The Friday night was young when Donatello and his brothers returned from their patrol. It had been a quiet night, sos to speak. They had a run-in with some purple dragons, but it was quick fight; not a single scratch on any of the turtles. The same couldn't be said for the dragons...

Mikey had claimed the tv for video games the second they got home. Leonardo took a more constructive activity by training, and Raphael couldn't pass up the operunity to spar with their leader. This left Donnie alone, as it did most nights. He sat in his lab, trying to design some new spy-bots for the group, as his last cockroach idea had failed.

"Maybe if I use a fly?" Donnie scratched his head, trying to think of an idea. "Then again, they aren't exactly safe from anyone with a fly swatter."

It seemed like hours passed by when someone knocked on his door. Donnie jumped, not expecting the sudden noise. He rose from his seat and stretched briefly before going to answer. He was surprised to find April on the other side of the door.

"Hey April!" Donnie's heart began to pound and he felt a bit light headed. "What's up..."

The turtle's voice trailed off when he saw that April's blue eyes were red and puffy, like she had been crying. She looked paler than usual and she was shivering, with a very full backpack on her back.

"Hey Donnie. Can I come in for a while?"

"O-of course," Donnie gestured her to enter and shut the door behind them. He guided her to a small couch and TV area he had set up a while ago; a quiet place to zone into TV and relax when he was stuck on an idea. After making sure the red head was comfortable, Donnie took a seat next to her. They sat in silence for a few moments, tears forming in her eyes again. As Donatello went to place a hand on her shoulder, she leapt into his arms, clinging to him for dear life. The turtle was taken a back by the surprise hug, but quickly wrapped his arms around her slender frame as she sobbed quietly into his neck. "Shh... It's okay April. I'm here now," he rubbed her back slowly and rocked her a bit, trying to calm the love of his life down. They sat like that for a good five minutes before April's cries slowed. Donnie gently nuzzled her head, trying to coax her tears to fully stop. After another minute, April pulled away from him, avoiding his rusty eyes.

"I-I'm sorry Donnie. I didn't mean to just loose it like that."

"It's alright April," Donnie tried to make his voice as calming as possible. "You don't need to be sorry for venting to a friend."

April glanced up and flashed a small, sad smile at him. Donatello was aching on the inside. He didn't like seeing his brothers and friends this upset, but he especially hated seeing April like this. He wanted to take all her pain away, and see the fire light back up in her vivid blue eyes.

"Can you tell me what's got you so upset?"

The redhead frowned again and shifted. Donnie panicked a bit inside; had he touched a nerve?

"You're going to laugh at me for this..."

"I would never laugh at something that made you this upset," Donnie replied. He placed one of his large hands on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You can tell me anything April."

The girl sighed, shifting her eyes to the floor. "Well... It's just, at school today... I was getting ready to leave when this group of guys come out of no where and starts in with me. They were saying how my father is never coming home, and that he ran away so he didn't have to deal with me anymore. On and on it went, until finally one kid shoved me to the ground and stepped on my iPod," April reached into her backpack and pulled out a baggy full of the pieces. "They even took my trig book and threw it in the dumpster outside. As if I wasn't having a hard enough time with trig to begin with." April placed the broken iPod on the floor. "And to top it all off, when I got home that night, my aunt had been drinking. She's got some guys at our house now, and I'm sure they'll be there all weekend. I tried to talk to her about my father, but she wouldn't listen," tears started to spill over her eyelids again, "and I just wanted someone to talk to."

Donnie felt furious. Someone had hurt April, his April. He decided to bury his feelings for now, trying to focus on the heartbroken red head before him.

"April, I'm so sorry," his hand shifted to rub her back again. "I'm sure Sensei will let you stay here for the weekend, if you'd like. And I'm sure I can find you another trig book to replace the one lost; I must have at least a dozen on the topic alone," he offered an encouraging smile. "If you'd like, I can even take a crack at repairing your iPod. I can't replace the songs and apps, but I might be able to get it working again."

April's tears stopped and she gave another small grin. "Y-You'd do that for me Donnie?"

"Absolutely!" Donnie gave her a toothy grin. "But for now, if you still want to talk, then I am more than willing to listen."

April's smile got a bit bigger as she shivered. "It gets cold down here, doesn't it?"

Donatello shrugged. "It wasn't meant for heat. I guess all of us got used to it over the years. Would you like a blanket?"

April shook her head, a blush forming on her face. "Actually, Donnie... if it's okay with you... is there any way we can just... you know... cuddle for a bit?"

The brainiac felt his face get hot and his heart pound. He smiled at her and opened up his arms. She scooted over to him and gingerly crawled into his lap. Donnie nervously wrapped his arms around her, feeling for the first time how cold she really was. April let out a deep breath and allowed herself to lean back onto Donnie's plastron. She was a bit surprised at how warm he felt. She had hugged him so many times, but never really felt him, until that moment.

"Comfy?" Donnie asked with a grin. April nodded. They sat for a few minutes, just enjoying the comfort of each others company. It was April who broke the silence.

"I can't believe some guys can be so cruel."

"Me neither," Donnie shook his head. "They should never tease someone over something serious like this."

"I mean, don't they know what 'm going through?" April's voice had a touch of irritation to it. "I'd like to see them go for so long without their moms and dads..."

Donnie nodded as April snuggled a little closer. He felt his heart beat even faster; he was cuddling with April!

"So, what do you wanna do?" Donnie asked.

"Can we watch a movie? Just us in here?"

The purple-masked turtle nodded. "Which one were you thinking of? I've got Twister and Dante's Peak!"

Toy Story 2 it is... Donnie wasn't fond of the movie; it was scientifically impossible for toys to come to life magically. He knew the point was to be imaginative and fun, but he couldn't help feeling that most disney movies were a little... ditsy. However, it was what April wanted and he honestly didn't mind it too much. Especially if it made her happy. Somehow during the movie, the two had slid from the couch to the floor, April still being cradled by Donnie. They were about half way through the movie when the tickling scene came up. As soon as Jessie started tickling Woody, Donnie felt April jump a little in his lap.

"You okay?"

April smiled. "Yea. Why you ask?"

"You jumped a bit."

April blushed a little. "Yea... I get antsy at this scene."

A coy, inquisitive look came over the turtle's face. "Why?"

"W-well, it's just how Woody wants to stay, e-even though he's Andy's toy and sh-should really get back to him."

Donnie's grin got even bigger. Without warning, the ninja shifted his hand and poked April's side, earning a high pitched squeal.

"Donnie!"

"Ha!" the turtle grinned. "You're ticklish, aren't you?"

"T-ticklish? Me?" April stuttered, trying to think of a solid defense. She didn't think in time before Donnie attacked.

April's squealing laughter burst into the lab as Donatello's fingers squeezed and danced along her sides. He locked her in place with his legs and tickled her mercilessly.

"Coochie coochie coo!" he taunted as he shifted to her arms.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHADOOOOOONNNNNIIIIIEEEEEE! Q-Q-Q-QUITIT!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" April wriggled and tried to push his hands away.

How Donnie loved her laughs and trills. It made him feel better to see her smiling and laughing again. Movie now forgotten, the turtle switched to April's belly; aparently, he found her "sweet spot" as she laughed even harder.

"NONONONOTTHERE! EEEEEEEEAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" April screamed and twisted her body in his grip. Donnie's smile grew bigger enjoying the game they were playing. But his smile soon turned to laughter when he felt a certain someone's fingernails dig lightly into his exposed sides. He soon backed off his attack to try and guard from April's tickling fingers. She used her fingernails to ever so lightly scribble across his super ticklish sides.

"HEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" tears were running down Donnie's face as he launched another attack on her sides.

The tickle fight continued for ages, neither one of them really knowing how long it went on. The movie had long since ended by the time the two could no longer fight. They lay in a tangled mess, panting and giggling helplessly. It was a bit before April had composed herself enough to speak.

"I didn't know you were ticklish, Donnie," she grinned.

Donnie chuckled a bit and sat up. "Yea, all of us are; just don't let Raph know that you know."

April nodded and giggled. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Thanks for that."

"For what?"

"The tickle fight."

"Y-you liked it?"

"Yea," April giggled. "It was good to laugh. That, and it was fun."

Donnie smiled. It was good to see her so happy again. The redhead crawled into his lap again, only this time she faced him. Without warning, her hands cupped his face and pulled the turtle into a kiss. There were millions of thoughts that went through Donnie's head. "OMG SHE IS KISSING ME! APRIL O'NEIL IS FUCKING KISSING ME!" seemed to be the most dominate. Once the slight shock was over, Donnie began kissing back, opening his mouth a bit to catch her lips between his. April snuck her tongue out and tickled his lips a bit, begging for him to do the same. He complied, and held her close to him. He could feel his animalistic side coming through, though he kept it under control. He was sure they wouldn't go that far tonight. It was at least a good few minutes before thye broke for air. April and Donnie were both blushing deeply.

"I-I'm sorry Donnie," April frowned. "I didn't mean to just come onto you like that. I didn't mean to be so strong..."

"No, no! It's totally fine!" Donnie smiled. "To tell you the truth, I've been kinda hoping that you'd do that with me for a long time now."

April smiled and curled back into his lap, nuzzling into his chest. "I'm really tired... mind if I just nod off for a bit?"

Donnie grinned and gingerly kissed the top of her head, nuzzling a little as he did so. "Of course."

As Donnie watched April close her eyes, he sighed in content. Yes, her book needed replacing, iPod needed fixing, and some boys needed their asses kicked. Hell, he even needed to figure out some new spy tech to use. But for now, he wanted nothing more than to be holding April, is sweet princess. And soon even he nodded off to sleep, dreaming of a bright future for them both.