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Donnie gazed down at the sidewalk from the roof of an apartment building, waiting for Casey to show up. The reported crime in this area had recently increased, so Leo insisted that they go patrol the area. Mikey, as per usual, had insisted that it wasn’t a big deal, that the whole team surely wouldn’t be needed, so he should just stay home and play video games. Safe to say, that did not fly. Which is why Mikey was arguing with Leo and Raph just behind Donnie. April was keeping herself busy floating a couple stones around, clearly restraining herself from flinging them at Donnie’s brothers.
Donnie turned his head at the sound of metal clanging, indicating that someone was climbing up the building’s fire escape.
“It’s Casey,” April said, relieving Donnie’s weariness. Relief was not a feeling often associated with Casey Jones, but under these circumstances, it was understandable. Casey’s arrival finally got Mikey, Leo, and Raph to stop arguing.
“Hey, guys!”
“Casey, you’re late,” Leo scolded.
“Oh, well my bad, next time I’ll run the 3 miles faster.” Leo exaggeratedly rolled his eyes at the sarcastic response.
“Well, now that we’re all here, let’s get down to business.”
“No need for a speech, Leo. Everybody already knows why we’re here,” Raph sighed.
Donnie made eye contact with Mikey, who most definitely had not been listening to Leo’s debriefing before they left the lair. Mikey shrugged awkwardly. April and Donnie face palmed in sync.
“What was that about?” Raph asked.
“I may or may not have not payed attention to why we’re here,” Mikey supplied. Raph knocked him on the side of the head.
“We’re here to kick some ass!”
“Not necessarily, Casey. We’re here to see if the recent rise in reported crime holds any weight.” Donnie said.
“Right,” Leo nodded. “This neighbourhood has been a hotspot for crime this month. Mugging, burglary, assault, all sorts of nasty stuff.”
“Mob affiliated?” April supplied.
“Could be,” Donnie agreed. Casey smirked at him.
“I hope so.”
“Yeah, well that’s what we’re here to find out,” Raph grumbled.
“Will there ever come a day where I can speak uninterrupted?”
“Probably not!” Mikey smiled. “Sorry, Leo.”
Leo sighed and continued. “We’ve got about 20 blocks to cover. To be more efficient, we should split up. Raph and Mikey, go west. Donnie and Casey, go north. Me and April will take the rest.”
“What? Why am I stuck with him?” Raph complained, gesturing towards Mikey.
“I could ask the same question.”
“Because nobody else wants to deal with either of you.” Donnie smiled. Mikey stuck his tongue out in response, while Raph gave the best middle finger you can give while only having 3 on each hand.
“Let’s play nice, children,” Leo said.
“Can we just go beat some bad guys already?”
“I hate to agree with Casey,” April spoke up, earning shout and a middle finger from Casey. She ignored both. “But can we just get on with it? If I have to listen to you guys argue any longer I might blow a gasket.” It was implied in her glare that by gasket, she meant one of their heads.
“If you see any suspicious activity, alert the rest of the group.” With that said, Leo took off, April close on his heels.
“Race ya to the bodega on the corner of the boulevard,” Mikey challenged. He ran off before Raph could respond.
“Cheater!” Raph shouted as he followed behind Mikey.
Donnie turned around and wordlessly started making his way north. Casey followed behind, humming some song Donnie was unfamiliar with.
They spent the better part of the next hour patrolling the area. There hadn’t been much to see. The most exciting thing they encountered was a man trying to break into someone’s car. Casey had hit him in the back of the head with a hockey puck and the man went running. They couldn’t be bothered to follow after him—the guy was trying to break into cars with his bare hands, he was hardly a threat. Donnie and Casey had decided to take a break, since it was shaping up to be a slow night.
Casey kicked his legs back and forth, swinging his feet over the streets of New York. The kicking came to an abrupt stop, prompting Donnie to look over, hoping there was something interesting to see. To his surprise, Casey was already staring quite intently at his face.
“D’ya wanna make out?” Casey asked, without so much as a hint of hesitance.
Donnie was taken aback. His face rapidly heating up. There was absolutely no way that he’d heard Casey correctly.
“What?”
“You wanna make out?” Casey repeated, clearly, confidently, and all too casually.
The question itself was shocking enough, but more alarmingly, Donnie found he was actually considering it.
He had never really kissed anybody before. Sure, he and April had kissed each other’s cheeks before, or given the occasional peck on the lips, but did that really count? He was curious as to how it would feel to properly kiss someone. He’d always thought that making out looked gross when he’d seen it in movies, but he figured it must feel pretty damn great if people are always doing it anyway. If he turned Casey down now, he realized, he may never get a chance to test that theory. He also thought Casey was stupidly, unfairly attractive, and had wanted to kiss him for quite some time anyway.
“Sure,” Donnie shrugged. He hoped that his hesitance wasn’t evident in his voice.
“Wait, for real?” Casey didn’t sound appalled, if anything, he sounded a little relieved. Excited almost. That made Donnie feel more confident in his decision.
“I mean, why not? We’re teenagers. We don’t really get the chance to do regular dumb teenager shit, usually we’re doing something much more life threatening. So what’s the harm in this?”
If it didn’t work out. That would be the harm. If Casey hated it, hated Donnie after it, and never wanted to see him again. That would hurt like a gaping head wound. But if Donnie never got this opportunity again, he would beat himself up for it for the rest of his life. So why would he ever say no?
“Woah… I honestly wasn’t really expecting you to say yes.” Donnie cocked his head to the side. Casey quickly backtracked. “Not that I don’t wanna try this! I was just like, I dunno, expecting you to punch me in the arm and tell me to fuck off.”
“If you weren’t expecting me to agree, why did you ask?”
“Can we just skip to the part where neither of us can talk because our tongues are in each other’s mouths?” Casey leaned closer, leering at Donnie.
“Ew gross,” Donnie shoved Casey’s shoulder, laughing. “Why would you say it like that?”
“Less talking, more kissing.”
Casey cupped Donnie’s face with surprisingly gentle hands. Donnie placed his own hands on Casey’s forearms, unsure what else to do with them. He let Casey drag his face forward, the space between their lips rapidly shrinking. Casey stopped just shy of pressing their mouths together, both of them staring at the other through hooded eyes.
The hesitation made Donnie nervous. He worried that Casey had realized he was going to kiss a mutant and froze up. If Casey changed his mind about this, Donnie would probably just roll off the edge of the building; dying would be better than facing that sort of embarrassment.
“Are you sure-?“ Donnie had barely finished the question when Casey finally closed the distance between them.
It was only a peck, a quick, soft press of lips against lips. It didn’t physically feel much different than kissing April—not that Donnie could really explain what that felt like—but emotionally, it was entirely novel. All the anxiety Donnie had been feeling completely melted away, he felt a warmth in his chest like a fire in his ribcage. This was a feeling of excitement unlike anything else, a giddy, bubbly feeling that spread through his veins like a sickly sweet syrup. This was the nearest to pure euphoria Donnie had ever felt.
And as quickly as it happened, it was over. Casey was looking at him, eyebrows drawn together, still holding his face. Donnie wasn’t ready for this feeling to go away, he needed more. Without thinking, he leaned forward and kissed Casey again. Another peck, barely longer than the first, but certainly more forceful.
Casey pulled away from him with a strange look on his face. Before Donnie could even start to worry, Casey grinned. “We’re actually doing this.”
“Yeah, I guess we are.” Casey gave him another quick kiss in response. Followed in quick succession by several others.
The more they kissed, the longer each one lasted. Their lips met more confidently each time, more certain of what they were doing.
Donnie made note of how this felt. And it was nice, having Casey’s mouth on his own. Casey’s lips were were chapped, dry but still soft. They were warm as well, so much so that they overshadowed even the heat of his hands on Donnie’s face.
Casey moved those hands to the back of Donnie’s neck, dragging their bodies closer together. In return, Donnie wrapped his arms around Casey’s shoulders. They sat at an awkward angle, torsos pressed against each other while their legs still hung off the ledge of the building.
Donnie pulled away from Casey abruptly. “We’re still sitting on the ledge.”
“Oh shit,” Casey breathed out. “I totally forgot about that.” He reluctantly removed his hands from Donnie’s body and swung his legs around to plant his feet on the roof of the apartment complex. He slid off the little wall and sat leaning up against it. He looked up and Donnie and patted the ground next to him. Donnie wasted no time following his lead.
As soon as Donnie was comfortably seated, Casey reached a hand out to cup his face. Donnie moved towards him, eye lids dropping closed. Their lips connected again, gentle and steady. When he went to pull back, Casey wrapped his arms tightly around Donnie’s body, effectively crawling into his lap. Instead of leaning back to breathe, Casey inhaled quickly through his mouth, parting his lips slightly before pressing them back to Donnie’s.
Donnie reached one hand towards the back of Casey’s head and tentatively began to play with his hair, the other hand resting on his back. His hair was surprisingly soft, a bit tangled from the wind, but smooth between Donnie’s fingers. The bandana Casey wore in his hair was getting in the way of Donnie’s hands, and they simply couldn’t have that.
Donnie gently pushed Casey away from him, earning a confused look and disappointed grunt. Donnie didn’t allow Casey to ask any questions, he reached up, pulled off the bandana, and wrapped it around his own wrist.
“Oh,” Casey whispered.
“I like touching your hair,” Donnie mumbled. It was a terribly embarrassing thing to say, slipping from his lips without him meaning to say it. But Casey smiled anyway. “It was… in the way.”
Casey slipped one hand up to cup Donnie’s jaw, and kissed him again. They quickly fell back into their earlier rhythm, breathing in and out through open mouthed kisses. Donnie startled at the intrusion of Casey’s tongue in his mouth, involuntarily tugging on Casey’s hair.
Casey pulled back immediately, but any hope Donnie had for forming a cohesive thought was completely lost. Casey looked beautiful. He was visibly out of breath, almost gasping for air. His face was flushed, a rosy pink from his ears down to his neck, illuminated by the dim lights of the city. His eyes were impossibly dark, all colour swallowed by his dilated pupils. His lips were shiny and red and so, so very kissable.
“Was that too much?” Casey asked, his hushed voice breaking Donnie away from his thoughts.
“Not enough,” Donnie breathed. His fingers were still tangled in Casey’s hair, and he realized why Casey had pulled away. “Sorry for pulling your hair.”
“No, no… it felt good.”
Then they were kissing again, more desperately than they had been before. Donnie gripped Casey’s hair with one hand, the other pressed between Casey’s shoulder blades, holding their bodies close together. Casey’s arms were wrapped tightly around Donnie’s back, gripping onto his shell as if letting go would cause him to disappear. Casey had pushed his tongue into Donnie’s mouth, the sensation was wet, and warm, and entirely novel.
The whole experience was uncharted territory for Donnie, every feeling something completely new. His face felt tingly and hot, as did the rest of his body, actually. Distantly, Donnie recognized that his chin, and the general area around his mouth, felt wet. He didn’t care. The only feeling that mattered was Casey.
Casey’s hoodie beneath his hand, body heat seeping through the fabric. Casey’s thighs on top of his, knees on either side of his hips. Casey’s arms around him, hands scratching at his shell. Casey’s hair between his fingers. Casey’s lips on his. Casey’s tongue in his mouth. Casey, Casey, Casey.
Donnie had never felt so disconnected from the world around him. It went against his training to let his guard down like this. He was taught that he could never be so distracted, so unprepared, so vulnerable. Yet, at that moment in time, none of those lessons came to mind. Donnie was completely disarmed, at the mercy of the boy sitting in his lap, and he trusted Casey so deeply that it didn’t even matter.
Donnie pulled Casey impossibly closer, kissing like he needed it to live. He prodded Casey’s tongue with his own, licking into Casey’s mouth. It was very strange, and frankly quite gross, to actually think about what they were doing. So Donnie didn’t think about it, he just let the feeling of the moment take over.
He felt like melting, like turning his whole body into warm, sweet, sticky molasses. He never wanted to stop kissing Casey. Mouths pressed together, breathing in the same air, gasping for breath before diving back in; Donnie needed this. He needed this in ways he hadn’t even known he could need something—need someone.
Their kisses gradually became less intense. The desperation that fuelled them before had dissipated, allowing for something more gentle, but no less powerful, to take its place.
They kissed slowly, softly, with open mouths moving in sync. No longer licking into each other’s mouths, their tongues simply pressed together, retreating and returning with each kiss. Donnie’s grip in Casey’s hair had long since relaxed, now stroking through the tangled mess he’d made. Casey’s warm hands wandered up and down Donnie’s shell, tracing the lines and patterns created by fused bones.
The tension Donnie usually felt in his muscles had relaxed, leaving him feeling loose and languid. He was content, comfortable, present. Donnie was anchored in the moment, simply existing in it and experiencing it in ways he rarely allowed himself to. The pleasant warmth of Casey’s body matched the blossoming warmth in Donnie’s chest. It was nice.
Casey slowly pulled away from Donnie’s mouth, but he clearly had no intention of moving out of Donnie’s lap. The way that Casey looked at him made his heart flutter in his chest. Casey’s eyes were full of affection, his lips stretched in a soft little smile, still wet and shiny from their mixed saliva. Casey raised his hands to cradle Donnie’s jaw, warm fingers ghosting across cool skin. Donnie rested his hands on Casey’s hips.
“You’re so pretty,” Casey whispered. He said it so softly for words that held so much weight.
“You don’t-” Casey kissed him again, firmly enough to make a point, but softly enough to make Donnie’s heart clench.
“I mean it, Dee.” Casey spoke with such sincerity that any argument Donnie wanted to make had died in his throat.
“Casey…”
“Don, just- just let me speak for a minute, ok?”
“Ok,” Donnie whispered. His heart raced in his chest, but with Casey’s hands still holding his face, looking down at him with such deep emotion in those eyes, Donnie felt safe.
“I really like you. I wanted to tell you for a while but I… I wanted to be sure that it wouldn’t go all wrong. It was probably super stupid to think that making out with you was a good way to test that, and if you hate me again I’ll totally get it. But I just needed to know.”
“I never hated you,” Donnie blurted out. “I didn’t know how to feel about you at first, but I never hated you. Now that I know you, I know I never could.” He tightened his hold on Casey’s waist. The air between them was tense, thick with unspoken words.
“I could never hate you, Casey.”
Casey stared at Donnie in awe. His eyes were wide with disbelief, his lips parted just enough to see his teeth. For a brief moment, a look of relief flitted across Casey’s face. Then he bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes, preparing himself for something.
“Donnie, I like you, I want to be with you- more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I want to kiss you to kiss you, because I can. Because you’ll let me.” Casey stroked Donnie’s cheek with his thumb, treating the skin beneath like a precious, delicate, irreplaceable piece of art.
“Please let me,” Casey whispered.
It was Donnie’s turn to stare in awe. Casey had just confessed to Donnie, in such a gentle, intimate, un-Casey-like way. This was not how Donnie had thought this night would go. It was so much better than he could have even dreamed.
“Yeah,” Donnie said, so quietly he wasn’t even sure Casey could hear it. Casey heard it, with the way that his face lit up, he must have.
“Yeah?” Casey asked, a love struck grin splitting his face.
“Yeah,” Donnie repeated, grinning dumbly himself.
They kissed again, both smiling so hard it could barely be considered a kiss.