April could kill her. She could actually kill her. Nothing else had ever managed – not Tiger Claw, not Kavaxas, not the mutagen, not even the Shredder himself – but right now, April had full faith that she would be able to. Her fingers were twitching towards the tessen folded beneath her pillow, and she had to cross her arms to avoid the temptation. As satisfying as it would be to wipe that stupid smirk off her face for good, it wouldn't be anywhere near worth the ensuing battle with Leo.
As it was, she settled for groaning in frustration and turning away, dragging the duvet over her head. Beside her, that goddamn chuckle filled the air. April could literally kill her.
Karai patted her on the back in a manner not at all comforting. "Awww c'mon, it's just a question! I'm curious."
"I don't care how curious you are," April hissed. "It's none of your business."
"Why?" She asked, giggling. April never thought she'd see the day that Karai would be staying at hers for the night, giggling at her.
It wasn't even worth answering. If Karai needed to ask why April's sex life was none of her business, there would be no reasoning with her. April's face was already pink enough; she definitely didn't need to hear anything else on the matter.
"Can you just drop it?" She mumbled into her pillow, feeling her face burn against the cool fabric.
Of course, it was a fruitless effort. Karai flopped back, tucking her arms behind her head. "All I asked was which one is better. Nothing to get so worked up over – unless it's really close, obviously. Or they're both bad. Are they both bad?"
"No, they're-" April cut herself off with a squeak, realising she was fuelling the flames. "Stop asking me about it!"
This time, she received outright laughter. She was beginning to regret her promise to make friends with the newly-reformed kunoichi. She almost didn't make the promise at all, but Karai had looked so awkward and – dare she believe it – ashamed when she returned to the lair with Shinigami, and April genuinely felt sorry for her. That feeling had dissipated once Karai had found her smirk again.
Somehow, the witch that had stolen her tantõ had become April's favourite of the duo. At least Shinigami had fallen asleep peacefully and wasn't trying to pry about her… private affairs. She had even offered to sleep on the floor instead of cramming into the bed. If she wasn't Karai's BFF, they could've got along quite well.
The laughter still hadn't stopped, and April groaned in annoyance. "Why are you so certain I've done anything with either of them?"
"Because I have eyes, and more than half a brain," Karai answered smugly. "Everyone can see it, we're just all a bit confused. I mean, in theory I get it; intelligence can be attractive, and Casey's got the whole rebel thing going on. But honestly, neither of them are amazing."
Admittedly, April probably should have thought things through before she replied, "You seem to find Leo pretty amazing, what's the deal with that?"
Immediately Karai's face darkened, and April knew she had hit the wrong nerve. "Don't."
"Why, sore spot?" She asked, flipping back around to face her. If she was already going off the cliff, there was no harm in taking a few more steps.
Karai was scowling now, something quivering dangerously in her neck. "Leo and I are complicated, okay. We've been through a lot and… and I don't know what it's left us with. I don't know. Neither of us do. And anyway, it's personal, and I'd kind of prefer to figure it out on my-" She cut herself off with her own realisation, murmuring, "-own. Oh."
"Yeah." She folded her arms over her chest, although it lacked the smugness it promised. "Complicated is a good word for it."
They settled into the mattress as the silence settled down in the air, weighing on them both far too heavily for them to fall asleep. Both girls lay on their back, hoping they weren't staring at the same bit of ceiling as the other. Eventually, Karai sighed, pushing herself upright.
"Look, I think I'll just sleep with Shini on the floor-"
"No, no," April interrupted, catching her by the shoulder. "You're a guest, stay here. I'll grab myself another sleeping bag."
She snorted. "I'm not kicking you out of your own bed, O'Neil." Slipping back under the covers, she sighed. "I… may have crossed a boundary before."
"May have."
"Okay fine, definitely did." Karai rolled onto her side and propped her head up on one hand. "It may come as a surprise, but I didn't exactly have a lot of friends in the Foot. Shini's all I've got, and she's used to my crap already. I'm… still figuring things out."
With a little smirk, April met her eyes. "I take it you're not great with apologies either?"
She chuckled. "That's the best you're getting."
A pause, and then a shrug. "I'll take it."
Another silence settled, but it was a little easier this time. April chewed on her lip for a moment before gazing to the ceiling and admitting, "Honestly, I don't know who I prefer. That's kind of the whole problem."
"You don't have to…" Karai said softly, uncertainly, but April shook her head.
"No, you're right, I need to sort it out." She draped her arms over her head, covering her eyes despite how dark it was anyway. "It's like you said, I've been through so much with both of them. I don't know what there is and I don't know what I want." She scoffed. "Maybe I'm just greedy."
"Greedy is fine." She felt the bed shift as Karai mimicked her position. "As long as nobody gets hurt, who cares?"
April sighed heavily. "But they are getting hurt. Both of them are tolerating the whole sharing thing we've got going on, but they wouldn't accept it as a real solution, I don't think. But I don't want to let either of them go."
"Well for now you don't have to, so don't panic," Karai advised. "Have you actually suggested the sharing thing? They might be more open than you think."
"Of course I haven't actually suggested it," she laughed, feeling the lump in her throat shrink again. "Donnie would have a fit."
The older kunoichi shrugged. "I think it's worth a shot."
"I'll bear that in mind," April muttered, genuinely meaning it.
She received no response, so assumed her companion had fallen asleep at last. April had just rolled over and begun to drift off herself when the silence was broken again.
"I need to talk to him."
She didn't need to ask who. Instead, the redhead twisted around to face the silhouette of her friend, who was still staring a hole through the ceiling.
Karai continued, clearly not expecting a response, "He's been patient, but he must be getting frustrated. I just… I really hate feelings. All that mushy stuff and commitment and… it's just not my thing."
"He knows that, though," April offered. "He won't be expecting some big, elaborate display of affection, or for you to pour your heart and soul out. All he'll want is to know where you guys stand."
She huffed. "I wish I knew."
"Well, it's pretty clear where he would like you guys to be." April was suddenly catapulted back a few years, to whacking a nervous turtle with a magazine as he announced his crush was in the Foot. How times had changed. "So really, all you need to figure out is what you want. Or at least, what you're comfortable with right now."
"Yeah, I guess…" Karai let out a groan. "What is wrong with us?"
"Honestly? I have no idea." April squeezed her shoulder. "But if it's wrong with both of us, how bad can it be?"
Karai laughed so loudly she startled Shinigami awake. "That is not remotely how it works."
"How what works…?" Shinigami murmured sleepily, massaging the back of her head.
April waved her off. "Nothing, we were just having a chat." She yawned, then added, "Maybe we should all go back to sleep."
The others agreed, and within minutes the room was still again. Once more, April was just on the verge of falling asleep, when something surprised her. Karai's fingers had twisted into her own, linking them together. She wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but she made no move to correct it. It was actually quite a nice way to fall asleep.
The whole Casey-April-Donnie situation has been on my mind recently, and this is my way of rationalising April's complete lack of a stance on it. And of course, a little Leorai ended up in here too, since that's all I can ever write. Very disappointed we didn't see either of those resolved in the show, but then I suppose that's what fanfiction is for.
Speaking of fanfiction (flawless transition there, go me), the TMNT Reader's Choice Awards are still open for voting until the 20th of May, sooo if you want to check that out the information is all in my profile ;) Okay okay, I'm sorry, I promise that's the last time! :')