"We need to talk." Casey told Raph as he forcefully held Raph's bedroom door open with his foot.

"Talk about what? There's nothing to talk about." He considered shoving Casey back and slamming his door but that would lead him to believe there WAS something to talk about and he didn't want that.

He hadn't exactly been avoiding Casey. Only he had. He had still talked to him on the phone when he called or answered his texts when Casey wrote him but he'd been a little less eloquent than usual. Coming from Raph that was one word answers and grunts.

Raphael had been struggling, with their last conversation still ringing in his ears. When one of his brothers had told him he was acting like he just got dumped by his girlfriend it made him pause. The ache in his chest was more than just a friend saying something out of line but he didn't want to think about that. He wasn't ready to face what that meant and how it could change his friendship.

"I was a jerk! I didn't mean what I said."

Raphael stepped back and let Casey in his room when he saw Leo's head turn from the couch and look over to them at Casey's exclamation.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Raphael lied.

Casey steamrolled on, not buying his act for one second. "Look I just said it because it's what you ALWAYS say, but I don't really think like that. You know that, don't you?"

Raphael turned to face him and opened his mouth to be an ass but shut it when he saw how sad and defeated Casey looked. He didn't know what to say. Just let go already and we can go back to being friends. I can live with that as long as it's beside you, you idiot.

"Yeah, whatever." He finally answered and plopped down on his bed picking up a muscle mag to hide his face behind. Relief and disappointment warred within him.

"No, man, you're not listening!" He plucked the magazine from Raph's hands and tossed it over his shoulder not paying attention to Raph's angry 'HEY!'

"What I mean is..." Casey looked around wildly trying to find the right words to say. "Damnit, Raph I'm not good at this shit!" He raked his fingers through his hair and tried again. Raph wasn't even looking at him. "You're important to me, you jerk. You're not just any freakin' turtle mutant." He huffed. At least he got Raph's attention now even though he had a 'what the fuck?' expression all over his face. "You're MY freakin' turtle mutant."

Raphael stared at him. "The fuck are you saying?"

"I mean..." He raised his hands to appease the angry turtle in front of him. "I just wanna... you know... hang out."

"We are hanging out right now."

"That's not... GAH!" Fed up with the conversation, neither of them were good with words anyway, Casey pushed Raph back until his carapace tapped the headboard and kissed him. Well, it was more of a mashing of faces. He might have bruised his lip and his nose hurt where it had connected with Raph's snout. He stepped back and watched Raph's face go from angry, to confused, to bewildered in the course of a few seconds.

He was just staring at him and it was unnerving Casey. "I like you, okay? Fuck, Raph, do I have to spell it out for you?" Unable to stand the awkward silence any longer he grabbed the door and left without looking back. If he had he would have seen a smiling and slightly dazed Raphael sitting on his bed, touching his lips with the tips of his fingers.