the sudden flurry of butterflies careening around his gut.
He had no idea why he was suddenly so nervous; surely this was the chance both of them had been waiting for? Granted Tau had said she didn’t want to rush things when they first agreed to be a bit more than ‘just friends’. But then, their last brief liaison had resulted in her jeans gathering about her knees before Leo had ruined everything, calling to interrupt them one too many times. She surely wouldn’t pass this opportunity up. Would she…?
Releasing his strong grip on the wheel, he held his hand out flat to study the novel way it trembled before he clenched it into a fist in an attempt to quash the unusual sensation. Climbing out of the Sewer Slider himself, he swiftly scaled the rusted ladder close beside it to lift the manhole cover a little and scout the alley above. It was only a few moments before he saw a silhouette with an over-large head and rabbit ears pick its way past a set of dumpsters, taking care not to let any of the garbage strewn about catch on its legs.
Since the alley was otherwise deserted, Raph tipped back the heavy metal cover, climbing out to hold it open as the bunny quickly scanned the area itself to make sure it was clear before pulling off its head.
“Hey!” smiled Tau warmly in greeting and relief. “Does it ever feel good to get rid of this thing!” she whispered, as Raph returned her smile, tossing the head none too gently through the hole in the ground and into the flatbed below. Her basket and gloves quickly followed the mask before she clambered down the ladder to jump into the back of the Sewer Slider.
Silently closing the metal lid behind him, Raph dropped back into the drivers’ spot, twisting in his seat to appreciate the view as Taus’ shirt rode up along with the top of the costume she was pulling off. She managed to stop the errant material a moment too soon for Raphs’ liking.
“Oops!” she blushed lightly, tugging down her top before stripping the grey fur off her arms and dumping it in a bundle on the metal under her feet.
Starting to tug down the furred pants, finding it a little tough to peel them off her jeans, Tau glanced about.
“Where’s Mikey?” she asked.
“Apes’.” explained Raph. Tau furrowed her brow slightly.
“Wasn’t he with you just a minute ago? He didn’t wanna wait to at least say ‘goodbye’ to me?” she queried, sounding a little put out. Raph gave a dismissive shrug.
“Don’t take it personal, I think he’s just too excited ‘bout goin’ to see that damn concert to hang around.”
“Oh.” sighed Tau. She slid down into the passenger seat, stretching her arms above her head. As she slumped against the upholstery, she continued casually, “That’s okay, gotta admit it is a bit easier to relax without him bouncing around. I need some peace and quiet right about now. And I honestly can’t think of anything I’d rather do less tonight than listening to blaring music and getting jostled by crowds.” she admitted, rubbing her eyes blearily.
Raph swallowed nervously, unsure what to say since she hadn’t seemed to grasp the fact that they finally had a chance for a bit of time alone together. Or had she, and was just too tired to be that excited about it? He opted for the ‘softly, softly’ approach.
“So, you just wanna… hang, for a while? We don’t have to head home straight away…” he offered, he hoped nonchalantly.
“Yeah, sure…” yawned Tau, covering her mouth she quirked an eyebrow at him over the top of her hand a moment later. “You haven’t… ‘planned’ anything. Have you?” she asked warily.
“Like what?” he frowned.
“I dunno. Dinner, or something?” Tau guessed with a weak, reluctant smile.
“No.” admitted Raph bluntly. “I didn’t think you’d want anythin’ like that. ‘sides, how was I to know you’d get off work early? You think I set Enrico up?”
“One thing I’ve learnt is never to underestimate you guys!” asserted Tau. “You really haven’t organised anything?” she probed uncertainly.
“Did ya want me to?” retorted Raph, a little more shortly than he’d intended; starting to worry that maybe he should have.
“Oh Heavens no!” exclaimed Tau in relief, reaching to wrap her hand around his bicep. “I swear, if I see another rose, or heart-shaped balloon, or pink… anything today, I’ll scream! So thank you.” she smiled warmly, leaning over to press a lingering kiss to his cheek.
“What for, I didn’t do anything?” asked Raph, still a little confounded.
“Exactly; and I’m very, very grateful for that.” she explained, her voice dropping a note deeper than usual. The crooked little grin, and sudden wicked glint that lit her eye as she spoke, made the contents of Raphs’ chest flip-flop violently.
“Well, uh, that’s goo… mmm…!” Tau stopped him speaking with a slow, deep kiss.
Raph was quick to take the hint. He curled one arm about her waist to pull her closer, tangling his other hand in her ponytail to take control of their kiss and gain the upper hand in the skirmish their tongues had started. Shifting about to face each other better, Raph suddenly found himself stuck, his carapace wedged between the back of his seat and the steering wheel. Tau broke their kiss to give a little yelp as she caught her thigh on the end of the hand-brake, and Raph was almost certain he heard the faintest echo of a familiar giggle.
The couple shared a resigned look. With a grimace Raph released his hold on Tau to wrench himself free.
“You wanna find somewhere a little more…” he petered out, searching for the right word.
“Comfortable?” offered Tau.
“Private!” affirmed Raph, treating the tunnel his brother had seemingly disappeared into to a dark scowl.
“Yeah.” she nodded despondently. “You got any clue where we can go?”
Raph cocked his head in thought for a moment. He knew the surrounding tunnels well, particularly well in fact, and he struck on an idea.
“Yeah.” he drawled with a wily grin. Tau eyed him in curiosity, but didn’t get a chance to question him as the loud whine of the Sewer Sliders’ engine started up. Instead she wisely took the cue from his expression to push herself back into her seat and get a good, solid grip on the surrounding upholstery.
Five minutes, and many blurred twists and turns later, the Sewer Slider came to a halt in a relatively large, straight-walled tunnel that looked much the same as every other Tau had seen, at first. Following Raph out of the vehicle and onto the concrete walkway, she realised the area was probably one of the older sections of the infrastructure under the city. Parts of it seemed a little worse for wear, with rubble that had originated in the ceiling and walls creating small islands in the stream of grimy water flowing swiftly through the central channel.
“Wha’cha doing?” she asked lightly as Raph started running his hands over the brick wall. He answered with a grin as a ‘click’ sounded. Tau gasped in surprise as the bricks parted, sliding back easily along the wall to reveal a dark chamber beyond. The tunnel was fairly dim as it was, and Tau hung back as Raph vanished into the darkness. A moment later she had to protect her eyes from the sudden glare of an electric light spilling out of the doorway.
Her eyes quickly adjusting, she stepped inside to survey the chamber. Most of the roof had collapsed at some point, the whole place thick with dust and debris. Still, she managed to make out a couple of damaged prints on the walls. Most were similar to the kanji Master Splinter had on the walls of his room. However, one was a ragged piece of paper with what looked to be childish stick figures scrawled in green crayon upon it.
In the light from the sole bulb hanging from what little was left in-situ of the roof, she thought she could make out a bench, possibly a kitchenette, in the gloom at the far end of the long main room. Underfoot there was a threadbare rug, too filthy for her to see what colour it was originally. Past the large chunks of concrete and twisted metal that dominated most of the space, she could make out what looked to be doorways to other rooms, most effectively blocked by the wreckage. The closest room had a relatively clear access-way, but even there the roof was sagging precariously, the floor and furniture covered in debris from the damage to the main room.
“Was this place…?” whispered Tau in reverence, the way Raphs’ face had fallen from a grin into despondency as he looked over the scene making her wary.
“Yeah.” he muttered with a shake of his head. “I always remember it being… better.” he admitted, refusing to meet her eyes. Cautiously Tau reached out to give his shoulder a gentle rub in consolation.
“Even with all the damage, I can see it was a nice home once.” she offered softly with a little smile.
She was starting to wonder if he was going to bother responding to her at all when he took a sudden deep breath.
“Everything was so much simpler when we were here.” he began, almost under his voice. “There was nuthin’ I…, any of us could’ve done to save this place. And since then, so much has changed…”
Tau slowly nodded her understanding, gripping his shoulder a little more firmly.
“Do you want to go?” she asked gently. After a moment Raph nodded brusquely.
“Yeah…, sorry.” he murmured.
“It’s okay.” assured Tau, shifting to wrap her arms lightly around his neck. “I know some places can be… special.” To her surprise, he suddenly crushed her in a strong embrace, burying his face in her shoulder.
She held him tight for a minute, until he lifted his head to look her in the eye. There were no tears, but something intense in the velvet depths of his gaze made the insides of her chest constrict forcefully, then melt as he gave her a crooked smile.
“You’re right.” he murmured, taking her hand and swiftly leading her back out of the chamber.
“Huh? Where…?” flustered Tau as he started walking down the tunnel, away from the Sewer Slider. Raph silenced her with a finger to his lips, not breaking his stride at all as he led her into the deeper gloom of a smaller side tunnel.
