Out in the Open

"Okay pal, I'm here," Casey called to the seemingly deserted rooftop. "Got my bag, my bat and my mask, let's go bash some Purple Dragon skulls."

Raph appeared out of the shadows, wearing a sheepish grin and carrying a six pack. Casey pulled his mask up to the top of his head and frowned.

"Since when do ya' bring the beer?" Casey asked.

"Fuck ya'," Raph answered. "I bring beer sometimes."

He walked to the roofs edge and sat down, placing the beer next to him. Casey stared at his shell for a minute, then shrugged before setting his bag down and joining Raph.

Looking at the beer, Casey said, "Hey, this is the good stuff. I guess ya' wasn't plannin' ta go out looking for a fight tonight."

"Nah," Raph replied, "wasn't really in that kind of mood."

"O~kay," Casey said, accepting the bottle that was offered to him. "Ya' have a fight with Leo or somethin'?"

Raph lifted an eye ridge at him. "Why is it when I don't feel like gettin' into a fight ya' always assume I'm already havin' one with Leo?"

"That's your track record pal," Casey snorted. "Ya' come over here lookin' ta knock some heads together means ya' had a fight with Leo. Ya' come over here ta sit on the edge of this roof and drink a few beers means ya' had a fight with Leo. I'm startin' ta think if Leo wasn't around I'd never see ya'."

"Get bent," Raph snapped. "My whole world ain't about old Fearless for your information. I got a life of my own."

"Coulda fooled me," Casey said with a grin, then tipped his bottle up to take a long pull at the liquid inside. "So what is eating ya'? And don't give me that shit about how you're peachy 'cause I can see somethin's bugging ya'."

Raph scowled, and finished off his beer. Instead of reaching for another, he sat holding his empty bottle and picking at the label.

"Case, ya' remember that lady from last week? The one that those Dragons were chasing?" Raph asked without taking his eyes from the bottle.

Casey took a swig of his beer. "Yeah. I remember how we flattened those goons and turned their nuts inside out for 'em so they wouldn't be tempted ta try using 'em again for a while."

Raph nodded, his focus still on his beer bottle. "I went over ta see if she was okay and give her back her purse. Then I reached down and tried ta help her stand up. Remember her reaction when she got a good look at me?"

"Oh hell, Raph," Casey snorted, "is that still bothering ya'? She was scared already pal, ya' don't gotta take it personal."

Raph glanced up at him. "I ain't, so don't start thinking I need a pat on the back or something. Point I'm tryin' ta make is, that's the way all women react when they see us. Shell, even April fainted when she first saw us; in fact she fainted several times."

Casey eyed him for a minute, light starting to dawn in his head. "Ya' gettin' interested in girls finally? I was startin' ta wonder if that was gonna hit ya' at some point."

"Don't be an ass Casey," Raph grumbled, replacing the empty bottle and opening a fresh one.

"Well shit Raph, I been rentin' porn videos for ya' for over a year. Be kinda natural ya' wanna explore your options. After all them movies, we ain't gotta have a conversation about the birds and the bees do we?" Casey asked.

"No, jerk weed, we sure don't," Raph snarled at him. Taking a long drink from his fresh bottle, Raph pulled it away from his mouth and scratched at his chin. "Fact is, much as I've thought about havin' a girlfriend and doin' some of the stuff in those videos, I ain't really got that option."

"Ya' always got your hand," Casey said with a smirk.

Raph glared at him. "Yeah, that's satisfying."

Casey finished off the beer in his bottle, and reached for another. "Then what? If ya' want my help meeting some girls you're out of luck pal. I don't circulate that much, unless ya' want ta get busy with a Purple Dragon chick."

"Fuck no," Raph shuddered. "That's just nasty and I ain't desperate."

"Great," Casey said, "that's good ta hear. So what the hell are we talkin' about exactly? 'Cause you're confusin' the fuck out of me."

"I didn't come up here for advice about my fuckin' love life ya' wack bag," Raph told him.

"Then what did ya' bring it up for?" Casey squinted at him. "Would ya' just spill it already? I ain't never seen ya' beat around the bush about anything before, and I sure as hell ain't never seen ya' need liquid courage ta say what's on your mind."

"I came up here 'cause there's something I been meaning ta tell ya'," Raph said, and then stopped talking to pull in a huge breath of air, letting it out in a big puff.

Casey was staring at him, waiting. After a minute, he asked impatiently, "What?"

"Me and my bros are in a relationship," Raph blurted out, talking so fast his words ran over each other.

Casey blinked and sat trying to pull the individual words apart. That done, he drank some beer and then rubbed at the back of his neck.

"With a chick?" he finally asked.

"No." Raph's answer was so quiet Casey had to strain to hear it.

Processing the answer for another minute, Casey asked, "With each other?"

Raph refused to look at him, concentrating his attention on the bottle in his hand. "Yeah."

Silence. Casey took some time to work through that bit of news, and Raph finished his beer. Rather than reaching for another, he studied the empty one as though it might hold the secrets of life itself.

"You're gay?" Casey asked in a perplexed voice.

Raph sat up straighter, pulling his shoulders back. "Guess if ya' gotta give it a title, that's what I am. Ya' ain't gonna freak out on me are ya'?"

Casey shook his head. "I don't give a fuck about whether a guy digs women or men better, Raph. Ya' and me are pals 'cause we think the same about pretty much everything else. So no, I ain't gonna freak out on ya'."

Raph sighed and looked over at Casey, who grinned lopsidedly at him.

"You're all right Casey, I don't care what April's been sayin' about ya'," Raph teased.

"Fuck ya' buddy. Only thing April's been sayin' about me is how she likes my high, hard one," Casey shot back. "Speakin' of April, ya' told her yet?"

Raph shook his head. "Not my job. We left that one ta Don. He's probably over at her place tellin' her right now."

"So why'd ya' decide ta tell us anyway?" Casey asked. "Ya' ain't plannin' ta start makin' out in front of me are ya'?"

"No ya' pervert, we ain't," Raph said. "But ya' know how Mikey is; he's kinda demonstrative."

"Oh shit, Raph. Are ya' sayin' he's gonna be climbin' all over ya' and kissin' and crap like that?" Casey asked in a horrified tone.

"Not on purpose ya' bone head," Raph told him. "But he might, ya' know, forget himself sometimes. And I thought ya' just said ya' didn't give a shit."

"Well I don't," Casey huffed. "I just ain't into PDA's. People's business like that ought ta stay in their bedrooms."

"We'll try ta humor your modesty your highness," Raph said sarcastically.

"Hey, so does that mean it's ya' and Mikey together, and Leo's with Don?" Casey asked.

"Not exactly." Raph grabbed his third beer, indicating to Casey that he should take the last bottle. "We kinda decided not ta pair up."

Finishing his second bottle, Casey reached for the last one and opened it, swallowing a huge mouthful, obviously using the time to process that answer.

"So ya' guys are sharing?" Casey asked.

Raph nodded while he swallowed some of his own beer. "Somethin' like that. Works out better that way; ain't any of us playin' favorites and it cuts out all the problems when one of us ain't in the mood."

"Hmm, I guess that makes sense," Casey acknowledged. "Wait, so what happens if one of ya' does meet a girl?"

Raph snorted. "You're fuckin' funny. Ain't gonna happen, but I'll humor ya' and answer that question. Nothin'. Not a damn thing. Ya' know why Casey?"

"I wouldn't have asked the question if I knew the answer, now would I?" Casey responded.

"Wise ass," Raph said. "Okay, here's the answer. We like what we got, shell, we fuckin' love what we got goin'. Don't want a woman screwin' it up."

"I ain't tryin' ta talk ya' out of it," Casey snapped. "I was just curious."

"Okay, well, I guess I brought it up so ya' got a right ta ask," Raph acknowledged.

Casey watched him finish off his beer and then remembered the bottle in his own hands. Taking the final mouthful, he swallowed quickly as a thought hit him.

"Um, Raph? What about Master Splinter? Does he, uh, know about your arrangement?"

"Yeah he knows," Raph answered, staring out across the skyline. "That was rough at first, but after we made about a billion promises ta him about always look out for each other, he finally gave us his blessing."

"That's cool," Casey said. "So what happens if April ain't as open minded as me?"

Raph started laughing and Casey glared at him.

"Sorry pal," Raph managed to say. "April we never worried about. I was a little concerned about ya' though, 'cause you're in testosterone overdrive most of the time."

"Fuck ya'," Casey blurted, but at the relieved look on Raph's face, he broke into laughter as well.

"So okay," Casey said as the laughter tapered off. "Ya' broke your news ta me, we polished off this six pack and we ain't gonna go find someone ta beat on. Watcha wanna do? Head back ta the lair and watch some of Don's stolen pay-per-view?"

"Shell no," Raph growled. "'M pissed at Leo and I don't wanna see his mug for a few hours."

Casey burst out laughing again. "I fuckin' knew it!" he exclaimed. "Some things ain't ever gonna change."

Raph had to smile. For once, his best friend was right about something.