Friends With Unlikely People - TMNT 2012

9 - Stargazing Talks

That night at dinner, Kaos complimented the turtle's various attempts to draw their bow, even if they weren't successful. Casey joked about he would've gone about doing it, before Kaos shut him down with an off-handed comment about how he probably couldn't even pull the bowstring back.

Once food was done, Donnie and Casey disappeared to the barn. Splinter went outside to meditate, and Mikey got Leo and April to agree to a TV show marathon. Raph found Kaos outside, sitting on the roof above the porch.

"Whatcha doin' up there Kaos?" he asked, looking up at them. They glanced down at him with a smile. "Nothing of importance really. I've just been thinking." "How did you get up there anyway?" Raph asked. They turned away from him for a second before tossing down a rope. "Normally the window, but I tied some old rope up here for a quicker way."

Raph grinned, climbing up itself. There was a moment of comfortable silence before either said anything else. "I missed this. Crickets, stars, quiet." Kaos mentioned quietly, hugging their knees. Raph glanced at them before looking up at the swirls of dotted light. "I suppose it is nice. Makes you feel kinda small."

Kaos laughed almost silently. "What, the big tough Raphael is intimated by balls of gas? Nah, I know what you mean. I can't imagine what it's like up there."

"It's silent. Like scare silent. And there's so much more than you'd think."

Another small giggle. "Good to know." A pause. "I remember being a kid and loving the sky so much, but then with school, I realized how much damn math is required to get anywhere near there. And I hated- still kinda do- math."

There was a moment of silence as Kaos laid back, closing their eyes. "Your eyes shine like poisoned apples when you glare, then relax to almost a soft green. Like moss, or fields. It's quite pretty." Raph turned his head to them, surprised by the sudden description. "And when you smile they since bright again, but not like poison. More like... like they're made from ground-up clovers and gold." They folded their arms under their head.

"What was that for?"

"I dunno. Just an observation. Just like Mikey's eyes twinkle, or Leo's get brighter when he looks at you guys. Or how Donnie's sparkle with mischief when he and Mikey team up to prank someone. Eyes are like windows to the soul, it's hard to keep secrets from someone who pays attention to them."

Raph blinked. "What's got you all deep and shit?"

"Your eyes dimmed when you looked up. Like you were remembering something awful. The same thing happens to all of you when you speak of certain things. Your eyes dim or glaze over, like you're trying to avoid whatever it is the conversation is about. I may not know your full story, but I'm sorry you had to protect everyone and there was no one to protect you four." Kaos opened one of their own eyes, looking at the usually angry turtle.

Raph huffed. "I don't know what you're talking about, we handled ourselves fine." Kaos shook their head, sighing. "I'm not saying you didn't. I'm apologizing for the fact that out of the blue you four- at fifteen- were forced to protect the whole world without anyone knowing. You know what I was doing at fifteen, Raph? I was crying over math assignments I couldn't figure out and complain about my siblings. My main issue was how the robotics team was doing that year. And sure there are people who had worse things to worry about, but that's not the point. The point is that you guys should be allowed to relax and get into some trouble. You were and are teens. Have some fun. Go pick on Mikey for losing a video game. Skateboard. Spraypaint yourself a logo. Eat junk food. Sleep till noon. Spar with your friends. Go play in the woods. Don't listen to someone. BE A GODDAMN TEEN."

Raph laughed. "I don't think I have that option there Kaos. Not normally anyway." Kaos sat up. "Yeah, but we're on vacation. No time like the present."

"And would you happen to have some of the items to do any of that?" Raph grinned sarcastically.