Prompt: Fight.
From her perch on the rafters April could see Leonardo's outline, green against black, the silhouette of his swords poking out over his shoulder and with his fist up in a sign to wait for his signal before moving in. Down in the warehouse below them a deal was being brokered between members of the Mafia and the Purple Dragons. With no word from Donnie and Mikey about the whereabouts of the arms cache they were searching for they had no choice but to wait and listen. Jump in too early or too late and they'd be whisked away to be sold at another time and they couldn't risk letting more Kraang tech fall into the wrong hands.
April's grip tightened on the beam she was balanced on, her muscles coiled and ready to spring into action when she saw one of the men gesture to another and they walked out with a small group to retrieve the merchandise. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her as she waited, the fingers of her hand on her cloth-covered thigh were shaking and sweaty. She clenched them into a fist and tried to control her breathing without making any sound that would give her emotions away. This was the first real mission she was allowed to go on since her transformation that wasn't only surveillance and she wanted to prove her worth.
Being a mutant turtle had its advantages: as a human she probably wouldn't have been allowed to come along on this mission since they were expecting combat, but she'd been progressing quickly after she'd accepted her new (if temporary) shape as well as discovering and taking full advantage of the perks that were the increased strength, speed and resistance that came along with her reptilian body. It also didn't hurt that she had poured every ounce of frustration at her situation with Raph and Donnie into training.
Leonardo lowered his hand abruptly when he caught sight of the heavy crate being brought in by the men in suits and they all sprung into action. April launched herself from the 28 foot high beam, something that would have meant at least a broken leg or two had she been human, catching one of the men carrying the crate on the back of his head on the way down, knocking him instantly unconscious and preparing to fight off the others with her drawn tessen. She fumbled the landing, still a bit awkward at times with her footwork even after the weeks of training but she used her momentum to roll into another enemy, catching him with her carapace and bending his knee in a bad angle and ignoring the sickening crunch.
With five turtles the fight ended quickly, even with their reinforcements waiting outside. There was no mutagen to be found this night, as usual, but the streets would be a little safer with less kraang weapons in the black market. With the rate they were going April didn't think she'd be turned back before Christmas or midterms meaning there would be no doubt she'd be set back a year of school. She sighed as she waited on the lookout while Donnie destroyed the tech and Raph and Mikey finished tying up the criminals.
Things were still not normal between them even after a bit of time had passed. She avoided Leonardo's questioning glance when she sighed again and made sure to not do it a third time and give away her current mood. She didn't feel like talking about it any more, they'd already said everything they were ever going to. At least she didn't have to worry about Casey's feelings too, he seemed to be cured of his crush on her after she changed. She should be thankful for small mercies.
April hadn't realised the depth of Donatello's feelings until some time after her argument with Raphael. She'd always known about the taller turtle's crush but it hadn't seemed to be more than just that. At first she'd been angry at Raph for dismissing her feelings so quickly, thinking that he was exaggerating, that Donnie would be fine after a while. He'd be upset but he was a big boy and would get over it. Only he hadn't. Raphael and April hadn't even gotten together and Donatello had been crushed to the point it was painful to watch him try and fail to be casual about the whole thing.
It was obvious he'd heard them that night. He'd smile at her whenever April started talking to him but it would tremble on his face after a while, and he'd excuse himself. He was more silent and withdrawn than usual which was partly April's fault. It was difficult to get over it when the object of your heartbreak was in front of you all the time and took part in almost all of the same daily activities. If she had anywhere else to go, she would, being in this situation wasn't easy for her either or Raph, even if he was talking more normally with Donatello these days.
She only half listened to Leonardo's instructions before they started on their way back to the lair. Split into two groups April followed Leonardo while the others took another route together to cover more ground in case they caught sight of any mutagen on the way back.
That was the way groups were split these days, she hadn't been paired off with Donnie in a mission since, even though Master Splinter did pair them during practice with varying degrees of disastrous results. He was too passive and evasive with her during sparring and she'd felt so angry she ended up lashing out at him during morning training in frustration. Maybe when she was a human he could afford to be distracted when they fought but with her new physique and a well placed foot to the middle of his plastron she had sent him tumbling across the dojo mats and right into Michelangelo who only managed to half get out the way before being ploughed over.
They were a couple blocks from her old home when she came to a sudden stop, Leonardo pausing before the next jump to check why she wasn't following any longer.
"I need to go do something. I'll go back on my own later." She said by way of explanation as she turned to go in the direction of her dad's apartment.
Leonardo blinked in confusion as she turned away from him dismissively before coming up to her, following in her path. "We've got time. I'll go with."
April sighed and held her hand out to him making him stop. "I want to be alone a while. Okay?" She met Leo's worried gaze and continued. "I'll be at my house, I'm not going to go running around on my own." She crossed her arms and stood up straight. She wouldn't budge on this. She felt as if she were suffocating back at the lair and she knew what her presence was doing to the others. A little time away from each other wouldn't be a bad thing. Besides, there wasn't really anything Leonardo could say at this point to convince her and she was ready to go regardless of his opinion on the matter.
Leonardo returned to the lair on his own.
Raphael looked up from the den when he heard the turnstiles. "What took you so long?" He demanded as his eyes scanned the leaf green turtle for any injuries. It wasn't like Leonardo to get home late without warning so there must have been a problem since they were on a more direct path home and should have arrived before Raph and his brothers. When he realised he hadn't heard a second sound of turnstiles he uncrossed his arms and stared into the tunnel, hoping to find April had just fallen behind.
Leonardo was getting fidgety.
"Where's April?" Donatello asked from the lab door.
Even Donnie had been worried about their delay, writing it off and making a million logical excuses why they could have taken longer to get back but as time went on his glances in the direction of the entrance were increasing in frequency along with him checking his phone for any news.
"She just... needed some space." Leonardo began to explain trying to sound as if it were nothing but the way he pressed his lips together and held himself tensely proved he didn't think this was a good idea. They probably argued about it for quite a while before he came back.
"You left her alone?!" Donatello's voice screeched in alarm.
"Well, what was I supposed to do? She isn't in any danger, she's at her old apartment but she made it clear she didn't want to be disturbed for a while."
"It's not you she doesn't want to see. You could have stayed." Donatello reasoned as he started crowding Leonardo back towards the turnstiles, getting ready to drag him back to April's.
"You mean after she slammed the door in my face? I'm pretty sure she doesn't want me there." Leonardo rubbed his face and groaned in exasperation.
"Maybe I could..." Mikey began to say but was quickly interrupted.
"No." Leonardo made a slashing movement with his hand. "She told me she needed a few hours to herself and she promised not to leave the building. She'll call me later when she's going to head back."
They accepted his call begrudgingly but instead of going off to do their own thing they all waited in the pit in varying states of unease. Leo had the TV volume only just loud enough to make out the words, Mikey was quietly eating pizza and he never did anything quietly and Raph was reading a comic book he hadn't turned a single page of the whole time he was there. Even Donnie was working on his laptop on the bench, his phone face-up by his thigh and sitting so he had a clear view of the entrance with a quick glance up from his screen.
They heard loud footsteps and the four of them tensed, Leonardo frowning as he checked to see if he'd missed any calls or messages on his phone. He hadn't. And it wasn't April. Casey's off-key singing drifted down the tunnel and they all turned back to what they were pretending to do.
Raph got up muttering something under his breath as the teen turned the corner and hopped over the turnstiles.
"Yo Raph!" He said too loudly as he raised his fist for a bump. He pulled down his headset to his neck and the riffs of a guitar solo could be heard.
"Isn't that a little too loud." Leonardo commented from the bench as the teen sauntered closer.
Casey's answer was a cackle as he stepped over the back of the bench to sit down beside the turtle. "Red not back yet?"
They all frowned and glanced over to Raph, sure he had leaked the information and the turtle shrugged. It was past midnight and she wasn't back yet, what was he supposed to do? Instead of showing worry Casey snorted. "Women..." He answered as he fished out his phone from his pocket scrolling down on the screen.
"Wait, you're not thinking about... April said..." Leo started but snapped his mouth shut when Casey put the phone to his ear.
"Hey, Red. What's up?"
There was silence for a moment before Casey started talking again, not caring that they were listening in on the conversation. Raphael sighed in relief when it seemed like she was okay, Casey had a cocky half-smile. "Yeah, Raph told me you went to your place, what's up with that?"
They talked for a while, Casey telling her about the stuff she'd missed at school, mostly about hockey games and how someone had left the mic on after an announcement and the whole school had heard Samantha Jenkins telling how "Rick asked her for a blow job behind the gym bleachers when they were making out but someone ran in and turned it off before she told any of the good stuff." Donnie wrinkled his snout in distaste at the story and shook his head but he seemed more relaxed.
"Yeah well," Casey continued while the turtles started to get into their activities realising April would be fine. "Maybe when you're human again we could go out sometime and watch a movie or something, grab a bite, make a date of it, you know."
Leonardo glanced between Raph and Donnie who had tensed up at the words and didn't fail to catch the brief look they shared.
"Fine. Yeah, I'll tell them." Casey replied. "Catch ya later, Red." He ended the call and stretched, picking up his stuff as he got ready to go.
"So?" Raph asked him when he began walking to the entrance without actually telling them anything and physically blocking Casey's path.
"Oh! Yeah, uh." He scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "She says she's gonna stay at her place for a few days."
"What?!" Raph, Leo and Donnie all answered at once.
"Woah, she reeeeally doesn't like it here anymore. Can't really blame her though." Mikey commented and Casey shrugged in resigned agreement.
"Yeah, welp, see ya." Casey started walking away again but Raph spun him around by a shoulder. "What do you want me to do?!" He whined at Raph. "She's at HER house. It's not like she's run off to join a circus and you can't just kidnap her back. Maybe it'll be good for you, ya know... distance or some shit. It's been really tense here lately, you guys used to be more fun. You know, before you all dumped each other or whatever it was that happened."
"That's not what happened, things just aren't the same any more..." Donatello started to say.
"I don't wanna know, Donnie. It doesn't matter. I thought you guys were closer than this. Jeez, it's not like she tried to murder your best friend or nothing. How do you think I feel?" He glared a little at Raph and he had the decency to avert his eyes sheepishly. "But you guys are still my friends and she's still my friend." He paused, expecting someone to say something but no one spoke. "Anyways, you have to fix this mess on your own, I'm not dealing with your shit."
After that, Casey walked out with a backwards wave and a "later dudes" and the turtles were left in silence.
"Casey's right. Wow, I never thought I'd say that." Leonardo spoke after a while. "This has been going on long enough. You two need to talk things out and fix this and then go talk to April. Come on, Mikey." He motioned Mikey to leave them be and the smaller turtle hesitated before standing up and walking behind his older brother.
Both turtles sat in silence as they stared at the floor. Raphael didn't want to do this. What else was there to say? How else could he say he was sorry? He didn't know how to fix this, he'd been the cause of it. Donatello closed his laptop firmly, drawing Raph's attention as he stood up, nodding towards the lab. His brothers wouldn't stay in the kitchen forever and they didn't really have much privacy where they were even if they did.
Once they were behind closed doors Raph decided to speak up. "Donnie, I'm sorry." He was so sick of repeating himself over and over but if it was what he needed to do after his fuck up then he would. "This is all my fault. If I could take it all back I would. I don't know what I was thinking, I never had a chance with her and I shouldn't have..."
"No." Donatello interrupted, cutting his speech short.
Raph gave his brother a confused and slightly annoyed look when Donnie didn't follow up with anything after that word. "No?"
"I was so angry at you." Donatello started and when he looked up at Raphael his irises seemed almost red and brimming with fury.
Raphael crossed his arms defensively expecting Donatello to start telling him exactly what he thought of Raph's behaviour but during the long pause he thought back to what Donatello had said. "You were angry?"
"This isn't your fault, Raph and it wasn't my place to interfere." When Raph started to complain he lifted his hand and stopped him so he could continue. "I was an idiot thinking that if I stopped what was going on between you two I could continue as if nothing happened. It was stupid to think that."
"You're not stupid." Raph said. "I hurt you."
"I hurt you and it was for nothing." Donatello continued. "There will always be someone else, a Casey or whoever it is that ends up with her and it won't hurt any less." His shoulders slumped. "It was never me."
Raphael shook his head though he wasn't sure what he was saying no to. Donatello stepped forward and placed his cold hands on Raph's stocky shoulders trying to get him to look into his eyes but he couldn't. This was all wrong.
"I know you still love her." Donnie continued grinning weakly at Raph's confusion. "You still look at her that way, it's so obvious. And what you did for me... I don't think I would have been able to do the same thing if I were in your place. Believe me, I know the odds of one of us having a chance like the one you threw away for me. Thank you for that, by the way." Donatello said with a soft nudge against his brother's shoulder.
Raph shrugged, keeping his eyes fixed down and to the side, brushed away a bit of wetness from the corner of his eye roughly with a fist and bit the inside of his cheek.
"I'm so sorry I hurt you with my selfishness." Donnie's voice broke startling Raph as his long limbs bent and curled around his shorter brother pulling him into a loose embrace. "I can't believe I made you choose between us, I'm such an idiot." He pulled away when Raph started to fidget.
"I never meant to hurt you, Donnie." Raph whispered, trying to cough away the knot in his throat that made his voice sound weird.
"I know." Donnie smiled sadly and then turned more serious, holding him at arm's length and squeezing his shoulders. "And now you have to get her back, Raph."
Raphael gawked at his words as if he was being completely insane. "How am I gonna bring her back if she wants to stay in her apartment to stay away from us?"
"No, Raph. You have to get her back." Donnie waited until understanding came over him. "By Darwin's beard, if you let her go only for her to end up with that jackass..." He motioned in the direction Casey had gone earlier.
"Hey! You call me a jackass every other day."
"Yes, but you're MY jackass." Donnie retorted as he crossed his arms, hesitating slightly when he realised how strange that had come out and Raph wasn't sure how if he was supposed to feel offended or not. "This is how it's going to be for me, Raph, and I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't suck but I'm just not the one. You being with her won't change that and if I just ruined your chance in a million to have something like this, I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself."
Donatello shook his head but then straightened and lowered his voice, giving Raphael a fierce glare. "And if you have a chance the rest of us only dream about and you just let it go without a fight, I'll never forgive you."
"She can't even look at me..." Raph complained while Donnie opened the lab door and began herding him toward the entrance, ignoring his other brothers that abruptly stood up and pretended they hadn't been eavesdropping with their ears glued to the door.
"You're kidding, right?" Mikey answered. "She can barely take her eyes off you, bro. Now go bring our sister-in-law back!"
"Sister-in-law? What? Are you crazy?!" Raphael sputtered as now he was faced with two brothers herding him out of the lair.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, don't listen to him, Raph." Leonardo interrupted as he joined Donnie and Mikey. "Just tell her what's in your heart. Be true to yourself and you'll reach her."
Raphael slapped his palm against his face. "Oh. My. God. That is the corniest thing... this isn't Space Heroes, Lame-o-nardo."
"Wait!" Michelangelo yelled and they all paused. "If Raph makes up with April and they kiss won't it be weird? It'll be like he's kissing me. I don't know how I feel about that."
Leo and Donnie twisted their faces into different expressions of disgust, shuddering.
"SHE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE MIKEY!" Raphael yelled, his left eyelid twitching in irritation as he stomped off into the tunnels.
"Pssssh, totally looks like me. Put me in dark leggings and sleeves and he wouldn't be able to tell the difference, we're both adorable." Michelangelo said once Raph was out of earshot and the chances of him getting beaten to a pulp were low.
Leonardo snorted behind his hand and Donnie shook his head as they went back to the pit and waited.
