"I am leaving now," Leo says again, letting his eyes wander over his brothers and April, and April can see the insecurity in his eyes. It's there, every Friday, but she doesn't know why he's insecure. If it's because he leaves his family alone, leaves his father alone or if it's because of what's ahead of him.
"I prepared everything for Master Splinter's tea, and there are some painkillers and his medicine on the tray as well."
Again, insecureness glints in his eyes.
Still, April isn't sure what it means.
"Yeah, we got this, Leo," Raph chimes in. "Now go and fuck your girlfriend."
"Karai's not…," Leo starts too loud and breaks off mid-sentence.
Raph shrugs. "Well, at least we know for sure now you're meeting her."
That's right. They had always presumed it, but Leo has never said it, only that he had to do something.
Although April isn't sure if they really have sex. Leo never wears this big grin on his face the next day, this grin Donnie was wearing for three days straight after their first night together.
Raph doesn't lose it, then. Which is a surprise.
Even Leo took a step back, just in case, and blinks now that Raph's rage hasn't hit him.
Raph just takes another sip of his coke. Or what April thinks is coke.
It's hard to tell these days.
"Okay, I'm off," Leo says, but he doesn't move.
"Bye, Fearless!" Raph says and finally Leo sets into motion.
April gets up, too.
She needs to change for her patrol.
Because Friday night, that's when she takes over patrol.
She does it to thank the guys for what they did for her and her father. And for the city, too. And the world.
Plus, she needs the practice.
Her skills as kunoichi haven't really improved since what happened to Master Splinter.
Yes, she does train with the guys sometimes, but it's not the same.
Besides, she loves going on patrol. Not only because she wants to thank the guys.
There are things she can give to Donnie, yes, but she wants to thank the others, too. And pizza and comics, they don't really cover it.
When April returns in her kunoichi suit - yellow fabric and black leather, her tessen tucked into her belt -, Donnie gets to his feet.
He lies his hands on her shoulders.
"You have your T-phone?"
April nods. She knows the rules. Just patrol, no fights. If something comes up, she calls the guys.
So far, nothing has come up.
It probably never will.
Not with the route, Leo has given her. And to stick to it, that's another rule.
"You sure I shouldn't come with you?"
Donnie asks this every Friday.
And as every Friday, April says yes.
"I can handle this," she assures him. "It's just some training. I'll be back later. And in the meantime you can work on that new laser gun you told me about."
This makes Donnie's face brighten up.
He loves to work on his projects, his toys.
If only he'd be as eager to try new things in the bedroom, April thinks, but she pushes the thought away.
It's not a thought she should think. Or a thought she likes to think, so away with it.
When she jumps over the turnstiles, she can hear Donnie set into motion towards his lab, and something tells her that he's happy about it.