Title: "Lost Without You"
Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: PG
Summary: They're lost without him; he's lost without her.
Warnings: Drabble
Word Count: 300
Date Written: 27 May, 2012
Challenge: For a TMNT-Tuesdays LJ comm's weekly challenge
Disclaimer: Splinter, all other characters mentioned within, and The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are ﾩ & TM their rightful owners, none of whom are the author. Everything else is ﾩ & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
He always comes at least twice a week when they're home, sometimes even more frequently depending on how harsh life is treating him. April knows that, at heart, he's happy, but raising four teenage sons by oneself is more than almost any man can bare and more than most parents would tolerate. She's met many people in her journeys with the Turtles, but the one by whom she remains the most impressed is their Sensei by far.
She considers herself lucky to know the old, private rat so well and to share in his secret delights of which even his sons know nothing. She's come to somehow be able to sense when he's coming, and she'll have the room set and waiting for his arrival. She rakes her fingers through the water now, testing the warmth, and smiles as she hears the doorbell ring.
She rushes to answer it. They exchange a few words, each smiling shyly, and then quietly, she tells him, "It's ready."
His relief is obvious upon his furry face. His tail swishes beneath the old robes that she'll clean for him, without ever being asked, while he soaks. "Thank you, my dear girl," he rumbles, his voice almost a purr, and she beams.
"You're welcome. You'll find some cheese and tea waiting as well."
"I'd be lost without you, April."
She waits obediently outside the door as he strips, then sneaks in, never looking, and grabs his discarded robes. She hears his pleased, almost rapturous sigh, as he slides into the bubble bath and can't help thinking how lucky they all are to have him. He thanks her, but she knows that he gives not only the Turtles but all of them much more than they can ever repay and they'd forever be lost without him.
The End