CHAPTER 3: Motion
Donatello rolled over, letting out a groan hearing the crash from the kitchen, a normal occurrence in the lair. Taking his T-Phone off the nightstand by the bed and seeing the time, letting out another groan.
Another dream of April and I…Another perfect dream I am woken from..
Donatello slowly rose to his feet, putting his kit back on as he has done every morning, grabbing his mask and adjusting it lazily, heading for the door with a long yawn.
Back to the mundane yet again..
Donatello swung the door open, his eyes shooting wide as across the hall from him on her bed sat April, shooting him a shy blushy smile as she dried her hair with a towel. Donatello stared for a moment as the realization set in that last night was in fact not a dream. April giggled at the dorky grin that spread across his face, giving him a small wave.
April: Morning Donnie…Mikey is making breakfast if you're hungry. I haven't had anything yet.
Donatello nodded enthusiastically practically standing by the bed next to her in one huge bounding step, giving her a joyful yet shy smile as she stood up, getting ready to head out into the lair for the day, turning and holding her hand out to him which he enthusiastically took, following her to the living room.
At this point it had been around two weeks since April had moved into the lair with her turtle companions and her beloved Master Splinter. Although there were some awkward moments for the group of men to get used to her feminine presence in the home, things didn't feel terribly out of the ordinary for the group. Besides the few glances between the young woman and the purple masked mutant that often brought the blood rushing up to their cheeks, there was not all that much of a difference in the current dynamic. April however had noted that the amount of time she now had free to train with Master Splinter had caused her stealth and agility to increase rather significantly in such a short amount of time. She needed it, something to distract her from the fact that she at the end of the day was powerless compared to her compatriots in this huge battle. She took a deep breath, sitting next to the old wise rat warrior, finishing in an after training meditation session. It would be a lie to say she was fond of this part of training, it often left her mind to wander to places she had tried to block off. Things about her mother, father, now about her own place in all of this. She twitched, feeling the presence of Master Splinter moving away from her, turning to him to see he had risen from his kneeling position, nodding to the young kunoichi.
Master Splinter: I think that is enough for today April. I commend you for your stamina in our session today, it appears you are growing ever stronger as we continue these sessions.
April hopped to her feet, offering Splinter a polite bow in appreciation and respect for his tutelage in her training. Standing on the balls of her feet and striking a pose from the kata she had performed a few times earlier that day.
April: And with each passing session I hope to become more of a team player! Maybe soon I can join the guys on a patrol or something!
Master Splinter stroked his long whisker in thought, looking down at the red headed girl, letting out a quiet breath that made April's heart sink a bit. Watching as Master Splinter began to pace in the dojo.
Master Splinter: Perhaps sometime…but not yet…now go and clean up after the session while I consider your words.
April let out a quiet 'hai sensei' before offering a half-hearted bow and excusing herself from the dojo, closing the screen door from behind her. Although she had been gifted the Hamato clan tessen from the wise master, he has yet to include it in any of her kata or training. She peered across the room to the digital clock on the stove.
Only 1:10 in the morning? I should have enough time to clean up before the guys get back..
April wandered her way back to her room where she had her own little supply of towels and other bathroom essentials after an embarrassing morning where Michelangelo had grabbed one of April's tampons and asked her if it was a bullet of some kind. She shook her head with a small chuckle thinking back to the brothers and her own horrified, embarrassed faces. It was after that, a group decision that she would keep her feminine products in her room. Walking into the bathroom and preparing the shower she looked into the mirror across the room, seeing herself and feeling somewhat lonely at that moment. After everything that has transpired in her life, she somehow was still here, still fighting for some kind of survival. Letting out a huff, she disrobed a bit aggressively, jumping into the shower and cursing to herself in her mind.
Damn you Kranng. Damn you Shredder. Damn you purple dragons!
In her process of hate washing her hair she found herself at a thought that she chose to stop and ponder for a moment.
I wish the Kranng never existed!...wait, that's not right…Without the Kranng there wouldn't be any…
April's thoughts flashed through the fun and happy memories she had with her mutant friends, her memories slowly flickering just to one dorky gap-toothed scientist who she was missing deeply in that moment. Shaking her head and standing in the warm, steaming shower, looking up at the ceiling with a smile.
Maybe I can spend some time with him tonight…only if he isn't too tired.
April turned the shower off, collecting her clothing and wrapping a towel around her body and hair, taking another moment to look at herself with a smile, feeling a bit more confident and put together.
Despite everything, it's still me.
April sighed, opening the bathroom door to the lair, her breath hitching in her throat as standing right infront of her was Raphael, his hand on the doorknob, mid-sentence with Leonardo about some petty little squabble. Leonardo's wide eyes darted right to her, his face getting bright red as his mouth made a hard line, looking to Rapheal who has yet to notice.
Raphael: What the hell is that face for Leo-nerd-o? Finally getting what I'm say-
Raphael finally turned, noticing he was indeed blocking the girl's path from the bathroom, his eyes darting up and down before scrambling away from the door, his hands covering his eyes. Donatello and Michelangelo came from the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about. Donatello's breath hitching in his throat as his face grew to be the most red out of the four of them.
Raphael: GAH! G-Give a turtle some warning April!
April: H-How was I meant to! You're the one who should have heard the shower! Ugh this is…
April quickly darted from the scene towards her room, practically running to her space and slamming the door shut behind her. She took her dirty clothing and tossed them in her special designated laundry bin, putting her hands on her face, feeling the lingering blush on her face.
Stupid Raph…It's all his fault, not hearing the stupid shower..
April groaned, throwing herself back onto her bed, the towel holding her hair quickly releasing and allowing her fire bright hair to scatter on the bed behind her. Too occupied with the thoughts tumbling through her head to truly care, somewhat embarrassed at the sheer fact that she was the different one down here.
Of course he had to see too…
That thought alone caused April another bout of groaning, rolling over on her side away from the door, closing her eyes trying not to focus on it too much. It was less that she had an issue with the scientifically motivated turtle seeing her in just a towel, but more the fact that she was not ready for that. I mean she had only just confessed not only to him but herself she indeed had feelings for him, she was not in a place to show herself off like that to him, let alone his brothers.
How am I meant to face him now, maybe I should just go to bed.
She sighed, sitting up and discarding both towels, quickly dressing herself in some comfortable pajamas, not even hearing the tapping at the door until it got a bit louder. April quickly turned her head to the door, taking a steading breath, walking over and opening the door quickly to see a familiar nervous face. Her stomach twisted into knots, waiting for him to say something. Watching him awkwardly fiddle with his hands, his kind, soft hands. April found herself longing for one of Donnies comforting hugs.
Donatello: A-April! Oh shell I really should have thought about what I was going to say…I uh..I half expected you to not open the door for some reason..I uh oh gosh I-I'm rambling aren't I?
April couldn't help but let out a little giggle to herself as Donatello kept trying to figure out how he wanted to word his thoughts. She shook her head and went for the kill, moving his hands and wrapping her arms around his waist, giving him a large hug.
April: Thank you Donnie…I'm fine, just..ya know I guess I'm a bit shocked at that happening.
Donnie: (under his breath) weren't we all…
April pulled away, giving Donnie a playful slap on the shoulder as he let out a sly chuckle and a shrug. She let out a sigh of relief, dropping her hands to her sides, giving him a sly look of her own.
April: now that that's out of the way, anything on the agenda for the evening?
Donnie looked down at her, his eyes showing a mix of concern and nervousness.
Donnie: I mean there is always something we can do in the lab, a-and you know I would love your company but are you sure you're not..ya know, tired?
April did a little hop on the balls of her feet, adding a little playful flex on her arms, her muscles more apparent then they were when they first met for sure, already pushing past Donatello to head towards the lab.
April: Are you kidding me? I am already shifted onto your guys schedule, if anything I have a few hours till I totally knockout!
She felt prideful heading the soft chuckle coming out of his mouth, getting to the end of the hall, peeking out and seeing Leonardo and Michelangelo preoccupied with watching a rerun episode of Space Heroes. Muffling to the best of her ability the giggle coming out of her mouth seeing Leonardo so excited over the episode, excitedly telling Mikey all the lines in time with the television. Donnie let out a light noise to her her attention, gesturing to the lab, another noise following with a bit more shock as she took his hand, leading him up the steps of the lab.