Good Evening Children,
I posted a new chapter on AO3 (which is under the same name so like if this inconsistency is too much for you and you also use AO3 if you want for a whole DIFFERENT style of inconsistency) and realized this absolute darling didn't get posted over here!
The world is on fire, let's fall in love with a mutant turtle babes.
As if having an extended house guest didn't have enough "perks", April had somehow found herself cooking for 3 this evening.
She had it all planned out, with turtles on patrol and Dana at a late night practice session for an upcoming recital (test? Performance? She wasn't about to ask about the intricacies of learning to dance professionally) she'd finally planned the perfect stay at home date with Casey; complete with a cozy homemade dinner and a movie rental, when it all seemed to come crashing down. First, her first round of pasta cooking ended abruptly when 3 moths were found boiling in her pot, necessitating a trip to the store for more pasta, where they were out of any desirable shape for her dish. After settling on bow ties and leaving the market quickly, a car had ever so politely drove over one of the few ice patches that still held a hidden puddle and sent her makeup streaming down her face. Finally, just when she thought the light at the end of the tunnel was barreling toward her, she opened the door to the house to find Dana sprawled across the couch aimlessly browsing the TV. April sighed heavily.
"I thought you were out until super late." The blonde smiled wide, a clump of Cheeto dust still clinging to her front tooth from her walk home snack.
"I was let off early because I'm in good shape with my piece for performing and Bailey is too shy to do hers when she can see anyone."
"How exactly is she gonna perform then?" Dana's only response was a non-committal shrug whilst sucking her teeth. Slumping into the kitchen, April began the task of cooking, again. Dana kept relatively quiet below the low din of the television, and April's shoulders lightened. All would be fine! She could ask Dana to make herself sparce.
"Ooooh, are you doing mimi's recipe for dinner? I love that stuff! Good thing I'm hungry." April huffed loudly, turning the sauce to a simmer while pivoting to make eye contact with Dana.
"I mean, I was actually making it for me and Casey tonight so I don't know if there's enough-" and there it was, the drop of the little blonde's face that always seemed to break her cousin's heart. At this point she had to be doing it on purpose, it seemed to come out faster and faster every time they disagreed; a pout curling the lips down and big glassy eyes that could rival a golden retriever puppy. April's hand flew up of their own accord.
"Jesus Christ, fine! I will make sure you have some put aside but Casey and I will be eating out here. Alone." Yeah, that was definitely rehearsed, given how quickly the small woman on the couch brightened up and her eyes dried as if she'd never been on the verge of tears.
"Oooooo, having some free time with your cop boyfriend."
"Investigator, thank you."
"… yeah, cop." And as if life couldn't get any worse in that moment, a knock came to the door. Dana practically sprinted from the couch with an "I'll get it." That was far too loud for the minimal space to get to the door. She popped the door open to find Casey, hair slightly wild and smile wide and lopsided. One hand was shoved causally in the pocket of his leather jacket, while the other held a small bundle of roses.
"Hey, kiddo! Didn't think you'd be home! What's up?" Dana gleefully let him in, rolling her eyes in excess at his kind greeting.
"I'm doing way too good in class so I got to be home early." The young woman preened, straightening her shoulders with pride while walking straight back to her spot on the couch. Casey, however, diverted to the kitchen, gently grabbing April's waist from behind where she'd turned back to continue making dinner.
"Hey there, you." Casey leaned in, placing a gentle kiss to April's cheek before digging through a nearby cabinet for an appropriate container for their small centerpiece. April couldn't help the smile that came wide on her face when she turned to look at him. Sometimes, he was so sweet she thought she might die.
"Those are so pretty, thank you! Get them watered and food will be ready in maybe 5 minutes, had an issue earlier so I'm a little behind schedule." The sheepish shrug of her shoulders didn't seem to dim his smile as he dug through his coat pocket.
"Apes, I'm sure whatever it is will be delicious no matter what. I'm gonna head out on the escape and have a quick smoke, okay?" At smoke, a little blonde head popped itself off the couch.
"Oooh, ooh Casey can I bum one please?!" Cigarettes were not high enough on the "priority budget" list April had suggested to her for her to splurge on a regular basis, but she knew which one of her cousin's friends were suckers sweet enough to indulge her craving here and there. Casey popped a second out of the pack, smirking.
"Aren't you a little young for a nicotine habit?"
"No one is too young to start terrible decisions; I mean, look at you!"
"Was that what your mom said when she had you?" Dana threw her head back in a laugh; Casey didn't always think logically, but he could be as quick as a whip. The two pushed open the living room window and padded gently onto the fire escape.
The night had grown chillier than when Dana had last been out, causing her to wrap her arms tighter around the light sweater she wore; it would only be a quick smoke, anyway. After a hand from Casey to light her cigarette, the first inhale seemed to send the nicotine into every muscle, relaxing her and giving a hair of imagined warmth in the cold. Casey and Dana continued bullshitting amid their smokes for a few more minutes before a very familiar, very large form dropped from above, landing with merely a light thud.
"Hey big guy! I thought you were out patrolling all night!" Casey reached a hand out to greet the massive form, hearing a gentle snort from Raphael.
"Y'know those things'll kill you, right shorty?" His eyes tracked the cigarette hanging out of Dana's mouth as he reciprocated Casey's hand. The petite blonde took the stick out of her mouth to stick her tongue out at him.
"Listen, I don't need both of you judging my life choices." She couldn't help but smile up at the behemoth prodding her to stand. Dana quickly snubbed the end out, tucking the last segment behind her ear for later. The boys were rambling on about something sports related that she was really only half paying attention to when April's frustrated grunt at plating food turned to a shriek.
"No! NO! You're not supposed to be here! I'm supposed to have my home to myself to have a date with MY BOYFRIEND." All 3 people standing in the living room were stunned, stock still in fear of a woman they knew better than to mess with. April made another sound of frustration at the lack of action.
"You two! I love you! Get the hell out of my apartment so I can have my date!" Frantically, Dana met eyes with Raph before turning back to her enraged cousin.
"Uh, let me get my coat! It's cold, I think it's gonna snow!" Before any questions were asked, Dana was bundled up and boots were on, shoving her big friend out the window with demands of "find a good roof!"
Once getting out of the range of unbridled female rage and arguing about "who's the boss of who" as Raphael still notably scooped the small woman over his shoulder to seek out a good view of the sky, they'd managed to find a good stopping point where the city sat a fair distance below and the sky loomed above them, too cloudy to produce the minimal stars allowed by the city lights and washed in a faint orange from the brightness below. Dana stood at the raised edge of the building, arms wrapped around herself as she struggled to stay warm and a slight clatter of teeth; she regretted not thinking to bring a blanket. The large terrapin next to her huffed.
"I'm freezing my nuts off out here, girl. Why'd you even want to come out here, we could've just gone back to the lair and watched a movie or something." Raphael could almost sympathize with the trembling form next to him, but she'd insisted on coming out to see the snowfall that had yet to make an appearance. "How do you even know if it's gonna snow tonight? It's probably too cold."
"No no, I can feel it. I have to see the first snowfall." She clenched herself in an effort to stop her shivering as Raph turned to raise a questionable eye ridge at her.
"You're gonna give yourself hypothermia out here; hell you're gonna give me hypothermia, maybe I'll just go home and you can call me to come get you after you're done waiting all night." He turned toward the far edge close to the next set of buildings in an effort to goad her into agreeing that standing outside and freezing to death was stupid, but the pitiful wail of "wait!" Had him stopping immediately.
"Please don't leave, I just want to see my first snowfall in New York! I've never seen it before!"
The sight he turned around to could have killed him; lips in a downturned pout, a genuine rim of tears lining her light eyes as she huddled in on herself. With a large sigh, the big barra strode easily back to her, settling closer to her than he previously stood.
"Okay, but you can at least share some body heat; I am still partially a lizard." The smile that graced her face scrunched her nose as she lurched herself forward to wrap her arms around his torso as best as she could.
"Raphie, you could've just said you wanted to cuddle." He swore she was evil as he coughed out a low "shut up" while she sniggered into his plastron.
And there they waited, Raphael assumed for at least an hour, though that could be the cold talking. He'd begun to lose focus and spaced into the night sky when the body pressed into him let out a gasp and launched herself back to the edge of the roof. Lo and behold, small specks of white floated down toward the bustle of the city and Dana practically shrieked trying to catch a flake on her tongue. The snow quickly picked up to a moderate pace as he watched the flakes gather on her shoulders and the crown of her head. Raphael gently slid forward to catch the sight she seemed so taken by. He didn't really see anything special about the sight he'd seen a thousand times living his entire life in the city. But, looking over at his friend made his heart feel like it was trying to leave his body. Gaze firmly put forward to take in the city as the white blanket of winter slowly came down, the green of her eyes shining brightly underneath lashes just beginning to get laden with snow and scrunched slightly from that dumb smile she got when she was excited; the one that scrunched her nose ever so slightly to the left and spread her lips so wide you could see the overlap of her canine over its neighboring smaller tooth that she usually tried to avoid showing; the smile that had her cheeks so high she'd wonder why they hurt later. It was a smile not too dissimilar from the first time he and his brothers were topside for a snowfall when they were younger; Don specifically. His younger brother's smile was so big he naively worried his face would split right open. It made Raphael so happy to see his brothers enjoying something so simple, and now with the small woman next to him he couldn't stop that same joy from creasing his eyes and bringing a smile forward. She must've caught it from the corner of her eye, turning suddenly to make eye contact and relaxing into the slight buck toothed smile she seemed to get when she felt a little smarmy.
"Told you it was coming; and I knew you'd like it! Feels like being 8 again, huh?" Raph attempted to drop his smile and roll his eyes, but the right corner of his mouth stayed up as he pulled her back in close.
"Yeah yeah, it was magical and my youth is restored or something. Now, have you had enough 'whimsical cold' yet so we can go get warm?" Dana didn't answer, just stared up with the brightest eyes as she gently brought a hand up to brush at his snout. Raphael was caught off guard and shuttered as her cold little fingers scraped across his face. Her smile only widened.
"You got a snowflake on your snout." And that was it, he quickly hoisted her up over his shoulder with the only protest of a squeal of surprise and quickly descended to get into the heating of his home and the likely prize of hot cocoa from his baby brother.