100 Theme Challenge
7. Heaven

Donatello never made it to his room the previous night and wound up staying in his lab. Seated in his rolling desk chair with his head cradled on his arms wasn't the most comfortable position to sleep in and he woke with a mild headache.

Standing and stretching, he decided that he was tired of worrying about Raph's promised talk. Don was just cranky enough to hope that his hot headed sibling would go off on him, then he could not only find out what Raph's problem was, but could relieve some of his own stress by snapping back.

Walking down the steps from the lab, Don was half expecting to see Mikey lurking somewhere nearby. Lately his youngest brother seemed to be everywhere at once, and in everyone's business too. Don had the feeling he had discovered the key to getting Mikey to pay attention; just give him a little drama and he could focus like a laser.

No one else was about and with a frown, Don glanced at the clock hanging near the kitchen. It was early, much earlier than his brothers normally rose, except for Leo. His oldest brother liked to have some practice time to himself before Raph got up and started challenging him.

Just as he had that thought, he heard voices coming from the dojo and recognized one of them as April's. A pleasant warmth rose to his cheeks as he automatically turned in that direction. Maybe she wanted a little extra practice too and had joined Leo, in which case she wouldn't mind if Don helped her out either.

That idea sounded like a little piece of heaven and Don walked faster, not wanting to waste even a second of the time he could spend with the redhead who'd captured his heart. As he neared the door, he heard her speak again, but the tone of her voice sounded off.

With a frown, Don slowed and rather than barging into the dojo, he approached the door carefully. As he neared it, another voice reached his hearing and Don recognized it as belonging to Casey Jones.

Don's fists curled automatically, his heart thumping in his chest. There was no way Casey was here this early to see Raph, he knew the turtle couldn't go out in the daytime. Casey also knew by now that the only ones likely to be up and around were Master Splinter, Leo, Don, or April.

Since Casey must have come to see April, Don figured he was justified in listening to their conversation. Maybe eavesdropping wasn't the most honorable thing in the world, but all's fair in love and war and Don was a ninja. Besides, the whole eavesdropping thing seemed to work for Michelangelo.

"Look kid, you're all right, but I ain't gonna spar with ya'," Casey said, looking down at the girl who stood directly in front of him. "I didn't come here for that and I don't wanna hurt ya'."

"What makes you think you can hurt me?" April snapped, looking furious. "Just because you're bigger than me doesn't mean you're a better fighter."

Casey chuckled. "Yeah, I'll remember that next time I have to shake a mutant off your butt."

"Maybe next time I'll be the one saving you," April said heatedly. "Or hadn't you thought of that?"

"Yeah, sure kid," Casey said, still not taking her seriously. "Master Splinter decided to teach you how to defend yourself and that's great, but you're too young to be out there battling mutants. Ya' need to leave that to the more experienced guys."

"Guys?" April shrilled, the indignation in her voice echoing through the dojo. "You're a chauvinist Casey Jones. And stop calling me kid, you aren't that much older than me and we're in the same grade."

That last part seemed to sting Casey because the grin on his face disappeared. "Just because I ain't as far along in school as you are little Miss Privilege, don't mean that I'm dumb. I got enough smarts to know that the streets ain't a place for cocky little girls."

"Don is a better fighter than you are and he trusts me when we go topside," April said. "I think you're just scared I might show you up."

Their voices had gotten louder and Don heard the door to Master Splinter's room slide open. Darting towards the kitchen, Don was out of sight by the time his father and Leonardo stepped out of Master Splinter's room, both headed towards the dojo.

Leaning against the wall, Don's mouth spread into a wide smile and he hugged himself. One thing he knew about April was that she did not like being treated like a kid and Casey was doing exactly that. There was no way she would like him after this fight.

The section of heaven that Don thought had slipped away at the sound of Casey's voice came back and for the first time in a long while, Don was happy.