Afterglow - Chapter 35
Rated: T/M-ish
Happy Birthday, April
Chapter Summary: April learns the depth of Raph's heart and eats some tasty pancakes while doing so.
With Raphael fast asleep beside her, April was quite surprised she was still awake from the intensity of their lovemaking that took place only an hour prior. The sheer passion that overtook both of them was enough to knock Raphael out rather quickly but an hour later, she found herself still staring at the ceiling while her boyfriend slumbered away.
Looking toward the window, she got her answer. It was barely 8pm.
Her boyfriend dead to the world and herself wide awake without any other distractions gave her a lot of time to think about things she really didn't want to. Such at the fact that tomorrow was her 20th birthday - and she was spending it in Northampton...
Up unto this point, preceding birthdays had never been very eventful. Ever since her mother disappeared when she was a child, birthdays had never seemed to be much of a big deal. Her father tried his damnedest to make April's birthdays special, but with overwhelming amount of work to support her, he was absent for most of them.
Nothing like the way her mother celebrated her only child's special day.
April still remembered being a little girl at only six, walking down the stairs at Northampton to her beautiful mother standing near the dining room table. April's baby blue's lit up upon seeing a stack of pancakes with five brightly colored candles arranged on top of the stack, all lit.
Meeting her mother's warm green eyes and she gave her a smile that morning was perhaps the clearest and happiest memory April had of her mother. In those moments being with her pretty blonde mom, never realizing that she'd disappear within a few weeks time...
As the years went on and after she met the turtles, having them and Splinter as friends, or family rather, did have it's perks. Her birthdays were cause for celebration and the boys always made sure to prepare something special for her. Having Raphael as a boyfriend didn't change that. They always had her party at the lair, sure to invite her dad along if he wasn't working, complete with pizza, cake and their thoughtful homemade presents. It was a lot of fun but even with this great family surrounding her, there was still an emptiness that overshadowed the day; an empty space where a certain someone should occupy.
During said day, she smiled and acted like she was supposed to but it was still difficult when she was alone.
Like clockwork, on her birthdays whether it was the night before like her current predicament or during the quiet moments, she was always recalling the mother she lost. A life taken, disappearing without any sense of closure. The Kraang thing that happened here at Northampton almost two years ago even made it harder to deal with. Seeing that copy of her mother - perfectly representing her every feature, walk, expression, personality - even the way she smelt. Knowing it was all a lie made it all the worse. Recalling finding out she was still gone and probably never be regained had something precious re-shattering inside her chest. The sudden pain echoing in her soul had her subconsciously pulling herself deeper into the embrace of her slumbering boyfriend. Seemingly sensing her distress even in sleep, his arms noticeably tightened around her.
April gripped him tighter, one of her arms draping over his shoulder and burying her face into his warm throat as tears burned her eyes. So many thoughts bombarded her in this moment; so many times in which her mom was here. How much her mother would have loved Raphael and his family; to know she'd found her soulmate. To be able to talk to her and ask her thing only mothers could answer... She tried to hide it, she really did...but before she realized it, tears began leaking down her face. Even after nearly 14 years, grieving the mother she lost...
April cried herself to sleep that night...never knowing Raphael had been awake through it all.
April's barest hints of consciousness were foggy, only the smell of something cooking downstairs the catalyst for her awaking at all. She groaned, ignoring it for now as she rolled over deeper into the warm comforter and attempted to go back to sleep when she suddenly remembered in horror that she was at Northampton...and the only one here was was...
"RAPH! What the hell are you doing?!" April shrilled, sprinting into the kitchen wearing absolutely nothing but an elastic in her hair.
Raphael was calm, standing at the stove, gingerly turning over a golden brown pancake on the griddle.
"Well, I wanted to surprise you, but kinda late for that. You're usually such a heavy sleeper." Raph replied with a shrug, finally looking at her. Eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he grinned cheekily when he laid they landed on his beautiful girlfriend's choice of breakfast attire. "Wow. Kinda hoping you spill syrup on yourself now..." Raph continued, his voice gaining a wonderful raspy quality as he chuckled quietly to himself, his eyes roving over her gorgeous naked physique.
"Wha..." April said, finally looking down at herself and noticing her clothing, or rather, lack of it.
"Hey! I get it! Birthday suit. Perfect outfit for today. I for one, am not gonna complain." Raph continued much to April's discomfort as she immediately covered her lady parts as much as she could with her small hands and arms.
April huffed at his utter lack of concern to her questioning before making her way back to the bedroom to throw on a pair of panties and a thin v-neck t-shirt before marching straight back into the kitchen. When Raph was in her sights again, she continued her questioning, "You never answered me! Why are you cooking!?"
"I told you I wanted to surprise you."
"But - Donnie said Splinter banned you from their kitchen, and you broke my dad's really expensive coffee machine! You understand my skepticism, Raphael."
"Relax, babe. I actually asked Mikey to help me learn to cook a bit these past two weeks when you were into your classes, studying and stuff. Ya know, as absentminded as Mike is most of the time, he's a great cook when he wants to be. He helped a lot and I learned how not to burn down the kitchen as well as make some killer flapjacks! See?" Raph said, proudly showcasing his golden-brown creation in the steady proffered spatula.
April looked at the pancake perched upon the metal utensil before she lifted her eyes to his. His face was in an easy relaxed smile, a barely noticeable blush on his sharp cheekbones.
"How did you know?" April asked in a barely audible whisper.
"Know what?" Raph replied quizzically, placing the finished pancake upon the stack by the stove.
"Birthday Pancakes... I never told you...How did you know?" April clarified, not even bothering to hide the trembling in her voice.
"Your dad told me." Raph explained simply, pouring more batter onto the hot griddle. "I don't know... I just thought it'd be nice if you got some pancakes for your birthday. You always go out of your way to do nice things for me and my family and I don't know, I wanted to do something special for you."
April stared at the green-eyed terrapin in shock. A warmth reverberated through her chest as she felt a slight wobble in her lower lip; her eyes immediately flooding with tears.
Raph put the batter aside and glanced over at April, who had suddenly grew quiet.
"Oh no! April! Don't cry! What's wrong?!" Raphael asked, stepping over to her side to wrap his arms around her taut frame. She immediately buried her face into his throat and loudly sobbed into his cool flesh.
"I just love you so much..." she whimpered, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck.
"I love you too... C'mon, don't be sad. It's your birthday! I'd be a shitty boyfriend if I made the Birthday Girl cry, now, c'mon, let's eat some pancakes before they get cold." Raph offered softly, his cool hands cradling her tear-soaked face.
"I'm not sad." April clarified, her hands curving along the back of his head. "You just made me so happy. I mean, you actually learned to cook pancakes just so you could do this for me?"
"Heh. Ya know I'd do anything for you, and besides, I love pancakes. Now I can make them all the time since Splinter now finds me to be less of a nuisance in the kitchen." Raph replied, brushing away her bangs before leaning in and kissing her warmly on the forehead.
April closed her eyes at the sweet gesture, her hands moving to nestle his rough cheeks in her dainty hands. She sniveled loudly, pulling him towards her and hugging him tightly once again.
"You're burning the pancakes." April nasally giggled against his throat.
"Oh, shit!" Raph said, gently pulling away and scraping the burnt flapjack from the non-stick griddle and throwing the ruined pancakes into the sink. "Oops. Guess I still need a bit of practice."
"Yeah." April agreed, wiping her face of the remnants of tears.
April walked over to the kitchen island and sat down on the stool. She watched in pure contentment as Raphael cooked the rest of the pancakes, separating the flat cakes onto two plates after turning off the burners. He set down the taller one in front of her and seemingly out of nowhere pulled a candle molded with the number '20' on it. April put her hand to her mouth, tears threatening to fall again as he placed it atop of her stack. He stroke a match and lit the candle, throwing the match into the sink before standing next to her.
"Happy Birthday, April." Raph spoke softly, his thumb brushing away the solitary tear that escaped. "I'd sing the song but I want you to keep your hearing."
April laughed softly at his statement, her eyes looking away from him to the lit candle atop her stack of mismatched pancakes. She was instantly brought back to that moment exactly fourteen years ago today. Picturing her mother's beautiful smiling face, her softly spoken sentiments, and warm hugs. Losing her mom at such a young age was something she never wanted to happen and wouldn't wish on her worst enemy. To this day, it still hurt to know she'd never see her again in this life - but if she was honest with herself, she still wouldn't change anything.
Blue eyes skimming over to Raphael who stood smiling, his hands encompassing hers and giving them a tender squeeze. Even though he appeared gruff and angry on the exterior, showcased throughout their relationship, he kept up that facade to hide the fact he had a big gooey marshmallow interior. It dawned at her that having this big lug in her life made her realize just how lucky she was. Throughout all the crap they'd been through to get here, she wouldn't have changed a thing.
Especially him...
So, while she didn't have her mom right here making her pancakes, she knew Raph could perfectly suffice. He'd never exactly fill the hole left by her mother's absence, but with him here, the pain seemed to be a lot more tolerable.
"Thank you." April whispered tearfully, squeezing his large index.
"Your welcome. Anything for my girl." Raph replied, leaning over to kiss another tear that fell. "Now, come on, let's eat."
"Sounds good to me." April replied, watching Raphael get the syrup, butter, and orange juice from the fridge before walking back over, pulling out a stool to sit next to her.
As the meal progressed, April took multiple glances at her boyfriend, the warmth from his actions and simple affection making her heart swell with unconditional love for him. Familiar warmth pulling in her belly much like the same that overtook her last night. His kindness only increasing these feelings to a degree she was certain she'd lose her mind if she didn't act on them.
Nothing holding her back from expressing it, April reached over, grabbing his hand as he was lifting his fork to his mouth. Without warning, she wrapped her other arm around his neck, pressing her lips hard over his. She eagerly lapped the syrup that was still on his wide lips as she attacked his mouth with a vengeance.
Raph tensed for only a moment before fervently kissing her back, dropping the fork onto the table before wrapping his arms around her small, delicate frame. She coaxed his mouth to open, tasting the sweet syrup on his tongue as hers rushed out of her mouth to meet his.
April somehow made her way into his lap over the course of the following minutes; her body aching and craving him all over again. She moaned into his mouth as her already wet panties pressed firmly into his hard plastron plates.
Raphael trembled a bit at her forwardness, placing his feet upon her linoleum floor, not trusting the stool to remain upright if this was headed where he hoped to God it was.
She pulled away suddenly, her breathing labored against his mouth as she regained her bearings. Arms still draped loosely around his thickly muscled shoulders, her legs splayed so she could sit on his hips and grind against him.
"So..." April mumbled against his mouth, smiling softly to herself when she saw the blush on his cheekbones widen.
"So...?" Raph asked, rubbing an index down the length of her spine; the action causing electricity to liven down her entire body.
"You were saying something about spilling syrup on me?" April smiled cheekily, removing her hand from his shoulders only to lower to the hem of her shirt and lifting it off of her head and flinging it somewhere on the floor.
April watched in eager trepidation as her bare breasts were revealed to him; his eyes growing and staring at them for a good few seconds before they met hers. Blue met green and she was gifted with sexy, cocky smirk that rose the corners of his wide mouth; ethereal bright emerald eyes sparkled with mirth and lust. A beautiful combination if there ever was one...
"Oh, hell, yeah..." Raph chuckled, reaching for the syrup bottle; not shy as he poured a good amount of the sweet amber liquid upon on her heaving mounds. The excess dripping down he chest and coating her nipples; Raphael was all too eager to lean in and lick them clean much to April's tremendous pleasure.
A few hours later, the two lovers were splayed across the cool bed sheets, regaining their breath after what felt like running a marathon.
The passion that overtook them was even more intense than the previous night. Neither wanting to stop; going back for more again and again. First on the kitchen counter, one on the stool, one on the stairs before they somehow made it to the bed even if they really didn't really remember it. Lost in each other's mouths, bodies, and animalistic urges that overshadowed pretty much all their other inhibitions before the lovers finally collapsed; limbs entangling as they plopped upon the bed with a satisfied groan.
April rolled over to nestle against her boyfriend's side, noticing the sticky residue of syrup on his plastron but not caring in the least right now. The whole comforter and sheets (not to mention a good portion of the house) were probably sticky but laundry or cleaning was the farthest thing from her still lust-clouded mind.
April couldn't recall the last time she'd felt more content. Not just sexually, but in her heart. Raphael doing something so unbelievably kind for her in making those pancakes for her special day. He didn't have to - he wanted to - and April would have never believed the same gruff exterior turtle she met would turn out to be so fucking lovable and kindhearted when they began dating. Making her birthday special in a way she never planned to have again after her mother's death.
Yet, here she was, celebrating her birthday with the love of her life and enjoying it; sadness the farthest thing from her mind as his arms tightened around her and pulled her into his warmth. She melted into his embrace; relishing in his love and sensation of his body against hers; so different yet fitting together like two pieces in a jigsaw.
It felt so perfect...just like today...
"Thank you, Raph." April mumbled against the cool flesh of his throat.
"For what?" he asked groggily into her sweaty mop of orange hair.
"The best birthday ever..." April replied breathlessly, leaning forward and firmly kissing his mouth once again.