A/N I do not own TMNT, but I am forever grateful for their existence!

April's Masterpiece

April stretched her arms over her head feeling her lower back shift making a satisfying crack. It was a typical late Sunday afternoon. She would study for several hours at her desk while Raphael lounged on her bed reading. Usually comics or motorcycle magazines, but on occasion he would pull out one of the poetry collections he had begun storing in her bedroom not long after they passed their first anniversary. If anyone ever asked, she would swear they were hers. Truthfully, the only time she learned of the books' contents was on the rare occasion: when late at night and on the verge of sleep, Raphael would quietly read her his favourite verses leading her into dreamland. Those moments were few and far between, but they made her fall in love with the turtle all over again every time his words washed over her.

Currently, her boyfriend was sound asleep, plastron-side down, on her white and navy comforter. The turtles had had a late night run in with the Purple Dragons, and although Raphael had boasted earlier that he was fine, April knew he had been feeling the lack of sleep. She could not help but smile now at his serene face as he gently snored, carapace rising and falling with each breath.

Nonetheless, he had promised to take her for a ride on his bike once she finished her work. Pressed against his shell, holding on for dear life, the experience was both terrifying and exhilarating. Combined with the untamed and unfiltered visceral waves of happiness that flew off his body every time he rode, April would never miss such a precious opportunity. So, creeping softly over to the dozing reptile, the red-head stroked his shoulder while whispering, "Hey love, wakey wakey."

Raphael cracked open one emerald eye before closing it and grumbling, "Go 'way."

Kneeling on the floor, resting her head on her arms on the linen, April frowned, "But Raph, you promised."

When he refused to respond, feigning sleep, she opted to change her gentle stroking into persistent prodding, "Raph, wake-up!"

He darkly mumbled something that sounded much like a curse, before swiftly withdrawing his extremities into his shell, leaving April gaping with her eyebrows raised. She stood folding her arms to display her lack of amusement, "Raphael! Get out of there!"

For the first time, he gave her a somewhat wakeful-sounding response, "Make me."

April groaned, "You cannot be serious."

She heard him snickering as he gave his muffled reply, "You heard me. You get me out and we'll go."

In frustration, not even thinking to ponder the logistics of such a move, she crawled onto the bed and attempted to roll his shell with her arms. After about five seconds, she was reminded by both the massive shell's refusal to move and his chuckles that her boyfriend was over four hundred pounds.

Now that April was in her last year of undergrad, she was almost twenty-five. Raphael was a year younger, but he and his brothers had continued to grow steadily into their early twenties. The last year had seen a substantial decline in this trend; however, her boyfriend had still grown much before that time. Despite his stocky stature as a teen, Raphael was now the largest of the four turtles. None of the mutants were abnormally tall, but when one's boyfriend was around six feet of toned muscle and hard shell, the pounds added up quickly. Although Raphael did not tower over his girlfriend's five feet and six inches, comparatively he was still massive, and both he and April knew she had no hope in hell of moving him if he did not want to be moved.

She lay forlornly across his carapace moaning, "Come onnnnnn! Just get up!"

Her eyes narrowed at his sniggering, "No can do April. Rules are rules."

"Not if you just made them up!"

April could feel his shell shake in barely restrained laughter and rolled her eyes. She then pulled herself off the bed to look out her window to devise an alternative strategy. Gazing at the trees across the street, her blue eyes sparkled as an idea came to her. Rushing over to her desk, the red-head began to search its drawers. She grinned when he teased, "What? Give up already?"

"You wish." Her smile broadened as she claimed her prize, "I'm just getting warmed up."

"April, if you couldn't move me when you were eighteen, there's no way you're going to do it now."

Returning to her place on the bed at the foot of his shell, April merely responded by lovingly running a hand down the center of his carapace, "Maybe, but I'll give you one last chance to do it for me."

A snort was his response, "Like I'm going to fall for that empty threat."

She unsheathed her weapon of choice, "Fine. Can't say I didn't warn you."

There was a brief moment of silence while April concentrated on her work, the tip of her tongue escaping her mouth as she leant over his shell. She summoned every ounce of calm she could when he spoke with the tiniest hint of worry in his voice, "Wait. Warn me of what?"

She smirked as she finished, "Oh nothing," hiding the evidence of her crime between her thighs.

April had to bite on her fist to keep her cool when she saw his head abruptly poke out, followed quickly by his limbs. After quickly checking over what he could see – easily missing her masterpiece – Raphael turned glowering, "What did you do?"

Ensuring her legs remained firmly clamped together, the red-head grinned fiendishly, "I won."

For a moment he was flustered while realizing his mistake, "Yeah, but…" before his green eyes narrowed searching her closely, "You're hiding something."

Placing a hand innocently on her chest while keeping the other tightly shut by her side, she batted her eyelashes, "Who me?"

Standing on his knees, he leaned towards her, "O'Neil…" He quirked an eye ridge, then shot his hand out to grab her closed fist, "Open up."

Keeping her fingers tight, April easily put on an air of mock indignation, "What? There's nothing there."

"I know you better than that April."

He then deftly pulled her delicate fingers apart and frowned at the lack of anything in her palm. After a second, April stole back her hand to fold her arms, "Don't be a sore loser Raph."

Still pleasantly confused, he growled, "I'm not!"

April had no qualms about taking advantage of his moment of vulnerability, "Then stop being so difficult and do what you promised!"

Raphael gave her a dubious look. She whined, "Pleeeeaaaassssseeee?" and flashed her best Bambi eyes at him tipping the scales.

He rolled his eyes and pulled himself off the bed, "Fine." He strode to the doorway, "You coming?"

She nodded, "Of course!"

As he turned, she deposited the red sharpie on the floor and quickly kicked it under the bed. She could not help, but beam at his shell. There, surrounded by a big red heart was written "R+A."

April was so dead when Raphael found out.