#the only reason it took so long for mikey to forgive casey was literally only because of the tots

[turrondeluxe]

for your tlr au, does mikey ever forgive casey marie?

He does! But it takes a lot of time and it only happens after the kids are grown up and warming up to Casey Marie as the years go by.

Seeing the kids having a familiar relationship with Casey Marie helps Mikey to also warm up to her again! He did miss Casey Marie a lot even after all those years and he's happy to have her around in his life again, that's her niece after all!

[fabuloustrash05]

Courting A Salamandrian

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Word Count: 2711

Warning: Some minor language and swearing

Author’s Notes: Just a heads up to avoid any confusion, this chapter is in Raph’s POV. It’s something I wanted to try and might do again in future chapters. Another thing I have to mention is that I really struggled with this chapter mainly because I added so much and it wasn’t fitting in and making me happy. So I decided to save some things for a later chapter! Now I’m happy with the final product! Hope you enjoy! :3

~~~~~

Chapter 2: Lost In His Thoughts

My eyes widened and my heart began to beat fast, “W-what?” I quickly sat up, gently removing Mona from my arms. 

“Are you and I married?” she said, repeating the question as she sat up.

I didn’t know what to say, so I just asked her, “Why do you ask that?”

“You said that a marriage on your planet is a relationship that has trust, care, and respect for one another. We have that in our romance. You also said that when two people truly love each other, they are married. And I love you dearly, Raphael, and you love me. You even said I was your mate, your ‘perfect mate’ to be exact, so we must be married. Aren't we?” She gives me a cute little smile, making my face heat up.

“I love you too, Mona,” I said still shaking from the question, “but um..” I scratch the back of my head, unsure of what to say, “Mona, you and I are...” I looked at Mona, seeing a mix of joy a curiosity in her eyes. Will my answer upset her? I don't want to do that, but I don’t want to lie to her. I take a deep breath and I said, “No... we’re not married.” 

Mona tilts her head in confusion, “We’re not?”

“Yeah...we’re not…”

“Oh.. I see...” Mona’s look of confusion turned to a slight look of disappointment and uncertainty. 

“Mona, I love you. I really do,” I said quickly as I sat in front of her, “I don’t want you to think that I don’t care about you.”

“Don't care about me?” She laughs “I know you do.” She gently places her soft hand on my cheek. “I already know you love me. I was only curious about the marriage tradition on your planet. That’s all.”

“...Mona Lisa, I’m-”

Mona gently places her finger on my lips, hushing me, “I understand, Raphael.” Mona says as she gets up from the ground. She grabs my hand she lifts me onto my feet. “I apologize for my assumptions.”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s just...”

Mona lifts my chin up and looks at me with a smile, “I don’t want you to worry about this topic,” She kisses me on the forehead and smiles, but I don't react. I’m still confused about what just happened. How is she so calm? 

“I love you, Raphael. We don’t need marriage to prove that, but I wish to ask you this.”

“W-what?”

“What are we?”

“What are we?” I repeated.

“In our relationship? If were not married than what are we?”

“Mona…” Unsure what to say, so without thinking, I quickly answered, “We’re dating. It’s just you and me.” 

She was quiet for a moment as she stared at me with her beautiful eyes, but soon she smiles.

“Then, that's perfect for me,” she says softly as she gives me smile, “I should be heading home. It’s far past curfew.” She begins folding the blanket we had while lying on the roof. “I promised the Mutanimals that I would help them with their training tomorrow morning. Would you care to walk me home, my love?” 

I noticed that she was offering me her hand, for which I give her credit -- finally learning that on Earth it doesn’t mean you want to challenge someone to a fight. But I don't take it. Mona’s question was all I could think about. She’s right for asking. If we are not married, then what are we? Boyfriend and girlfriend, right? That’s basically what I told her. We’re a couple, we’ve been one for a while now. But not anything more. 

“...Raphael?”

I come back to reality, “Oh, ugh, yeah. Sure.” I take her hand and we begin to leave the building’s roof.

Marriage. How have I never thought of marriage until now? I’ve been with Mona for so long, and yet the idea never came to me. I mean, Mikey and Casey have brought it up as a joke once or twice before - but I just always ignored them. How have I never even talked about the future with her? I’ve been so caught up in the moment with her, living in the present. But now, why can’t I stop thinking about our future? Will our relationship stay this way forever? Will anything change? Our lives with each other have been the same and were happy, but now it feels different. Like, something is missing...

“Raphael, are you alright? You’re awfully quiet.”

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't realized we had already made it to the Mutanimals place, “S-sorry, I was just... thinking.”

“Are you ill?” she says as she gently places the back of her hand on my forehead.

I take her hand and hold it in mine, giving her a smile, “No, I’m not ill. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not fine. You’re still thinking about what I asked.” 

She’s good at that. She knows me well enough to see when I’m not myself. I nodded.

At that moment she grabbed my other hand and held both of them in hers.

“Raphael,” she said in a firm voice, “I don’t want you to worry about anything. I hate to be the reason for your grief. Like you said, ‘We’re already a part of each other's lives’. We don’t need marriage. Our lives are fine the way they are now. I’m already in your life.” Mona again lifts my chin and gently kisses me. 

“Goodnight, Raphael,” she whispers in a soft, loving tone.

I smile, “Goodnight, Mona Lisa.”

As I watch Mona enter the abandoned building the Mutanimals call home, she turns to me one more time, giving me a smile and waving goodbye. Once I know she is safely inside, I head home myself.

It was almost 2 o'clock in the morning when I returned home. I know Leo is gonna nag me if he finds out I missed curfew. I entered the lair quietly so as to not wake my brothers. 

In the lair, I found my little brother, Mikey, asleep on the couch. As is his custom, he was surrounded by empty pizza boxes, and half eaten slices of pizza were still on the floor. The TV was on. He was probably watching a Krognard the Barbarian marathon, but fell asleep from gorging himself. Typical Mikey. Next to him, also asleep, was Ice Cream Kitty, and my precious Chompy. I smile at them, and grab a blanket for the shivering Mikey. I cover him up, turn off the TV, and begin quietly cleaning up a little of the mess he left behind. I took the pizza boxes and threw the empty ones out. I put the ones that weren’t opened in the fridge, along with putting Ice Cream Kitty back in the freezer so she won't melt. 

I gently picked up Chompy, trying not to wake him, and held him in my arms. 

“You're getting heavy,” I quietly said to him. He was getting big, almost the size of a full grown dog. Pretty soon, I’m not gonna be able to pick him up any more. 

I carry Chompy to my room and close the door behind me. I set him on the foot of my bed where he can rest. As I sit on my bed next to Chompy, I begin to relive what happened between Mona and I that night.

Especially when she said, “I’m already a part of your life, we don’t need marriage.”

I mean she’s right! She IS a part of my life. She’s always been there for me from the moment we met. I remember the moment I realized I had feelings for her. Love hit me hard, literally. That punch strangely awakened my feelings for her and those feelings turned into a crush and that crush lead to me falling in love with her. I don’t even know why a woman like her fell for someone like me, but she did. She called me “noble” and fought by my side so we could get off that ice planet. I earned her trust, and then her affection. She kissed me, God it was amazing! And at that moment I finally understood what my brothers were talking about when they would gush about their crushes. I had finally found someone who I can give my heart to, but then too soon, she had to leave.

Our long distance relationship was like hell - being in constant wonder if I’ll ever see her again, worrying that she’ll find someone else and forget about me, and I’ll forget about her. When Mona and I reunited in Dimension X, I knew our relationship had hope. I then asked her out for the first time, and she said, “Yes”!  After that, we found a way to stay in touch by sending each other messages. Even when we had long distances between us, I knew she was out there -- sending me her support and love, no matter what planet we were on. She would message me telling me about her recent battles she had fought in. I would update her on our progress in our mission to stop the Triceratons. And all that while flirting from time to time. I would write her love letters, something I thought I would never do. Everything was great, until he found out about our relationship.

I never thought one of my enemies would use my feelings for someone against me, but Lord Dregg achieved that. When he learned about my relationship with Mona, he blackmailed her to work for him, to lure my brothers and I into a trap, to betray my trust in her. For the first time in my life, I experienced heartbreak. I couldn’t fight. I was broken. I was full of anger and sadness. I was mad at Mona, but also hurt. Even with all my anger and frustration from her betrayal, deep down I still cared for her. I know now that she had her reasons, and I understand why she did it. She had to make a choice, her entire planet full of innocent people or me. I knew she regretted every second of what happened. It hurt her as much as it hurt me. Now, she never wants to talk about it. I can respect that. 

At the end of it all, she apologized to me and, like usual, my anger took over and controlled me, not letting me forgive her, leading her to make a big sacrifice. She said she loved me for the first time. I realized something that day. She was the key to my strength. I used to just fight for the fun of it. I finally had a true reason to fight. Her love made me stronger than I ever was before.

I blame myself for what happened to her next. Mona Lisa nearly gave her life to save my brothers and I from Dregg’s planet when we tried to escape. I couldn’t protect her. I remember when I held her in my arms when she was unconscious from being stung by one of Dregg’s monsters. I was so scared that I was gonna lose her and for a moment I thought I did. That whole experience we shared was something we never wanted to repeat.

Again, we dealt with long distances once my brothers and I returned to Earth, but this time, maintaining our relationship was more difficult. I had no way to contact her. We were back to where we started. I hated it. Keeping my pain and feelings to myself, I waited for the day she and I could reunite. I didn’t want to open up about how much I missed her to anyone, except maybe Chompy. I never stopped thinking about her. Any time I saw the stars in the night sky, I thought of her. More girls entered my life, but they were nothing compared to a woman like Mona Lisa. I loved her and I stayed loyal to her, even if a part of me doubted that I’d never see her again. But my hope was strong, and soon she returned. And this time, I didn’t want to let her go.

When we finally reunited again, I remember suggesting to Mona that she stay on Earth with me. The choice was difficult for her, yet she agreed. After that day, our relationship grew. We wanted to be with each other all-of-the-time to make up for those times when we weren’t together. I remember when we finally went on our first earthly date. I took her out on a tour around New York City, showing her the sights, and my favorite places to go. I showed her how things work around my planet. She loved it, saying that she’s never seen or experienced a planet quite like mine. After that, I took her to other places, Murakami’s restaurant, April’s old farm house. She even dragged me into space at one point so she could go visit Sal Commander. There I learned more about her culture, and she even taught me how to speak some Salamandrian. I mean, I’m still not good at it, but it's nice to understand Mona a little bit more when she speaks in her planet’s native language.

She started bonding with my friends and family. Leo, that dork, got her into Spaceheroes, and now they watch it together all the time. Mona has gotten close with the Mighty Mutanimals as well. She, Slash, and Leatherhead all became really good friends and are a very impressive team in combat. She and Rockwell always have these intellectual conversations that I never understand. Then, there’s Mondo Gecko who won't stop flirting with her! I always have to give him a “friendly reminder” that she’s already taken. I’m mostly grateful that Mona gets along great with the other girls. My sister, Karai, really likes and respects Mona as a fighter, and Mona feels the same. Meanwhile, there's April who absolutely loves spending time with Mona. Actually not just that, they’ve bonded so much that they told me that they are best friends. So much so, that April convinced Mona that she and I should go on a double date with April and Donnie! 

I can’t believe we’ve done so much. We have done everything together -- from the sparring sessions (with her proving every time why I love her so much when she beats my ass), watching movies together, talking on the phone for hours, going out on patrol to find bad guys to beat or just using that as an excuse to go and make out in private, hehe… 

Anyway, I always enjoy her company. When she isn’t around, I think about her beautiful smile and how happy she makes me feel. Her existence in my life gives me the strength to keep on fighting.

“Are we married?”

Her question repeats in my head. Marriage does require trust, care, and respect. She’s right, we do have that. I do love Mona and I know she loves me. I can always see it in her eyes, her beautiful eyes…but this isn’t just about our love for each other. I remember Splinter once told me that his marriage with his wife was not only about their love. It's about being there for the other one -  to take care of them. Two lives becoming one. Sharing the same goals and dreams. That's what a husband and wife do for each other. 

Am I ready to always be there for Mona? To care for her? To share my life with her? 

“I’m already in your life…”  I hear her whisper in my mind.

She’s in my life but she’s not a part of my entire life…

It's not enough. I realize that now. I don't just want her in my life, I want her to be my life. I want to be there for her, to care for her, protect her, and share my life with her. I am ready to make that commitment. I’m ready to do all of that for her because I love her!

For the first time in my life I’m finally planning ahead, seeing our future. I know what I want now in our relationship, and it's a change I’m ready to make.

Happy and confident in my decision, I lied down in my bed. With a smile on my face, I peacefully fall asleep.

~~~~~

[TAGS]

@waferreyes (for making the beautiful cover) 

@terra-mations (for giving me some helpful writing tips and being the beta reader for this chapter)

@starfiretheninja @kiaratheleo @petrichormeraki @monarel @cesarin @ryebread-02 

(if you would like to be on the tag list to be updated on the newest chapters, message me and let me know!)

Thank you again everyone who showed their support from the first chapter! You’re love and support for this fanfic makes me so happy and encourages me to keep working on this story! Now its time to get chapter 3 done! ;)