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Wednesday nights are there night. No matter how hectic or plain boring adult life can be, every Wednesday Casey knows he and Raph are meeting at their spot (a particular rooftop with no significance) and spending the night on patrol together. Well, they call it patrol, sometimes they just throw back a couple of cans and talk, graffiti an alleyway, or occasionally randevu to a different rooftop near an event to catch some of the atmosphere and participate from a safe distance away. Sometimes it hits Casey just how restricted he and his best friends social life together can be compared to if he was hanging around with another human, but Raph was worth those restrictions. Their bond's unmatched to anything he'd had with anyone before, a kinship forged in fistfights and explosive temper.
Now occasionally, Wednesday's are cancelled. Sometimes society expectations can't be shaken and overtime can't be prevented, or a family occasion clashes with the grimey plans on New York's streets. It is very rare though, which is why the two solid days of rain hadn't crossed Casey's mind as an issue.
New York is the city that never sleeps, however it does seem that heavy downpour is a deterrent to some mutant monsters and robotic aliens who are undoubtedly scheming in an unknown dry location, all clues drowned under the rivers and streams trinkling down concrete paths and gutters. Even the purple dragons seem to be held up in a den protecting their hoard rather then foraging for more in their quest to be somebody. Still, the reflection of the lights on the waters edge danced to the sound of people splashing and vehicles humming, the warmth of the indoor lights assisting to illuminate the ground in a way the forgotten night sky stars couldn't dream to match.
New York has a charm he couldn't resist, it calls to him in a way only the terrapin beside him understood. Casey wipes his hand over his eyes, his mask long abandoned and instead adorned like a hairband to keep his soggy hair off his face. The water gushing down it was just going straight into his eyes anyway. The two men had been sat on the rooftop looking below for quite some time now. A comfortable silence between the two of them. Comfortable isn't usually the word used to describe sitting in a torrential downpour, but when the water has soaked a person so much that even their jacket feels fused to their flesh, well then you stop noticing how wet you are. Another swipe at his eyes. He's going to have to crack a joke now, there's no escaping it, it's just the-
Casey turns to Raph with a smirk but stops when he sees how still his friend is. Water trinkles down his scales and off the rim of his shell as if he is an old unkept statue in the park, a gargoyle protecting the current building below from evil spirits like in those old European cities. It's easy to forget that Raph isn't really a person. Well he is a person, he's as human as anyone he's ever met in most ways, but he isn't. And sitting next to him now, he can notice it more, like when they first met all those years ago, before he got to know him.
The colds creeping up on Casey now, crawling under his skin and soaking his bones. At this rate the old knee injury is going to pay them both a visit.
"Hey dude, let's call it a night, nothings happenin'!"
Raph still doesn't move but Casey notices the slow furrowing of his brow and a scowl forming on his beak.
Raph is freezing and uncomfortable, he can't lie to himself, he knows it. Honestly he has wanted to leave for a while, before his shell felt too heavy and his joints too stiff. He had to go the long way out to lair to get here due to the flooding, and he had been looking forward to tonight since he got home last week in the early hours of Thursday morning. He knows he should leave, but he doesn't want to go home and let the weather win this fight.
"Nah, been stuck in the lair too long. Can't go back jus' yet" it's silent for a moment... "I'll kill Mikey"
Now that made Casey laugh. It made Raph chuckle a bit too by extension. He is honestly extremely fond of his youngest brother, but exaggerating his exhaustion with being cooped up in a hole with his crazy antics is just one of the many brotherly ways he shows that affection. He wants to laugh too, Casey's laugh is contagious and thinking of Mikeys latest attempt to create a skatepark in the lair that ended with him ass up in Donnie's toolbox always brings a smile to his face...however his cheeks feel very heavy at the moment.
Case realises Raph's delayed reaction. Wait, dudes a reptile or amphibian or something, the cold can actually harm him. Shit. He's so stupid. Fuck. Here he is worried about some old knee pain and his friend next to him has probably been painfully numb for a while. They've got to go back inside and warm up! Think Casey, think.
"Who mentioned the lair? Ya can come back to mine" he casually responds. Casey stands up after saying that and with a quick stretch for his back, turns to his friend.
Casey only got his own apparment recently, it's fittingly in a rough side of town but none of their pack besides April has had the chance to come visit yet. Raphael could totally throw this V.I.P access in Mikey and Donnie's face when he gets home later.
Raph seems to be thinking this over, or is he? Maybe Casey's too late, his companions final words a dig towards his youngest brother. Don't panic, it'll make everything worse, don't let Raph know you know he isn't okay Jones. Keep it together. Wait! now that he is looking he can see Raph breathing. He's fine.
Raph slowly starts to stand, none of that nimble and over enthusiastic energy he and his brothers normally display is currently present, but that's fine. He seems to like the idea of the new apartments. Casey helps him up with little resistance and much protest and the pair start making their way across the city line to Casey's apartment building.
When Case announces this is the rooftop, Raph looks around at the surrounding area. Probably trying to memorise the location incase they're ever in a pinch.
"A bit wet, was expecting you to atleast have a bed"
"Ha ha very funny Raph", he weekly shoves Raphs shoulder and moves away from him towards the door inside. Raph has one of those shit eating grins on his face. Casey shouts over his shoulder the directions to his window for Raph to meet him there, he's only two stories down from the roof. Raph does a single nod and starts heading towards the fire escape. Rummaging in his sports bag, the key is recovered. Then the rushed action of a mad man surfaces as Casey quickly unlocks the door, slams is shut behind him and runs down the stairs to get to his floor. None of the neighbours are in the corridor and to his knowledge none open their apparetment doors to see what all the ruckus is about. But that's for the best, he doesn't want to leave Raph waiting outside. He could be seen afterall. Unlikely, but possible.
A fight with his own front door ends in success as it swings open and Casey kicks it shut behind him while he drops the soggy sports turned weapons bag on the floor with a squashy thud. His apparetment isn't much warmer then outside he'll have to turn the heating on, but first he needs to open the window. Rushing through his apparent in the dark with only minimal damage to the boxes and furniture in his way, Casey unlocks the window and swings it open. Raphs not there. He leans out and shouts his name. well he tries too, before a hand slaps over his mouth and he tenses.
"Can it pea brain, the entire blocks goin' ta hear ya" he pulls his hand away. It tasted aweful but he's not going to think about where it may have been....
"Your the schmuk in the rain hiding from me, what's that for?"
"Pardon me princess, for not trusting your directions"
Casey steps to the side to allow room for Raph to climb on in, "You won't be staying long in my kingdom if you don't respect me right".
Once in, Raph mimes a curtsey, "Apologies".
The living space has a bit of a musty smell, but that may be from all the items lashed in cardboard boxes that haven't been fully unpacked yet. Not that Raph would complain, his home smells of sewage.
Once the blinds are closed Casey goes to grab a couple of towels from the floor in his room and wacks the heating and lights on on his way back. Throwing one to his green friend he starts to dry himself off. Towels are good, but they can only do so much, a change of clothes would be great, a hot shower first would be greater. Slinging the towel over his shoulders he glances over to his guest, making slow work on drying himself off, but clearly putting way more effort in to actually be dry then Casey did.
"Want the first shower?"
Raph explains he'll have to get a shower when he gets home anyway, flooding sewers spreading all kinds of messes in places they usually wouldn't. And so with that Casey takes his leave, throwing his second towel over his friend on the way to his bathroom.
When he emerges from the steam filled bathroom, Raph is sat in the sofa. All his gear in a pile on the floor Infront of him and even his mask abandoned but instead over the armrest by his side. Raph sleeps with that thing on, he hates taking it off around Casey. Dude really must be cold. He doesn't seem to be moving and the TV is off. Keeping the soggy towel over his head and the other draped over his shell almost like a cape, he is either staring at the wall or lost deep in thought.
"You holding up alright?" Casey calls over, using his own new towel to try get some water out his ears.
"I'd be better with a drink and some entertainment"
More laughing and Case knows exactly what to get the turtle. He goes in the kitchen and puts some water on the stove, he's going to fill up a hot water bottle for his knee. While that's boiling he grabs a couple cans from the fridge. He usually tosses them from the doorway to Raph but this time he places them on the table near him, before leaning over to get the remote from under the couch as best he can without aggravating his sore knee too much.
After standing up he shoves the remote into Raphs plastron/chest and leaves the room to go get a blanket. There are many downsides to moving, such as having to unpack everything which admittedly, Casey has not done. However, you know where things are too, which is a big plus. Normally things like blankets and clothes and haphazardly shoved into the bottom of the wardrobe, forgotten for years. But with this new clean slate Casey knew just the item to get and where it lived. While Case fetched the item in question he heard Raph turn the sports channel on, sounds a bit like a football match.
"Drumroll please" He calls from his doorway, hidden from the others view. He waits a moment before he calls out "You need to face this way dude" in his regular voice and not the showman announcer style he previously used.
"Yes, your highness", was the reptiles reply. Raph may still feel cold or rigid but honestly he sounded just like his normal, sarcastic and playful self. It was nice, this Wednesday was getting back on track. Next came the patter of a drumroll getting slapped upon the back of a couch.
Casey strutted out of his room and into view, arms up and open wide with a huge grin on his face. Upon his joggers and t-shirt was a fleecy, oversized hoodie, complete with a tacky Christmas print.
"This season, the Jones brand would like to present, this monstrosity!" A slow and incredibly ungracefull spin is preformed before stopping to do some very 'sultry' poses, like what a catalog model may do if she where terrible at her job. Raph can't contain his laughter and chuckles along to the show he is baring witness too. "Putting the warm in house warming".
"Where the hell did ya get that? I've seen better clothes at the dump"
"This, Dear El, is a Jones family gift! We all wore one a couple years back at the farmhouse" Casey starts to fidget to get it off over his head before throwing it towards 'El'. "And now you get the honour".
"Me?!" Raph throws the offensive fabric to the cushion beside him before using a fist to knock on his own battered shell, "Don't know if you've notice but your clothes won't really fit the old back here", 'sides, ain't my colour".
"Nah dude, it's huge on me and I'm taller than you, it'll totally fit! C'mon, 'M not having a naked dude chilling on my new seats!"
"I'm breaking them in for you", Raph's mischievous grin returns, accompanied by a little wiggle before he turns back to face the TV. "And if this sofa is new then I'm a goose".
"Alright, it's my old one, but you are wearing that blanket" Lifting up the fleecey tent, he sits on the space next to Raph. "C'mon, you must still be freezing, it'll be nice. I won't even laugh that much".
Raph pretends to put up this fight a little longer, honestly he is freezing and would do anything to be warm, but letting your walls down is a brick by brick process. He's been his vulnerable self with Mr.Jones before, he can do it again, just need a little time to ease into it. "Did you get a family photo in these things?"
"Course"
"I'll wear it if you show me next week, deal?" Casey leans back in his seat, sinking into his cushions. Much better then that rooftop they where on. He puts his arms inside the top of the blanket and holds it apart like you would when helping a child. He pretends as if thinking for a moment, not wanting to let Raph know just how worried he really is about this whole cold blooded thing, then agrees to the deal and with a bit of pulling on the hem they manage to squeeze it over his shell.
Casey leans over to grab the remote, careful not to knock the sodden mask off the armrest from where it had been carefully placed. Turning the channel to a rerun of last weeks Hockey game, he gets up to turn off the stove before sorting the hot water bottle and returning to his guest. He almost forgot about that...
Back by Raphs side, he places his foot on the coffee table to keep his knee straight, water bottle balanced on top. Casey has a beer in his right hand and the other arm over the back of the sofa. Raph's curled up on the couch, sitting on his legs and leaning towards the armrest on his right, nursing a beer can of his own. At some point during the game Raph shifts to lean against Casey, mumbling something about body warmth and by the time the game is finished he's even fell asleep.
Far from the eventual, adrenaline rush of their usual Wednesday nights. But the comfortable companionship of a close friend is still just as enjoyable a treat to boost moral for the remainder of the week. There's something charming in these domestic moments, a simplicity in the spontaneous events of this evening that he will miss when on his own the rest of the week. Casey pulls his phone out to check the time.
00:40
Raph doesn't need to start heading home till three. He can stay there for a while. He may even wake up and they can watch one of the movies in their list. It's Raphs turn to show Casey something if he recalls correctly. Some old forgotten film his family found in the trash and have grown overly fond of. Maybe he should use this time to research turtles and ways to warm them? Nah that's weird, Raphs a person not a pet and he seems pretty comfortable now. He's totally got this. He can still use his phone however...
Casey holds his phone out as far as he can without shifting, tilts the camera and
SNAP
He knows Raph will explode when he finds out Casey dared to take a digital picture in this day and age of him. But, he'll take that argument on the chin this winter when he gifts the Hamato's a home made Christmas ornament with a very sleepy and festive turtle brother on it.