I have returned! With a new, better job, and more time to write! I hope you all enjoy this chapter :3
What Lies Beneath
"What do you mean 'she kissed you'?!" Leo's voice cracks in surprise, unable to hide his disbelief. "I mean, uh, it's just… I didn't realize…"
Raph merely gapes at Donnie in silent shock.
Mikey giddily bounces while clapping his hands, "OH MY GOSH, YOU TWO KISSED? Are you dating now? Is it official!?"
Donatello grumbles under his breath at the subsequent reactions to what happened the day before. He just couldn't keep it contained! He had to tell someone!
Normally he'd talk to Timothy, the broken head of Metalhead, or Master Splinter𑁋but he doesn't have any of them here… plus, he feels like he hasn't really talked to his brothers in ages, so he's taking the chance for conversation while their friends are gone.
April and Casey went out on a grocery run for some cleaning products. They need to deep clean the house after the whole Bigfoot fiasco, undoubtedly. The supplies they bought to clean the bathroom that one time aren't enough to clean the entire house.
He's still finding her fur on the couch cushions, and the ancient vacuum April's grandpa owned doesn't have the strength to suck it all up. Not to mention the house still reeks of ape!
Donnie shakes his head to refocus, choosing to breathe through his mouth to try and get his mind off the suddenly overwhelming smell of the room.
"No. We are not dating. We're…" He presses his palms together and breathes deeply, the thought of her small kiss to the corner of his mouth makes his stomach do somersaults. "We're still friends, just… Now I know how frustrating it is to pretend you're comfortable when you're not."
"You mean you seriously never got the hint whenever we said anything about it? I was pretty blunt, too, man," Raph asks harshly. "You were a fuckin' creep."
Donnie's butterflies of love turn to shame in an instant. "Yeah, I got that, Raph," Donatello grinds out. "Listen, whenever you guys or Master Splinter said to stop doing something, I stopped doing it! Even if she never liked me back, I thought it was harmless to like her! She MUST have known about it, and I'd tried talking to her about it directly, but she always avoided the conversation. I never realized it was because of how forward I was in pursuing her," He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "In retrospect, it sounds stupid, I know. But she listened to me talk this time, and she didn't outright reject me! In fact, she kissed me! I still can't believe it happened. It's like she said all she needed to say with hardly a word."
Mikey slides over to him, swinging a supportive arm around his shell and pulling him close, "Sounds like youuuuuu've got a chance, bro! So, what's the plan?"
"There's no plans anymore, Mikey. From now on, I'm April's best friend, and unless she ever says otherwise, that's it," He answers, his voice only slightly steady at the thought of needing to better contain his emotions towards his sweet chinchi– April.
"That sounds like a good plan, D," Mikey pats his shoulder comfortingly.
"You made the right decision, Donnie," Leo says understandingly. "Let her come to you at her own pace."
Raph crosses his arms and huffs, "I hope you realize respecting her boundaries is the bare minimum," His face softens. "But, I'll admit, it does sound like you have a chance, shockingly."
"Raph-" Leo hisses.
"I'm not one to hold back, Leo, you know that."
"It's fine, Leo. He has a point. It was Raph who made me realize how stupid I'd been acting all this time. I was almost as bad as Bigfoot, and April has been putting up with it for far longer than I could even handle!" Donnie flops onto the couch with a groan. "I was so close to snapping, and I regretted ever helping her. Am I terrible?" He sighs, exasperated, tapping his fingers against his plastron. "April's way too good for me. I'm lucky she even considers me a friend."
"Now don't go getting all weepy, Don. You heard April yourself, and you heard what we had to say. It sounds like you've got a chance," Raphael slowly walks towards Donnie and gets close to his face, forcing the genius to flinch into his shell. "So don't fuck it up."
Donatello gulps as Raphael backs away. "Got it– understood. I swear never to make April feel weird again!"
"I'm holding you to that."
"Weeeelll," Leonardo awkwardly nudges Mikey's shoulder and motions his head out the door. "Glad we had this talk. Good luck with April, Donnie, I'm gonna take a walk with Mikey."
"Now hold on a minute!" Donatello jumps up from the couch and points an accusing finger at Leo's retreating shell. "I've had my scolding, now I get to scold you!"
"Raph, distract him!" Mikey laughs as he gently pushes a chuckling Leo out the door.
"Can do!" He snickers as he wraps his arms around Donnie, lifting him up off the floor effortlessly.
"Wha- RAPH! Why are you enabling him?! He walked up STAIRS without supervision! He could've gotten seriously hurt!" Donnie kicks his legs and wiggles his arms, pointlessly trying to break out of Raph's grip. "People have died falling down the stairs! And he's recovering from brain damage! So help me, Raph–!"
"EASY, easy, Donnie! Don't get your shell in such a twist!" Raph let's go of Donnie's flailing form, backing away a few quick steps with his hands up. "I'm sure he's learned his lesson; did you see how exhausted he was? I wasn't planning on telling you this, but he even asked me to carry him to the pond so he could swim for a bit."
"Wait, he actually asked you to? You didn't offer first?" Donnie stares at his brother in wide-eyed awe.
"Yup, and he's able to walk 5 laps around the house now. He's getting a lot stronger."
"Five laps already? How long was BigFoot here?!"
"Like, two and a half days or somethin', but who cares? What I'm saying is– give him a chance to find his own limit. He's as stubborn as I am, and you know that. He likes to learn his own lessons."
Donnie scoffs and shoots Raph a glare. "And YOU know that the more he pushes himself, the less likely his knee will heal properly, if it even heals at all! I'm trying to think about how this will affect him in the future, Raph. You know how he is!"
"Yeah, we've talked about it. And we're trying to be careful, but we also don't heal at the same rate as humans. You might be working with him too slowly!"
"I feel like you forget who handles all the serious injuries around here, Raph. I know what's best for him, and I don't want him to hate me later for not being able to fix him!"
He doesn't realize he's shouting until the front door opens, freezing him in place. The echo of his shrieking voice dies, covered by the sound of crinkly paper bags. A giddy April waltzes in, grocery bags in her arms. Casey follows close behind with an armful of brooms, dusters, dustpans, and mops.
Raph does his best to hide his shock at Donnie's outburst. Not only is he surprised that Donnie raised his voice at him, but that only now does he realize how personally Donnie has been handling Leo's health.
"Hey, April," Donatello quickly feigns a calm appearance, giving his friend a small wave. He pauses at Casey's expectant look. "Hello, Jones."
"Hello… Hamato," Casey hesitantly replies.
Raphael can't help but snort, because what sort of interaction was that? April rolls her eyes at the awkward greeting between the two guys that love her her two best friends, unable to hide the sudden drop in her mood. "We have the supplies; can you bring in Leo from his walk while we set up? I thought it'd be good to give him something helpful to do."
"Sure, that sounds like a great idea, April," Donnie quickly agrees and goes to fetch Leo, uncaring if Raph followed him or not.
April looks shocked at first, expecting him to send Raphael out there so he could stay near her, or call her some sort of pet name. She smiles, appreciating his first sign of giving her some space. She walks into the kitchen and begins to unpack their groceries, humming happily to herself once again.
"Why are you in such a happy mood?" Casey asks her quietly as he clatters the tools onto the table. "Cleaning isn't that fun, Red."
She giggles, "I just feel like I've gotten so much off my chest, you know! It was really stressing me out. I've never been good at… relationship talk. No one's ever liked me before you two! Heck, I was actually bullied for a long time when I first entered public school," She shivers. "Middle school was awful."
"Yeah, I remember you saying that. Remember that one time we were talking about whether or not we had our first kisses yet?" Casey snickers.
She huffs a laugh, "And you were shocked that I hadn't had one?"
"'You're way too pretty to be single'," Casey quotes himself in a high-pitched voice, making fun of his own pick-up line. "Ugh, I was so cheesy."
"Was?" April teases, earning her a raspberry from her friend.
They quiet down from their casual chit-chat when the back door opens, Donnie, Mikey, and Leo entering the kitchen single file. As everyone is assigned a cleaning role and prepares their items, Casey thinks back to his and April's conversation on the way to the store.
If he was honest with himself, it made him feel on edge, learning that she'd sorta kissed Donatello, as a way of saying he had a chance. Donatello has a chance. Casey knows she's just trying to be honest with him, since their relationship isn't in the least bit romantic despite his obvious feelings, but it still bothers him.
The strangest part of their conversation had to have been when she was trying to explain herself to him, describing what was going on in her head and how she was feeling. But she kept getting quiet and nervous, fiddling with her nails and sleeves as she said only a few words at a time.
The usually outspoken girl gets so quiet when it comes to relationships. It probably doesn't help that the one girl she'd been talking to all this time had been a Kraang.
While willing himself to understand and fighting an overwhelming surge of jealousy, she touched his shoulder– like she knew what he was feeling right then. The touch itself even seemed to come with a spur of feelings, feelings he didn't quite recognize himself. It just left him confused, forcing him to slowly ungrasp the steering wheel.
It was freaky, and he's not sure if he should say anything about it to the guys. It didn't feel like a bad thing, but he was definitely confused as all Hell after experiencing an emotion he didn't quite understand. It reminded him of how unnerving but exciting it was for him when he switched bodies with April last fall.
He wishes she could explain it to him, but something tells him she doesn't quite understand the feeling either. Something I'll have to figure out myself, I guess.
They all stare down the dimly lit staircase, wary of the unnerving vibes coming from down below. April hadn't known of it, which means either her parents kept it a secret from her, or it hasn't been occupied since her grandfather's days.
Donatello fights off the anxiety he feels as Leonardo makes his way down the staircase, deciding to move to the edge of the stairs– in case he needs to sprint down for Leo's sake. It shocks him that no one else seems to bear the same amount of anxiety for his safety, besides Mikey and his fear of basement clowns. It's like his mind and his mind alone gets flooded with every worst possible outcome.
He wants to talk to Leo about it, but he still feels guilty about what happened before the invasion. If they hadn't fought and just escaped the city immediately, Splinter would probably still be here, Casey's family and Mr. O'Neil may have safely been rescued, and Leo would have never gone after Shredder and gotten so terribly injured.
And all together, they would have come up with a plan. They would have saved New York maybe a month in, instead of three months of mindless and fearful waiting– waiting to see if his brother will wake up one day, and whether or not it was partially Donnie's fault.
That one argument caused such a massive butterfly effect, he feels like. His gut churns at the thought of bringing it up. If it wasn't for Leo blaming himself for everything that's happened, Donnie probably would've never thought to even mention it.
But that day at the table, when he apologized for everything, blaming himself, Donatello wondered if his brother even remembered their fight. He's still not sure if he remembers, unless Leo has already forgiven him– and yet Leo is, so far, the only person he hasn't had the chance to be alone with.
Casey spends more time alone with him than Leo does, and Donnie wonders if it's because Leo's holding a grudge. Apologies are hard, but forgiveness is harder, and just like their father, he and his brothers have trouble talking about their feelings.
Everything either comes tumbling out or it just sits and sits and sits and sits and–
"Guys, get down here!"
Oh, he made it down the stairs. Good. Should I say that? No, he'll think I'm bringing up his rule break again. He holds his tongue as he descends the stairs to follow Leonardo, blindly walking into what feels like an ominous cloud.
Michelangelo has never been one to be needlessly violent. Annoying, yes, but he doesn't seek to do harm without reason. Mikey's willingness to see the good in others at their worst is something Donatello has always respected about him.
The deadly expression Michelangelo had when he ruthlessly attempted to murder April's long-lost mother made them all feel sick, he's sure. It was like he was possessed, claiming something felt "off" about her. A perfectly normal human, who faints when she sees her suddenly older daughter. That sounds perfectly normal. She likes brewed tea. Normal. She has all the memories of her daughter and her life. Normal.
She's utterly freaked out about mutants… Very normal.
And yet, at the same time, it made them feel wary. Mikey, since his experience with Chris Bradford, has done a fair job of more or less soul scanning people with his so-called "Vibe detector– it's new age spiritual junk, not really your thing, D."
Which is true; it's not his thing, but can such a thing honestly explain why his little brother would attack Mrs. O'Neil? Especially outright murder? It's like he was going to take out his worst enemy. No hesitation. Which most definitely did not help in giving them a good first impression. Not to mention scaring the life out of April.
As he taps away at his laptop in the musty basement, mulling what might be wrong with their little brother, he notices something strange in the ship's data. From what he's been able to translate, the capsule was last opened in 1994, two years before April was even born.
That's… strange.
It's terrifying when you think about it. April could have accidentally destroyed them instead of freeing them. How they all ended up in one piece again, they'll never know, but they do know they have April to thank for it.
Mikey can't help but rub it in their faces that he knew 'Mom Thing' was dangerous, but now is not the time for boasting. April is beyond devastated, and rightfully traumatized that something with the face of her long dead mother and dearest friends had tried to absorb her.
The days following are tense, the air filled with a strange buzz. April exudes an aura of unease, isolating herself far more than she ever has. Despite being out of sight, her depression fills every room in the house. It's like the air itself is heavy, leaving the boys feeling just as weighed down by the overwhelming feelings of their friend.
She'd done something unthinkable with just her mind, tearing their bodies away from the creature. It isn't unlikely that she's just exhausted from using too much energy, but the darkness that weaves its way throughout the home is impossible to miss.
They try to talk to her, each of them, one by one, hoping she'd unlock the door to her childhood bedroom. Mikey suggested they just leave her be, and that he'll leave meals by her door, signaling its arrival with a soft knock. Sometimes the plate is entirely eaten, sometimes it's never even touched.
It's not until one morning, 5 days later, that they find her dejectedly sitting on the tire swing outside. Her hair is down and tangled, and she's still in her pajamas. Her journal and pen lie on the ground beside the swing, something they haven't seen her use as much since Leo's woken up.
But at least she's outside.
"Do you think she's ready to talk about it?" Raphael mutters nervously.
"I don't know, her vibes still feel weird," Mikey replies, squinting at the girl while he holds his chin.
"How can you tell?" Leo raises a brow, unable to pinpoint just what Mikey is even sensing.
"Bro, I'm telling you, I've got that fifth sense!"
"Sixth sense, Mikey," Donnie corrects him. "Now, who's gonna face her first?"
"I'll go," Casey offers in a heartbeat, immediately walking down the front steps, dead set on getting April out of her funk. "Somebody's gotta."
They watch as he ambles across the yard, hands in his pockets as he steadily makes his way towards their downtrodden friend. She doesn't respond to him when he stops next to her, ignoring him as she quietly stares towards the treeline.
He turns around and shrugs at them, and they all shrug back from their spot on the porch. Donnie decides to take initiative as well, walking down the steps and waving for his brothers to follow him. They obey, even Leonardo, limping his way down the steps and across the grassy yard. They all stop not too far from April and Casey, avoiding the possibility of overcrowding her space.
She sniffs and lifts her head towards them all, her eyes puffy. The dark circles under her eyes tell a story of little sleep and lots of crying, with only her old stuffed animals to keep her company. She looks back down at her swaying feet, her socks damp with the morning dew.
"I can't help but wonder if Mom has always been a fake," She whispers. "If she was just cloned and replaced, or if she was just made that way. The Kraang were experimenting on her family before Dad ever met her, who knows if she was even a real human in the first place."
"What makes you say that?" Casey asks softly as everyone moves a little bit closer.
"You didn't know her, but she was always really… controlling. The way she– it– was acting towards me was just like her. I never suspected a thing. It even felt the same…" She sniffs again. "She was more overprotective than my dad. It wasn't until she died that Dad and I moved to the city so he could find work and I could make friends, but I was terrible at fitting in."
"Yeah, we know what that feels like," Donnie says gently.
"Try not to think so much about the past, April," Leo tries to comfort her. "She may have been cloned, sure, but that would explain why she was so protective. She could have been protecting you from the Kraang."
"Yeah!" Mikey chimes in. "Plus, you were born. I know your dad didn't make you alone, it takes two to tango!"
Raph facepalms, "You really know how to keep a conversation interesting, don't ya, Mike?"
April laughs softly, a sound that catches them all off-guard. "Wow, I've really missed you guys."
Casey grins, "We've missed you too, Red."
"It poured your mutagen in the pond?!" April gasps over her bowl of cereal, her damp hair from her recent shower flinging small droplets across the table. "That could mutate the entire ecosystem!"
"I know, but surprisingly we haven't come across anything strange in the area yet," Donatello explains, slowly eating his fried egg as he attempts to tinker on the laptop 'Mom Thing' broke earlier that week. He suspects he'll be finished with it by the end of the day. "I'm hoping that once this is up and running again I can take a look at the local news. Local campsites and hunters would be more likely to notice strange wildlife in the area, especially at night."
"Sounds like a plan," April agrees, scooping another spoonful of Cheerios as she tucks her hair behind her ear. "I'm surprised nothing more obvious has popped up. Any theories, D?"
His stomach flips at her use of one of his nicknames, and he fights down the rush of feelings he gets hearing it. "B-besides the theory that mutagen could be watered down, I've got nothing."
"Hm, better than what I was thinking," She munches on her breakfast, deep in thought.
"Don't be shy, what was your theory?" Donnie asks her, almost playfully. It's rare for them to be alone together just hanging out. Usually they're always getting something done for a mission, not just sitting and… Talking.
She absentmindedly scratches her cheek– a cute habit he's noticed. "Not so much of a theory, really, but… I was thinking it'd be cool if we found mutant mermaids or something," She shyly answers. "I've always wanted to meet one, I was so sad when I found out they weren't real."
"Really?" He chuckles, pausing his tinkering to look her in the eye. "I didn't know you liked fantasy."
"It's my favorite genre! I used to swim in that pond wishing I had fins and magical powers," She pauses, her face flushing a dark shade of red. "Wow, I can't believe I just told you that."
Donnie grins, "There's no shame in wishing, April. One of those wishes came true, if you think about it."
April can't help but ruefully smile, "Touché," But the smile drops with a sigh as she rests her cheek on her fist. "Careful what you wish for, I guess. I can't even control them anyway."
Donatello frowns, noticing how her mood dropped in an instant. How can he improve her mood? Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't really know all that much about April beneath what he's seen and experienced personally.
Dang, he really is only just realizing how love-blind he's been. He can recall every moment he's ever had with April, and yet, not a single one of those memories contains a moment where he just bonds with her. Now, with his rose-tinted glasses thrown away once and for all, he can truly take into account just how confused and scared his friend is, and how little he knows how much it might be affecting her.
She's a mess, just like the rest of them are. A mess who misses her dad, who has been hunted and experimented on by the Kraang, and who recently experienced a deep betrayal from the so-called "Irma" Kraang-bot and some clone of her mother, not to mention questioning her entire existence. And here he's been, for over a year, stupidly believing that his love for her was what she needed.
I'm such an idiot… But not a total idiot.
"What else can you do for fun around here?" Donnie asks nonchalantly, going back to putting the final touches on his laptop. "Besides hanging out with us, of course," He tries to joke.
If there's anything he knows, it's that reminiscing good memories can always put a smile on your face. Maybe if she remembers all the good days she had with her mom and dad on the farm, this whole thing will feel less like a betrayal and more like a blatant imposter. He breathes a sigh of relief at the sound of her soft giggle. Hearing his plan to lighten her mood already beginning to work makes him smile.
"Yeah, yeah, you guys are fun, too… Just a second, D." She drinks the last of the milk from her bowl, something he's already seen her done many times during their time together.
She gets up to put away her dish, and Donnie can't fight the wave of disappointment that comes over him at the thought of her leaving. And just when they were starting to talk! He refocuses his attention on the laptop, fighting the urge to ask her to stay and chat.
He slightly starts when, instead of leaving or returning to her seat, she sits in the chair beside him, a cup of steaming coffee in her hand. She's not leaving? His eyes are quickly drawn to the bright marigolds decorating the old, chipped mug, telling him that they've likely always been her favorite flower.
"Mom and I used to skate on the pond in the winter," She begins, pausing to take a sip from her 'milk and sugar with a side of coffee', the only way she likes to drink the caffeinated beverage. She hums. "It's hard to do that now with global warming and all, plus I need new skates. Besides that, sometimes we camped, or went fishing. I would draw outside on the swing a lot, but you've already seen me do that."
"Heh, yeah," He replies softly. "You should show me some time; I like to draw, too."
She waves him off with a bashful grin, "Oh, I'm nowhere near as good as you and your brothers. You guys really live up to your namesakes."
"You think so?"
"Besides Casey and I agreeing that you should be named after Da Vinci, yes," She laughs. "You are the inventor and all."
"Can't argue with that," He answers in a smug voice, turning the now repaired laptop to face April. "I am quite the engineer."
The bright screen illuminates April's impressed face. "You actually managed to fix that? I thought it was a goner!"
"That's what they all say," He jests, unable to hide his prideful smile as April oohs and ahhs at the once beaten piece of tech. "I guess I've had a wish come true, too, actually."
"Really? How so?" She asks kindly.
"I can't remember a day when I haven't been working with technology. Who do you think setup everything in the lair? I've been working on all of those things since I could hold a screwdriver. Master Splinter isn't very tech savvy, if you haven't noticed," He explains honestly. "That was just a hobby that gave me practice, and I'd make it useful for my contribution to the family," He sets the laptop back onto the table, unable to take his eyes off the dancing screen. "But my dream was to make something new, out of nothing, and I've actually done that. I didn't even realize how much I've accomplished so far."
"That's truly amazing, Donnie," She compliments him wholeheartedly. "Now if only you could figure out how to give me a tail," She adds, sticking out her feet and wiggling her toes.
They lightly laugh together, uncaring if the others hear them or not. Her last comment bounces around in his mind, reminding him of what made her seem to feel down earlier. "Do you– um," He starts nervously, not trying to seem weird like before. He plows on, keeping his voice steady, "Do you want me to help you with your powers?"
She cocks her head, the question taking her a moment to fully understand. "Help me with my powers?"
"Yeah, I mean, like, just playing around with it, to see what you can do," He explains, his hands gesturing with every word. "I could try to help you use it, I mean, as long as you're okay with it!"
His heart beats wildly as he waits for her answer, fighting down the blush in his cheeks at the thought of spending time alone with her– even as just friends. She softly rests her hand on his clenched fist, his mind flooding with understanding and gratitude at the gentle contact.
"I'd appreciate that a lot, Donnie," She kindly reassures him. "Thanks for trying to make my dream come true."
Thank you for reading!