The View

Raph rolled his eyes and braced himself, palms flat on the table in front of him.

"Geez Donny, how much longer?" he asked, hissing slightly under Don's ministrations.

"Almost . . .there!" Don announced triumphantly. Raph turned to look over his shoulder and watched Don tap the tweezers against the side of a small metal pan.

"Is that it?" Raph asked.

"I'm afraid not, bro'. Try to relax, okay?" Don told him.

Raph tried to think of something to distract himself from the annoying prickling sensations emanating from his lower regions. He'd been bent over in front of Don for over an hour and the genius still wasn't finished.

The red banded turtle had really hated that he'd had to wake Don in order to enlist his help with this problem, but it wasn't as though he could reach back and take care of it himself. Raphael sure as shell wasn't going to ask either Leo or Mikey for assistance; he didn't want to hear the lecture from the former or the laughter from the latter.

That was the great thing about Don; he was never judgmental and unless it was something major, he didn't try to pry into Raph's business.

It was probably that fact more than anything that usually had the entire story spilling out of Raph within minutes of his seeking out Don's aid. The genius was always so efficient and concentrated that it made it much easier to talk to him than anyone else.

Continuing a thread of their earlier conversation, Raph attempted to work out his embarrassment at the position he now found himself in.

"Who the shell has something like that in the middle of their apartment, for cripes sake? Ouch!" he yelped in protest and looked back around at Don again.

"Sorry," Don said in a mild tone. "These things are a bitch to see."

"Well, ya' got skin that time Donny boy. Maybe ya' need to clean your glasses," Raph suggested.

Don glanced up, his brown eyes appearing much larger thanks to the magnification of the lenses he wore.

"That isn't the problem, Raph. Besides being small, these things are nearly colorless so they blend in with your skin. I'm having a hard time telling where they start and your skin ends," Don confessed.

"Remind me ta find those Foot soldiers and toss them into a bed of this stuff," Raph grumbled.

Don chuckled. "You're the one who tripped and fell through a skylight while they were chasing you. I thought you hated to run," he said in a mildly teasing tone.

Raph shrugged. "I do. It just seemed like a good plan ta make a tactical retreat when twenty of 'em showed up."

"I'm glad you did, even though it cost you this," Don said in a gratifyingly warm tone. His hands touched the backs of Raph's thighs lightly and the pleasant sensation made the hot heads toe's clench.

Striving to maintain an even tone, Raph asked, "Get 'em all?"

"Mmm," Don murmured. "From your thighs yes; I don't feel any more of them. Still need to work on your rear."

Raph heaved a big, suffering sigh. "Damn, I hadda go and fall into probably the only apartment in New York with its own cactus garden. It sure as shell didn't go my ass any good."

"I doubt your falling on those prickly pears did them much good either, Raph," Don said as he tugged another thorn out of Raph's butt.

They were quiet again while Don removed thorn after thorn with painstaking care. Because Don couldn't see them well, even with magnification lenses, he had to pass his hands across Raph's skin and feel for them. Each touch was sending a spark straight into Raph's gut.

"Ya' know how much I appreciate ya' doin' this for me, don't ya' Donny?" Raph asked in a slightly guttural voice.

Don smiled his secret smile, recognizing the desire he heard in Raph's tone.

"That's okay Raph. You know I'm always here if you need me," Don said.

Raph cleared his throat and swallowed before speaking in a vain attempt to hide his arousal.

"Well, fuck Don, ya' been back there for over an hour. How can ya' be so patient?" Raph finally managed to ask.

A finger ghosting over Raph's tail sent a flash of warmth through the red banded turtle's system and made his thighs quiver.

Don answered in a voice as soft and gentle as his hands were.

"I love the view."