Raphael lays on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, twirling his toothpick with his tongue. Arms folded behind his head, he reflects about April and on how he can approach the situation. Loud upbeat techno-club music plays in the background, bobbing his head at the beat, mouthing the lyrics. He always feels better after listening to some songs, especially if it's buoyant and—silly. His head rocks sideways as the song crescendos, quickly glancing at the door to ensure it's locked. Good. He gets up to stand on the mattress as the climax of the song arrives. He bounces on the bed, now with scattered sheets tangling at his feet, singing the lyrics, loudly.
"It tastes so good, ya drink it fast." He shakes his shoulders to the side, leaning his head back. "I'll guarantee it'll make you start to shake that glass!" He continues while the music booms, not hearing the door being knocked. The song then dies down, in which he finally hears his brother yelling out his name outside the room. Raphael stops dancing, rolling his eyes as he remains standing on the bed. He grunts, mumbling, "Damn, wished I had a mojito right now." He glares at the door after turning off the stereo.
Leonardo is frustrated with his brother's stubbornness as he tries to coax him out after they arrived from patrolling moments ago.
"Raphael, open the door. We need to talk, now."
He leans his ear against the steel door, hearing nothing from the other side. Leonardo sighs, stepping back while rubbing his face with his hand frustratingly.
"If you don't open the door now, I'll bring Master Splinter in. and he'll have to—"
Immediately the doorknob turns, door slightly opening. He steps in, only to find his brother sitting on the bed, facing down, and hands intertwined with each other on his lap.
"Care to explain to me about your recent uncontrollable outburst?"
Leo brings in a chair from the corner of the room, placing it in front of Raphael to sit down, arms crossing over his chest. He waits patiently, carefully studying his demeanor. After moments of waiting, Raphael finally looks at him, although avoiding eyes.
"April…she…" He trails off, trying his hardest to express his worries to the leader in blue.
"April? What about her?" Raphael swiftly gets up from the bed, walking over to stand on the other side of the bedroom by the door. Leo follows his brother to where he stands.
"She's…she's done with me." Leonardo could barely hear his low mumble, but he hears well enough to understand what he said.
"Done with you? What do you mean by 'done with you'?" Raphael growls.
"It's over, okay!" Leonardo frowns, confusion masking his face. He darts his eyes across the floor, until coming to the realization. He widens his eyes, staring at Raphael who looks back with guilt.
"Raph…you're—"
"Yeah, but now it's over." He stares down at the floor, trying so hard to not lose his composure.
"I-I don't…I don't understand. Wait, let me get this straight." He steps closer to his younger brother, not believing to what he just revealed. "You and April…are together?" Raphael finally gets the courage to look at him in the eyes.
"Yeah, we were."
"When the hell did this happen?" Raphael sighs, not wanting to reveal their relationship without talking to April first, but he was found out and he has no other choice.
"…After da whole thing with Shredder…"
"What! That was months ago!" The awkward silence rises amongst them as Raphael makes his way to the messy mattress. The leader doesn't believe it. Their hogosha is in a relationship with him—a mutant turtle.
Leonardo sits by him on the bed, hands resting on his knees, feeling awkward. "So, why…why the breakup?" He feels weird asking, but he needs answers. He also doesn't want to be left out; he is the leader after all.
"She met someone else…on that trip…a human, I guess." He turns to him, scrunching his face with bewilderment. That didn't sound like April.
"She said that?" Raphael scowls at him.
"She didn't have to." Leonardo places a reassuring hand on Raph's shoulder.
"Raphael, did she say those exact words?"
He sits there, thinking.
"…No…she didn't, but she didn't deny it." Leonardo rolls his eyes, knowing he hasn't given April a proper chance to explain. He always jumps to conclusions with an irrational state of mind.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding." Again, Raphael ponders, remembering the way she placed her hand on her stomach. He's seen a lot of television shows to acknowledge what that means. "You need to talk to her, before it's too late…or I will." The younger sibling glances at him, and is surprised.
"Y-ya approve of this?" He's shocked, never believing Leonardo approving his relationship with a human girl.
"I didn't say that, but I don't want to see something like this end because of something stupid—like you." He smirks, before nudging his face roughly.
—-
Can you come back home
She stares at the last text message he sent her, frustrated with herself while laying on her bed. It's been two days since they last spoke to one another. She runs a hand over her face, I should've told him the truth, sighing loudly as she scratches her head, leaving her hair all ruffled out.
She rests on the bed, eyes drooping shut, I'll have to talk to him about this another time. She listens to the tickling clock on the nightstand, pulling the covers up to her chin. After a few minutes, the window slides up, making her open her eyes, automatically thinking he's come back to apologize. She's still quite mad though, so she ignores him by pretending to already be sleeping. The heavy steps creek on the wooden floorboards, window shutting quietly. She hears the steps coming near, eyes keeping shut. The breath of his warms her forehead, as she fights the temptation to look at him.
He leans close, observing her gentle breathing and the way long locks framing her face. Without thinking, she flings out her arms, draping over his shoulders, placing her face against his throat. She sighs, glad he isn't mad anymore. Overlooking his stiff muscles, she tightens her embrace after he hugs her back. She sits up only to place a soft kiss over the side of his mouth.
He freezes, feeling her fingertips soothing calloused skin, lifting a hand to brush his fingertips through her long messy hair which he always fascinated about. He's lost in her scent, sensing her trailing hand reaching his belt.
He quickly pulls back, making April stumble back onto her elbows. She looks at him, only catching the shadow of his broad form. His chest rises heavily, trembling hand reaching out to turn a lamp on. She gasps, placing a hand over her mouth as she finds the eldest brother standing in front of her.
"L-Leo?! What-what are you doing here?" She brings the white sheet up to her chest as she's only wearing a thin tank top and pajama shorts. He bashfully averts away.
"I am terribly sorry April, but I just came to talk to you." He looks back at her. "I honestly didn't mean to—" He's still flustered at the moment of their…intimacy, as he puts it.
"Leo, it's okay. I know you didn't mean it." He lets out a sigh of relief; although still feeling his cheeks rather warm. After composing himself, April tries to get him to tell her why he visited her late that night. "What did you want to talk about?" She lowers the sheet and sits crossed-legged.
"It's about Raphael." She stiffens. "I know you guys are…together." April looks away, wanting to avoid his strong gaze. "Look, it's none of my business, per say, but I have to know that…that you aren't—" She cuts him off, knowing what he's about to say before meeting his gaze.
"Leo…I love him." He frowns, taken back at her response, but realizes she meant it. He could always tell when someone is telling the truth.
"That's all I needed to know." He smiles at her once she relaxes. "You know, he thinks you guys are over, right?" She frowns, turning her head.
"What's the reason, April?" She tightens her hold on the pillow placed in front of her.
"I-I can't really, umm." He shakes his head and cuts her off.
"Look, like I said before, it's none of my business, but you have to tell him. Whatever it is. Whether it's something big, or something small. I don't want something like this to end because of a ridiculous misunderstanding." He smiles before looking at the window, then back at her. "You should lock the window." She nods, meeting his eyes.
Walking over, he gently places his large hands on her small shoulders, locking gaze. She can't look away from him, continuing to stare into deep blue, unaware his right hand cupping her cheek to stroke soft skin with his thumb. He leans closer, but halts only millimeters apart, calloused skin barely grazes smooth flesh. He soon pulls back, letting her go and stepping away, warmth removing from her skin.
"I better get going," he whispers. She nods, turning to see him walk towards the unlocked window. As he reaches, he holds back. "Good night, April, and…welcome home, I—we missed you." He opens the window, and steps out, leaving after shutting it closed. She rests a hand over her beating heart, eyes darting across the floor. He knows. She feels confused, but takes to consideration about what Leonardo has said. She knows she will have to tell Raphael the truth sooner or later. She lies back on the mattress, thinking it through. She certainly doesn't want this relationship to end because of something so stupid.
Leo's right.
She feels tired and closes her eyes to ponder about everything, trying to go to sleep.
Silence is welcomed once more, snuggling her pillow, relaxing from a tiring day.
April's swiftly lifts her head, remembering, and getting up from the bed quickly, flipping over the white covers. Placing her feet on the cold wooden floor of her apartment she runs to the door, walking pass the living room and heads toward the kitchen. She stops in front of the sterling silver refrigerator; opening the freezer door as the cooling air soothes her face. She frowns, slamming the door shut. Turning around and placing her back against the fridge, she slides down to the floor until reaching the cold dusty floor. She sighs into her hands.
There's no ice cream.
—-
Outside, the leader stands against the brick wall of April's apartment, within the shadows, head leaning against the cool wall, staring at the limited stars in the dark midnight sky, smiling.