Afterglow

Rated: T

All I Want For Christmas is You

Chapter Summary: Merry Christmas from Raph and April!

I cannot begin to thank all of you for all the kind reviews, faves and follows you all have given me! I hope you have a wonderful and very Merry Christmas! I'll see you next year! xoxoxo

"April. You didn't have to..." Raphael blubbered adorably, holding the box in his lap and cradling it as if it was another one of those pigeons he loved so much.

"Of course I didn't have to - I wanted to, silly. Merry Christmas." April quickly replied, used to his denial of needing or wanting anything she'd gifted to him over the years. It was just who he was and she wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Thanks." he whispered warmly, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek before looking back down at the present.

"You can thank me after you open it." April chuckled in response, feeling the warmth fill her chest when he turned and looked at her with that gorgeous smile tugging the edges of his lips upward.

Such a beautiful contrast, April thought; the bright red paper melded nicely into his emerald skin and it dawned on her just how good her boyfriend looks in red - feeling stupid for questioning the signature color at all. April continued to watch him turn his attention back to the box in his hand - and while he hid it quite nicely, she could tell he was obviously enamored with the present she'd given him. A smile lighting up her face at his reaction - it brought to mind their first Christmas together...

"Merry Christmas." Raph said, his nervousness reeking off of him in waves as he stood on the sill of her bedroom window.

April quick glance at her clock told her he wasn't wrong - it was in fact, after midnight, so technically, he was right.

They had been dating for about half a year and had just gotten back to New York recently. It was mass chaos dealing with the clean-up and her dad her virtual shadow ever since, so being alone with Raph was just not only difficult - it was damn near impossible. So, for him to show up in the middle of the night, Christmas Eve to be exact, was a strange, albeit welcome, sight indeed.

"Raph... Hey. Merry Christmas. Um, wanna come in?" April asked, ignoring the snowflakes making their way onto her carpet as well as the frigid breeze they were riding on.

The red-banded terrapin looked around nervously and April was sure that if her beloved boyfriend had sweat glands, there would be bullets of the stuff dripping off his face.

"You sure?" he asked timidly.

There it was. The nervousness. The uncertainty she'd realized he'd had very quickly developed during their relationship. Someone who seemed so self assured (Watch this, April...) and cocky (Yer turn, April?) and spoken with nothing more than a smug smirk was torn down the second they were alone. While he wasn't very nervous while they'd kissed and petted - it was only whenever there was even a hinting it would go farther, he bolted - excuses going from needing the bathroom to having to go dumpster diving for new computer parts for Donnie. April knew he was just putting up an act of bravado underneath the surface but April understood and never intended to point it out. Not yet being intimate with him was frustrating, but she wanted to wait til they were both good and ready before even taking their relationship to the next level. After all, his nervousness from someone so brave and brash was unbelievably adorable - so for him, she was willing to wait.

"Of course, Raph. Come on in." April said more surely than she felt. After all, she wasn't the tidiest room-keeper and with the repairs still going on, the cleanliness of her room left a lot to be desired. But at least her bed was cleared off and most of the junk was in one corner of the room out of the walking areas.

"Where's yer dad?" he asked, quietly making his way into her room. He dusted the thin layer of snow off his skin and began removing his damp knee and elbow padding.

"Asleep like most of the city should be." April chuckled in response, clearing off more room off her desk so he could lay down his weapons.

"Cool. Can we go to the living room?"

"Any reason why we can't just stay here?" April asked innocently and quickly realized her mistake when Raphael's eyes bulged and he began wringing his hands nervously.

"Uh, I'm still a bit wet from the snow. I-I wouldn't want ya to get yer bedding all ruined." he explained and of course, it was a good point, but if they left her room, her father would more than likely hear them from his room on the other end of the apartment.

"No, it's fine. I'm getting new stuff anyway - a little snow won't hurt." April said by way of explanation, hoping he'd take the bait and stay here.

"You sure?"

"It's fine, Raph. Come on." April said, leaving no time for him to respond as she tightly grasped his hand and led him to her bed. Without preamble, she flopped onto the soft comforter, her hands gracefully folded in her lap as she stared at her boyfriend expectantly to join her. He stood stiffly by the bed, bottom lip between his teeth.

"Something wrong?" April asked a moment later when she felt the rising panic upon his hesitation.

"Mind if I towel off first...please?" he finished adorably, eyes wide and hands nervously wringing in front of his body.

"Sure. There's an extra towel in my bathroom."

"Thanks." he said, making a bee-line for her bathroom and disappearing into the darkened room. April waited patiently, lip tugged between her teeth as she tried to qualm the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. She thought dating him would calm these feelings but if anything, they only intensified. April prided herself on being outspoken and stubborn but there was something about Raphael that always left her stomach and knots and tongue-tied.

"Hey." Raphael's voice broke her from her reverie as he appeared again in her sights, sitting down next to her but not close enough to instigate touch.

"Hey, yourself. So, what brings you here this fine Christmas morning?" April chuckled softly, fingers craving to reach out for his own but remained still in her lap.

"I thought since we'd be with the whole group tomorrow, we wouldn't get to spend much one-on-one time together...and I wanted to give you this." Raph spoke, reaching into his belt to pull out a small box wrapped messily in newspaper and a little wet from the rain, but April was certain she never saw anything more beautiful.

"Raph. You didn't have to..." April breathed, hand fisted over her heart, which felt as if was going to beat right out of her chest.

"I wanted to." he replied. "Besides, you already gave me mine yesterday and I wanted to give this to you when we're alone. Ya know, without the guys giggling and crap." Raph continued, fingering at the scarf he was wearing that she'd gifted to him a few hours prior at his family's Christmas Eve party.

"That's true... Thanks." she whispered as he placed the long thin box in her hands.

"You should open it before you start thanking me - never know - you may hate it." he chuckled, teasingly brushing his shoulder against hers.

"Never." she spoke seriously, bravely leaning over to give him a long languid kiss on his cheek. Pulling away, she smiled at the soft brush of red across his cheekbones; the color blending in nicely with his bandanna.

April looked back down at the small box, gently began pulling apart the paper until a white box was revealed. When she opened the small container, she felt her heart skip a beat at the contents. A Tessen. Unlike the one Splinter gifted her with during her ninja training, this one was a beautiful blend of dark black metal and red painted metal accents around the edges. She picked it up out of the box as if it was a fragile piece of glass, the cool metal felt so natural in her hand as she opened the fan. Over the course of a minute, she began holding it as she was trained, flicking it easily in her wrist and turning it around only to see carved Japanese Kanji on the other side.

"This is beautiful, Raphael..."

"You really like it?"

"It's amazing! Thank you!" she said, hugging him as he awkwardly returned it with one arm. "Did you make this?" April continued in astonishment when he replied with a quick nod.

"Wow! It must have took you forever!"

She noticed how Raph tried to hide his obvious bandaged wrapped fingers. "Nah...It wasn't too bad and while I wanted to just give Casey some money to buy you something nice, I thought it would be more personal if I made it...and make something you something you could actually use."

"Wow... Thank you. Um - S-so...what does it say?" she asked, gesturing to the Japanese characters upon the shaft.

"It's hageshī seishin... it means 'Fierce Spirit'." he spoke softly, tracing the engraved metal characters. "I dunno, it was lookin' kinda plain after I finished it. Thought it could use a little more...flair. Heh, and uh... I dunno, I thought it really fits you." he finished, looking and gazing into her bright blue eyes.

It was the very first moment she finally admitted to herself this relationship she had with Raphael was deeper than she ever could have imagined. While there was heaps of physical attraction and an easy friendship wrapped in a tight little bow - this was more than that. Her chest ached in the most wonderful way as she realized just how much she loved him. For him to give her something so meaningful and thoughtful was the greatest thing she could have ever asked for. As she continued gazing into those beautiful green eyes, she came to the conclusion that she wanted to be with this turtle forever.

Instead of words, she told him by leaning forward and kissing his mouth, one hand cradling his cheek as she did so. Raph flinched at the contact at first but he quickly returned it, adjusting his mouth to fit hers. While their kissing was clumsy and wet the first few times they ever kissed, he soon learned the best ways to pucker his lips in order to kiss her much smaller mouth with ease.

April pulled away just seconds later, her cheeks flushed and bright red as she stared deeply into his eyes.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" April whispered against his mouth, taking notice of the tremor that went through him upon her insinuation."I mean, I wouldn't want you to catch a cold heading back. It's freezing out there." April continued, her cheeks flushing.

"It's not that bad." Raph chuckled, and as if on cue, sleet began pounding against her bedroom window with a frightful thudding noise as the whistle of the harsh winds could not be ignored. "Uh... I just think I better head back..." he replied, hands wringing in his lap.

"Please? You can sleep with me. I mean - sleep! You know - just sleep..." April finished, hoping he didn't notice just how much blood was rushing into her cheeks.

Raph bit his lip in thought for a moment before responding with a terse nod.

"Great. Thank you." April smiled at him, quickly moving to place her gift upon her desk before making her way back to the bed. After she was warm underneath the covers, she couldn't help but watch him as he removed the rest of his wrappings and belt before he joined her on the other side of the bed.

"You sure?" Raph asked, the covers pulled back in preparation for him to slide next to her.

April responded with a small nod and a smile, patting the mattress next to her in invitation.

Although nervous and heart pounding what felt like a million miles an hour, Raphael slowly made his way into her bed. Internally hating just how much his weight made the bed creak and dip. Nervously smiling as he finally got comfortable, he held back his protests when April scooted closer, wrapping her thin arms around his shoulders.

"Merry Christmas...Thanks for the gift, Raphael. It was very thoughtful." the redhead breathed into his cool skin, her nose rubbing against his pulse point.

Raph's nervousness dissipating at her softly spoken words, his arms wrapping tightly around her body. "You're welcome." he replied against the side of her head.

"Merry Christmas." April whispered, pulling back from him for a moment - her hands shaking a bit as she leaned in and kissed him goodnight. Their lips lingered, pushing and pulling against another. Raphael broke it before he completely lost control over his sudden urges.

"Heh. You too - Merry Christmas, I mean." Raph chuckled and April giggled against his lips, head nestling into the concave of his throat. Arms timid around her form as she snuggled against him and quickly fell asleep. This being the first night they slept together, Raph thought his heart would explode out of his chest, but the nervousness soon gave away to the lethargy. Listening to her deep breaths and the comfort of her warmth was too soothing to ignore. Eyes drooping, he soon fell into the most relaxing sleep either had ever experienced - right in each others arms...

"Wow." Raph chuckled, bringing April out of her flashback. A smile lifting her face as she took in his excitement of unwrapping the gift she had given him. "This is awesome, April!" he continued, emptying the box of its contents. She watched with bated breath as he removed the leather belt with finely stitched pockets to store his sais and other weapons, the dark brown leather with dark red stitching melded beautifully with the yellowish-gold of his plastron and forest green shell.

Raph was too busy admiring his new belt, going as far as taking his current one off to place the new one on that he completely missed the smaller box wrapped in bright green paper still lying untouched in the box.

"What's this lil' pouch for?" Raph asked, fingers poking into a small area on his side.

"Check the box again and find out."

"Huh?" he asked, walking back over to the bed and his eyes widened at seeing the other item that remained. After unwrapping it, he stilled, fingers brushing over the beautiful pocket knife. The gold metal with dark red kanji, spelling out a word meaning 'Strength' engraved upon it. "April...Wow, this if gorgeous. You didn't have..." noticing her eyebrows lifted in warning at his phrasing before deciding on, "Thank you..."

"You're welcome." April replied with a smile, gently removing the blade from his hands and placing it in the pocket of the belt. "There we are - it fits perfectly."

Raph's hand gravitated toward her waist, grasping her softly along her hips as she stood in front of him. He struggled not to say something cheesy like '...and you fit perfectly in my arms...' but he didn't want to ruin the moment. After all, he was still amazed at how lucky he was to have her. While Splinter had made sure to make their mutation days special, Christmas was the one thing they didn't have growing up. Later on when things became more abundant, Splinter gave them necessities and new weapons to celebrate this time of year. It changed when April came in their lives. From that day forward, holidays were celebrations with new food other than worms and algae - there was festive times just being together - giving and getting presents and spending with with those you loved most.

"It sure does..." Raphael decided on saying, pulling her into a hug, which she eagerly returned.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it."

"Hmm...So...Um, Raph?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to spend the night?" April asked, hating just how quickly her cheeks flushed even after so long together.

"Hrm... Sure. Why not?" he answered quickly, leaning down to give her a quick, chaste kiss.

April pulled away with a smile, giving him another quick peck before she made her way to the side of her bed and sliding underneath the covers. Enthralled with her favorite pastime of getting to watch her sexy boyfriend taking off his padding, new belt, and weapons and placing them upon her dresser.

Feigning sleep, she hid her smile as he crawled into bed next to her. Her countenance fell and she giggled when he pulled her close and nuzzled his snout in her loose hair.

"Heh. This is just like last year, huh?" Raph whispered against her lips before leaning down to kiss them much deeper this time.

"Not exactly..." she replied, gently encouraging him to roll over on top of her. Pulling his head towards her, lips eagerly pressing over his again and again as her hands taking their sweet time rubbing long languid strokes against his glorious biceps and shoulders.

"Oh, really? What's different this time?" Raph growled lowly, nipping at her neck.

"Well, for starters, my dad's in California...and...this time...we're not just going to sleep..." April mumbled against his mouth, pulling him down for an intense kiss. Raph chuckled, hands eagerly re-learning her body strictly through touch at her words.

"Sounds good to me..." he chuckled, nuzzling his nose against hers. He pulled away for just a moment, taking in her bright blue eyes and loose hair strewn about her light blue pillow. The atmosphere of bright lights pouring in through the window and the big flakes of snow falling only adding to the moment. "Merry Christmas, love..." he breathed, grasping her softly, one arm pressed to her back and other to her head and pulling her in for a kiss and the start of the Christmas Eve neither would ever forget.

Merry Christmas, y'all! xoxo