Valeria was dimly aware of Donatello shifting beside her. She turned to see that he had nodded off. She was sure that he hadn't meant to, but he had looked so exhausted earlier that she couldn't bear to wake him. Besides, he was so cute when he was asleep. Don had folded the blanket that she had used last night and placed it over the back of the sofa. Valeria grabbed it with one hand and spread it over her friend.
Valeria continued working on the laptop, and the sleeping turtle kept inching closer and closer to her. Eventually, he was pressed into her side, with his head resting on her shoulder. She didn't have the heart to move away, but she also couldn't effectively work on the computer with only one free arm. Instead of attempting to continue, she leaned back and put an arm around Don's shoulder. He nuzzled against her and made an unbearably sweet noise.
Valeria would have thought that cuddling with the turtle would have been difficult, but It turned out to be easy. Her arm fit snugly on top of his shoulders, tucked against the inner lip of his shell. He had turned towards her slightly so that the hard edge of his carapace wasn't jabbing her side. She knew he hadn't done it on purpose, as he was clearly out like a light. It must have been some sort of instinct.
With Don being as big as he was right now, a part of his belly had ended up sitting on her hip. Before long, whichever kid was there seemed to notice Valeria's presence. She began receiving firm kicks to her side. They were hard enough that Don grunted in his sleep, although he didn't wake up at all. She was surprised that he could sleep through something like that, but from the look of him, and what she had observed earlier, he probably wasn't able to all that often.
Valeria brushed her fingers across Don's rounded side. "Hey, let your daddy sleep. I think he really needs it," she whispered.
Valeria was kicked right in the fingers, as if in response. "Hey! I told you to stop," she giggled.
The kicks just kept on coming. "Are you trying to get me to leave?" she asked quietly. "Because I was just sitting here minding my own business. It was you who invaded my turf."
The baby must not have liked that, because Valeria caught her hardest kick yet. Don whimpered a little. He moved a hand as though reaching for the sore spot that was undoubtedly forming, but it fell back down in exhaustion prior to reaching its destination.
Valeria was worried about waking Don, but at this point, she was even more worried about the baby waking him. She rubbed a gentle circle on the spot that was being abused. "Come on, stop," she urged. "I'm no threat to you guys."
At that, the kicking finally calmed down a little. "So you were just protecting your daddy, is that it?" Valeria wondered. Don was softly snoring on her shoulder now, but she didn't mind. "How could I ever hurt him? He's so charming."
Valeria considered Don's unconscious form. She hadn't meant to say that. It had just come out. It was true, though. She did find him charming, and sweet. He was so smart and good-natured too. Now that she thought about it, he'd been through a ton of crap in the few short months that she had known him, but he'd always kept up such a strong front and managed to stay upbeat. Most people would have chewed someone's head off by now if they had to deal with even a small fraction of the stuff that Donatello had to. But, he was always so kind, calm and generous.
"You've got a really good daddy, you know. I hope that you do protect him." Don sighed in contentment and slumped further against Valeria as if sensing her warm thoughts about him. "He deserves people to look after him."
When Donatello awoke, the first thing that he noticed was that he was snuggled up with something warm. It felt so nice that he just wanted to go back to sleep, but he had no idea where he was or what was happening. He moved a little and was greeted by the unfamiliar feeling of curly hair brushing against his face. He was mortified when he suddenly realized what must have happened. He lifted his head to see that he had pinned Valeria up against the side of the couch.
"Oh… Oh my goodness, Valeria. I am so, so sorry." Don tried to slide away, but the blanket and his oppressively heavy body slowed his movement.
Valeria still had an arm across his shoulders and kept him from escaping. "Don't apologize. I was happy to see you getting some rest."
Donatello kept stammering. "I think… I think that I was just attracted, um, I mean drawn to your body heat. I am part reptile after all. I mean… I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything."
"I know. You were clearly asleep. You have nothing to apologize for."
"It's just that I've had kind of a hard time regulating my body temperature lately," Don over-explained. "Anyway, you've known me long enough to know that I wouldn't have invaded your personal space on purpose, right?"
"I do know that, Don," Valeria soothed. "You just put your head on my shoulder. It wasn't that big of a deal."
"Okay, I just… I'm sorry." Don shifted around so that he wasn't pressing up against his companion as much.
"That's quite a weight that you're carrying," Valeria commented as she stretched her leg out. "And, I only got a small taste of it."
"Sorry if I was crushing you. I didn't mean to," Don said quietly.
"I told you to stop apologizing. I would have rolled you off of me if I needed to," Valeria insisted. "Besides, it was nice to get a little bonding time with this one." Valeria gave the spot that she had been talking to a gentle pat. Normally, she would've felt odd about touching Don so intimately, but she figured that it was okay, since it was him that had encroached on her personal space, to begin with. She also hoped that it would put him at ease a little.
"Bonding time?" Don repeated, sounding utterly exhausted now that he wasn't quite so frantic.
"She was giving me a bit of a rough time at first, but we talked it out. I think that she was just trying to protect her dad."
"Oh," Don said quietly. He was acutely aware that Valeria was tracing gentle circles over a fresh sore spot on his battered and mercilessly stretched out plastron. It felt so nice, so right somehow. He wanted so badly to take her hand into his own. It felt like it would have been the easiest, most natural thing in the world. He thought that he detected something in her gaze as she stubbornly maintained eye contact with him, undoubtedly awaiting some sort of reply.
Don dropped his own gaze to the floor. Until just now, he hadn't realized how much he wanted a partner in all this; a real partner, not just a friend like April - someone to soothe his aches and pains and to chat with him and keep him company while he was stuck in bed. It had been so nice to cook together and share a meal, to doze off so effortlessly and to wake up in the comfort of someone's arms.
It seemed like an entirely selfish desire. Still, Don was pretty sure that he was generous by most people's standards. All his life, he had put others first, rarely taking his own needs into account. Even though he desperately wanted to be taken care of now, he'd be happy to return the favor later on. He knew that he could be a good protector, and he certainly had the skills to be a good provider as well. He was sure that he was a good listener; everyone always told him so. He enjoyed making other people happy, and if he could ever find someone who saw him in a romantic light, he would work his hardest to be a good partner to them.
But despite how Valeria had treated him to a nice night, and despite how nice it had felt to be near her, despite the look in her eyes as her fingers continued to gently caress him, he was pretty sure that Valeria didn't see him as anything other than a highly unusual friend. How could she?
Donatello wanted to stay there on the sofa with her. He wanted to so badly, but he knew it wasn't right. He was certain that she only wanted friendship with him. He knew that it wasn't possible for her or anyone else to ever develop a romantic attraction towards him. Heck, his own brothers didn't even love him, so how could anyone else?
Given the strong feelings he had for her, he decided it would be best to step away before his heart could be irreparably damaged. He was only teasing himself with these fantasies of romance and partnership. And, once the babies were born, they would have to become the center of his world. He'd be busy raising three kids on his own and wouldn't have any time to devote to anyone or anything else.
"Seems that I can't keep my eyes open." Donatello yawned. "Guess I'd better turn in. Do you need anything before I go?"
Valeria looked at him, an unreadable expression on her face. "No."
Don failed in his first attempt to get up, but he succeeded in his second. He smiled at his friend as he handed her the blanket. "You know the drill. Just make yourself at home."
Don waddled off to bed, then laid awake for a while. He hugged his wrap-around body pillow close and reminded himself of who and what he was, and why he could never have what he wanted.