Ch.11: Stockings

"Okay, just a little higher... now just a bit to the right, no your right...that's your left...Wait, stop!" April directed, "There! Perfect!" Michelangelo let out a happy yell as he stepped away from the tree, admiring their work. The newly placed star on the Christmas tree twinkled brightly from the top branch. April threw her arms around the orange clad turtle and grinned up at the fake pine.

"Looks great Mikey," April praised as the orange clad teen put an arm around the human girl's shoulders, unaware of the piercing brown gaze coming from the couch. Michelangelo returned the girl's grin, his bright blue eyes shining.

"That's the power of teamwork, dudette," the orange masked ninja beamed, holding a large green fist out toward her. The redhead bumped his fist with her own, and the two let out an imitation of an explosion as they splayed their fingers open. Laughing, the two didn't notice the cold stare coming from a certain purple clad ninja turtle. He sulked as he continued to watch the bonding pair, no longer focusing on the tv in front of him.

"Please do everyone a favor and wipe that look off of your face, Donnie," an approaching voice tsked behind him, "Jealousy really doesn't suit you." Donatello turned his neck to look at his older blue clad brother. His face set into a scowl.

"I'm not jealous, Leo," Donatello scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. He stole another glance at his younger brother and the human girl before quickly giving his attention back to the turtle leader. Leonardo raised a brow at his brother before taking a seat.

"Right. Whatever helps you sleep at night," Leonardo shrugged, his lips still formed into a teasing smile. Grabbing the remote from the unfocused purple masked turtle, Leonardo changed the channel, letting out a small gleeful yelp as Space Heroes popped up on the fuzzy screen. Nothing seemed to matter to Donatello at the moment, his mind was too engrossed with the cheerful pair who had pulled out many different colored, fuzzy sock-like items from a large bag that April had brought with her.

"Alright Mikey," he heard the girl of his dreams say, "Let's get to work on these stockings!" Michelangelo grinned excitedly as the two made their way into the kitchen, their arms full of art and craft supplies. Donatello followed them with his eyes until they were out of sight, then his mind set to work on different plans and strategies on how to interrupt them.

"Here's an idea Donnie," Leonardo said helpfully. He didn't turn around, but he knew his brother well enough to know when he was over thinking. "Why don't you just ask if you could join them?" Donatello looked at his brother for a total of two seconds before turning away again, shaking his head. There was no way such a simple plan like that would ever work. Unless... Donatello suddenly stood up, causing the blue clad turtle seated on the floor to look up at him in surprise.

"I got it!" the intellectual turtle exclaimed triumphantly, "I'll walk over there and ask if I can join them. They won't be alone together anymore therefore minimizing the chances of any romantic situations that may occur between them!"

"That's what I just-!" Leonardo sighed, "You know what? Forget it, just... do whatever you want." Donatello shrugged and made his way out of the living room, heading toward the kitchen. When he arrived inside, April and Michelangelo were seated at the table, diligently working on the stockings. Their workspace was a mess, pieces of different colored felts littered the table's surface and there were stains of what the purple clad turtle assumed was fabric paint everywhere, including on the artists themselves. They looked up simultaneously as Donatello awkwardly cleared his throat, giving them a small wave and a nervous, gap-toothed smile.

"Hey guys," he greeted as casually as he could, "What are you doing?" Michelangelo grinned up at him happily, but Donatello internally winced when he noticed that April cast her gaze slightly downward, not quiet meeting his.

"We're decorating stockings to hang up in the living room!" the hyper orange masked ninja explained brightly, "April says it's a really important thing to do for Christmas, so we're making sure to decorate them super awesomely!"

"Oh, well, that sounds like fun," Donatello smiled, recovering quickly, "Do need any help?" Michelangelo was about to respond to his brother when April beat him to it.

"We're fine, thanks," the redhead said quickly, still not looking directly at the purple clad turtle, "Besides, we don't wanna keep you from your inventions or anything. But thanks for offering." Donatello felt a quick, painful stab in his chest as his expression dropped, his shoulders drooping sadly.

"Oh...a-are you sure? I mean I'm not working on anything right now, so it's perfectly fine if-"

"It's okay Donnie," April interrupted, "We're fine. You can go ahead and work on whatever it is you need to work on." As she finally looked up at him, Donatello had to fight to keep himself from collapsing to his knees. Her bright blue eyes seemed so...cold. Her irises held a mixture of distance and confusion, as if she didn't want to be near him. The pain in his chest returned much worse than before.

"Oh...," he let out quietly, giving the pair a weak smile, "Okay, um, yeah. I'll just...go train for awhile. I'll be in the dojo then,... if you need me..." He exited the room silently, heading toward the dojo with his head hung low so that neither of them could see his face. He passed Leonardo in the living room and navigated his way to the room where all the turtle brothers practiced their techniques. Raphael was already there, and Donatello could hear the creak of the chain as the punching bag swayed from the force of the red clad turtle's powerful hits. He halted mid-punch and looked up as his sullen brother entered the room.

"Hey there, Professor," the temperamental teen snorted as he lowered his fist, "What's got you in such a mood?" Donatello didn't respond to his brother, he only looked at the ragged punching bag, tapping it with his fist softly. Then his eyes hardened, and with a cry of mixed anguish and frustration, he began pounding away mercilessly at the bag. Raphael took a step back, emerald eyes wide with surprise as he watched his younger brother vent out all the emotional turmoil within him.

"Why?" Donatello panted between punches, "Why is she acting this way? What did I do wrong?!" Raphael grew alarmed as the force of the purple clad turtle's punches grew even stronger. He was sure that his younger brother was hurting himself, but the angsty teen showed no signs of stopping his assault. Quickly maneuvering behind him, Raphael gripped his brother's arms, preventing him from throwing anymore swings at the punching bag.

"Donnie! Stop!" Raphael yelled at the struggling turtle, "Calm down!" Finally breaking, the scientist crumpled onto the floor, dragging his brother with him. The purple clad ninja let out a noise that seemed like a cross between a sigh and a hiccup, nothing but sadness on his face. Raphael simply sat with his brother on the dojo's floor, waiting for him to speak.

"We were getting along so well," Donatello began pathetically, drawing his knees into himself and folding his arms over them, "We've cuddled, and held hands. We were learning about each other, opening up. We've kissed three times! Not counting the hand and cheek kisses. I thought...I thought that maybe, she was finally starting to like me. The way I like her." Donatello's eyes hardened as he continued speaking.

"But then, just recently, she started avoiding me. At first I thought it was just bad timing, you know, coincidences. Then I realized that she was doing it on purpose. She moves away when I try to get close to her, she doesn't look me in the eyes, she...she can't even stand to be in the same room as me, Raph," Donatello let out an empty, hollow laugh, "Why is she doing this to me? What did I do wrong?" Raphael was silent for awhile, letting his brother's desperate questions sink in. He let out a sigh.

"You really picked the worst possible guy to confide in Donnie," Raphael chuckled dryly, "You know I'm terrible with all this emotional stuff. I can't tell you what you want to know. The only person who can do that is April, and unless you've invented a machine that can read her mind, then you'll have to man up and ask her yourself." Raphael gave the purple masked teen an awkward, encouraging pat on the shoulder before getting up and leaving his brother in solitary silence in the dojo. Donatello let out a sigh as he let his head drop onto his arms.

He was losing the girl he loved, and somehow, he couldn't help but blame the stupid stockings.