[OOM: The roof. A tent that dreams of being a studio apartment.]

[mnt_raph]

*Raph stands in the bathroom, arms braced on the sink. He looks up into the mirror and examines the damage done by April the night before, which has nothing to do with the fat lip he's now sporting. Or maybe it has everything to do with it. Who knows?

Either way, he didn't make it down to run this morning, opting to stay on his couch until he'd heard April leave for breakfast.

Now he stands in his bathroom trying to get the rogue thoughts in his head to jump back into line. His head hurts, his lip hurts, and his heart is in agony.

Just another day in the life.
His shoulders slump, and his head drops forward.
There's no where else for him to go.*

Comments

[mnt_raph]

I fell.

*Short. Simple. Clearly a baldfaced lie.*

[in-it.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, sure," Andrew replied, the corners of his mouth turning down a bit. "I ran without you this morning," he added, leaning against the wall. "Just wanted to make sure everything was cool."

[mnt_raph]

Like a cucumber.

*His head drops again, and he spits into the sink. There's a flash of red. Raph, you should know things don't heal if you continue to poke at them.*

[in-it.livejournal.com]

"You gonna tell me now or later?" Andrew asked nonchalantly, brows arched.

[mnt_raph]

april knows.

*Really, what more is there to say.*

[in-it.livejournal.com]

Andrew stared back at Raph in the mirror, stunned.

"What did she do?" he asked quietly, and his eyes flicked down to the other man's split lip.

[mnt_raph]

she hit me here.

*He gestures towards his face.*

an' then the wall hit me here.

*He rubs the back of his head.*

[in-it.livejournal.com]

Andrew stepped forward and slipped up to sit on the edge of the counter, getting a closer look at Raph's face.

"You weren't shitting when you said she'd kick my ass," he replied. He hesitated, and then asked, "Did she leave?"

[mnt_raph]

*Raph shrugs*

We trained her well.


*He stands up and rubs at his eyes. Someone didn't get a lot of sleep last night.*

Dunno. I heard her go down couple of hours ago. Could be breakfast. Could have gone home.
No idea.

[in-it.livejournal.com]

Andrew chewed at the inside of his cheek. "You want me to go see if she's down there?"

He was trying to be helpful, but wasn't sure how to go about it.

[mnt_raph]

No. Leave her be. She's freaked out enough already, don't need to add anythin' more to it.

If she goes back, then she goes back.
It's better for her there anyway.

[in-it.livejournal.com]

"Is she going to tell Mike?"

[mnt_raph]

i dunno.

*Raph exits the bathroom and heads for his dresser.

The remnents of an earlier breakfast are still on the dinette table.*

[in-it.livejournal.com]

Andrew followed with a sigh.

"Look, I-" He paused, because he wasn't sure how to word this without making things worse. "I just think maybe you should consider it. Not for some psychoanalytical reason, but because I think Mel knows, and I don't know how long she's gonna listen to me."

[mnt_raph]

*He's in the process of pulling a shirt over his head.*

i know mel knows.

*He just tosses that right out there.*

[in-it.livejournal.com]

"Well, golly gee. I'm glad we're all on the same page, then," Andrew frowned. "If you don't care, fine. I'm just telling you: Before all of this stuff went down with us, it was all I could do to keep her from telling, and she didn't even know what it was. How long you think she's gonna hold back now that they're this perfect couple?" There might have been the tinest bit of bitterness to his tone. "I mean, you do what you gotta do, man. I just thought I'd let you know."

[mnt_raph]

She won't talk 'cause she knows it'll hurt'im. An' she won't do that.

Same reason I ain't said nothing to him either.

*He makes his way towards the bed and sits down. Head in his hands.*

what i gotta do is get outta here.

[in-it.livejournal.com]

Okay, this was really bad. Andrew had been snitty, and Raph hadn't so much as growled at him.

He walked over to sit next to his friend, pushing his hair out of his face. He wished he could focus a little better. It was better than it had been two days before, but still Andrew felt like his problem-solving skills were just out of his grasp.

"Then let's go." He shrugged. Simplest answer. "I'm going crazy, too. Let's go."

[mnt_raph]

*Raph laughed harshly.*

Where? I ain't got no where else to go.

[in-it.livejournal.com]

Andrew shrugged. "I dunno. You've got a tent. Just because you're in New York when you go through the door doesn't mean you have to stay in New York. I've got twenty bucks."

[mnt_raph]

Large. I hate Jersey.

[in-it.livejournal.com]

"I don't particularly like it myself. Who said we had to go to Jersey? I sure as fuck don't want to go there."

[mnt_raph]

*He looks over at Large.*

You're serious.

[in-it.livejournal.com]

Andrew blinked. "Well, yeah." He shrugged. "Sometimes it helps to get away for a couple of days. You stock up the fridge, we hop on the train upstate to one of the parks or something, and just commune with nature or some shit.

"Better than staying here and going crazy."

[mnt_raph]

*The first place Raph that comes to mind is Casey's farm house in North Hampton, Mass.

They were happy there....weren't they? Well, until Raph had to go and ruin it by demanding they go back to the city to face the Shredder.*

april.

*he sighs*

She...she'd go ballistic if I just took off again. FUCK!

*He flops back on the bed, and punches the mattress.*