A muffled sob made Splinter pause. The noise in question had come from the Lair's kitchen.

Quiet as a mouse despite being a rat, the mutant peered in through the curtain.

April was sitting on a chair, hugging her legs as she convulsed with sorrow. Leonardo was pouring boiling water from the beat up old kettle into two chipped mugs, his face calm. He dropped a spoon into each cup, pressing the teabags down before walking over to sit beside the girl.

He dragged his chair close to her own.

"Don't burn yourself," the leader murmured, carefully handing her the mug that was oozing scents of chamomile, lavender and honey. Raphael's favorite, it was the blend Splinter made for his sons whenever they were upset and in need of comfort.

Leonardo was sipping konacha. Despite the fact that it was a relatively low quality tea, Splinter's eldest had decided that it was his favorite at the age of two.

It was a tea that Leonardo drank to ease his mind in times of great anxiety.


April's bangs were sticking to her forehead as her skin grew clammy from the steam of her drink. "I'm so stupid." Her gut was churning, and she took a sip from her cup, scalding the tip of her tongue. The gentle flavor and warmth bled through her.

"No, you're not," Leo sighed, brushing his shoulder against her own. Out of all the turtles, he disliked physical contact the most, which made the fact that he was touching her all the more...touching.

April sniffled loudly. "I know it's just the prom and that I've never cared about it before, but..." she looked down, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I want to go with my boyfriend! I want to be normal, just this once!"

She stared at the reflection of her freckly, flushed face in her tea for a moment before looking over at Leo. She was startled by the way his eyes glistened, how he had shrunk away from her in shame.

"I'm sorry...that I'm not normal," he whispered, and his words were like a guillotine to April's heart. "You deserve someone better than me."

"No." Her voice shook. "That's not what I meant."

April began to cry again, for both of them this time.

Leo pressed his nose against her cheek. "I know, I know."


Breathing out softly, Splinter stepped away from the kitchen entryway when they began to kiss.

His heart had sunk to his clawed feet. Those poor children. Because they were children, kissing or not.

April had lost everything, and Leonardo hadn't had much to begin with.

Perhaps he could find a way to let them have prom together. Just one special night where they could pretend to be ordinary teenagers. It was the least he could do, for his children.

Because they were his children.


"I still can't believe our luck!" April whispered, grinning ear to ear. "I thought for sure they had settled on a plain old ballroom theme!"

Leonardo wore a similar expression. "I'm just happy I got to come here with you."

They sampled mediocre snacks, danced a bit and mingled (Leo got a lot of compliments on his 'costume').

At one point, April happened to hear some of her teachers chatting about the prom theme.

"-yeah, he must have really charmed her. Going from ballroom to costume party is a pretty big shift."

"Did he happen to say his name?"

"No, he just said he was Miss O'Neil's uncle."

Eyes glittering with emotion, April turned to look at Leo. Judging by the way his expression had shifted, he had heard too.

"Let's hug sensei when we get home," April murmured, grabbing her date's hand.

"We should make him tea, too - he loves tea." Leo looked up, then down, then at her. "Konacha is his favorite."


A/N: There are so few fics for LeoxApril...but I love them so much!