The way I have had the bare bones of this scene for literal months because listening to Simple Plan truly got me feeling so ready fo A. I don't apologize
This night had been going over smoothly, especially for a weekend.
Maybe a little too much for a weekend, but Raph refused to let that affect his mood; he got to bust a few ('but not an excessive amount, this isn't a wrestling ring Raphael' and oh how lucky fearless was that he was having too good a time to quip back) thugs, the air was cool but nice on his sweat slicked skin, and he'd still have time to pop a beer and maybe even call up Casey if he was feeling charitable to bless him with his presence. But, of course no night could go too smoothly; he had to regretfully admit that. About 15 minutes from home, Leo had received a call from a frantic April, Dana was MIA.
"Okay, April take a deep breath and repeat that for me? Let me get you on speaker, just stay calm."
"Oh god, Leo she went out with friends and Gerry just called asking to make sure she got home safely and she left the restaurant on her own and didn't tell anyone anything - she could be anywhere! Someone could've mugged her or kidnapped her or murdered her I don't know what -"
"April, please take a deep breath and focus. We can't find her if we don't know where she was; I promise we're going to find her." Leo was visibly rigid as he heard his friend take a shaky breath.
"Uh, right yeah. Let me, uh, search through my texts, I know she told me where they were going. I-I'll, uh, text you the address." A sniffle came crackling through the speaker as April turned her attention to digging through her texts.
"Okay, we're gonna head home so Don can get a handle on tracking her phone and we can grab extra gear; I'll send Mikey to case around the place when you send it and we'll go from there, just. Stay positive for me, you're not helpful if you're rambling." April let out a wet laugh and a "roger that." Before hanging up.
Raphael felt his heart lodge in his throat; she knew better than to wander around the city at night, she knew to always call someone if she needed help getting home at night. How could she be so stupid? She could be anywhere, in any condition, for fuck's sake it was freezing out she could be suffering hypothermia by now. The run home seemed significantly faster as the four brothers races the rooftops to the closest manhole to home, Mikey veering off just a few blocks from their preferred entrance as Leo shouted an address at him and a color of coat their tiny friend had left the house in, a far too light coat for her to be out in if he remembered it correctly.
The remaining 3 made a swift and silent trudge through to the entrance of the weapons room, Donnie barely unloading his Bo in a hasty slide to his computer. Leo headed for the needle room, gearing for whatever aid Dana would need in the worst case scenario to make sure she could be transported safely, Raph shouting a quick "be right back, I have to rewrap my hands," and jogging to the bedrooms.
At the beginning of the hall he felt it; his nose picked up on a faint smell that never resided in any of their rooms, scales prickling at the sense that something was where it shouldn't be. Creeping closer to his room at the end of the hall, he picked up on the faint sound of sniffling; the light of his room shining gently from under the door proving he wasn't alone. Now feeling a sense of anger at his invaded privacy and safety, Raph slowly slid the door open, peering inside through the smallest gap he could manage. More sniffling and hiccuping seemed to be coming from a large lump in the center of his bed, a mass that seemed to be shivering under his blankets gently. More than a little confused, he pushed open the door in order to investigate his room's uninvited guest, only to step on an unfamiliar texture that shifted under his foot. Raph looked down to see an oddly familiar looking boot undertow, and the movement of lifting his foot had made just enough noise for the lump in his bed to sit abruptly still.
"Hello?" A voice he knew all too well, heavy with water and mucus, called out so quietly he could've missed it had he not been keenly aware of the presence in front of him. The covers shifted gently and a large mass of blonde hair slid out, followed by 2 very tear-stricken eyes. Raphael felt all the air held in his lungs rush out in an exasperated grunt, all the tension in his muscles dropping. He couldn't decipher if he wanted to strangle her or hug her for the roller coaster of emotions she had him on for the last 20 minutes. Pinching his eyes shut, the large terrapin took in a deep breath, taking his phone out to call off the manhunt. Leo picked up on the first ring.
"Raph, why the hell are you calling me? What's taking so long we need to go now-"
"Call off the search, dude; I've got her."
"You what? When did you leave, is she alright?"
"I didn't leave, ding dong, she's down here."
"Jesus Christ, why didn't she tell anyone? I'm gonna have Don come over there and check …" the last few words of Leo's diatribe were lost on Raph as he turned his attention to the whimper over on his bed. Turning very slightly away from the crying mess on his bed he made an attempt to whisper gently to his hysterical brother.
"Listen, I think she's physically fine but I don't know if it's a good idea to send anyone else over here right now, I'll keep you posted but spread the word, alright?"
A beat of silence welcomed the younger turtle as his older brother composed himself, letting out a mild sigh of defeat and assuring that he was calling April right now and running to the lab. Satisfied, Raphael hung up and quickly realized he had an entirely different problem to deal with now.
Dana was crying. In his room, in his bed, after disappearing without a word. He turned back to the distressed bundle and took a moment to assess her in full.
In his haste to inform the rest of his family that she'd been found safely, he missed the fresh track of mascara addled tears running down either cheek, and the peak of shoulder flashing out from what was clearly a glittery halter top (she'd be having a discussion about appropriate attire in the cold weather, cute or not), and he could clearly tell her undertone was pale and ashen from the chill of the air; he'd guessed she'd left in a hurry and forgone her coat. Her hair was sprawled messily down her back and as she shifted to dip her head down and wipe her nose, he heard a distinctly sniffly, pathetic "I'm sorry." And he snapped.
"You're damn right you're sorry! You had us packing up thinking you were bleeding out in an alley; you've got your damn cousin tearing her fucking hair out trying to find you, and you didn't even think to call and say 'oh hey I went down to the lair'. Fucking Christ, you didn't even bother waking Splinter up to let him know you were here, what is wrong with you?!" A wet sob escaped from the quivering girl, and Raph almost felt himself break, but some answers were needed for his own sake; she knew better than to be so reckless. Dana shifted herself away from the angered turtle to gain her composure, he had a fair point of being mad and she wasn't too intelligible while sobbing. The silence was thick while she took a few deep breaths; in nose, out mouth just like she'd watched Leo do. When she turned to face Raph, eyes still glimmering with tears, he had an unreadable face, aside from a deep frown.
"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to scare anyone. Uh, my phone died before I got here and I left my portable charger with my coat when I left the restaurant and I just panicked and I… I'm sorry, I should go home." Her voice was dampened from what had to be a consistent wave of tears since running to the safety beneath the sewers, a crack pulling through as she sped through her explanation, almost bringing herself right back into a frenzy. He couldn't help but crack his stern demeanor and give the trembling woman a pitiful glance. Slowly, Raphael approached the bed, making eye contact before seating himself on farthest edge to not get her to clam up.
"Dana, it's okay, accidents happen and we were scared when April couldn't find you. It's like we care, or something." He reveled in the small lift in her deep frown, giving a wet giggle. With a little brevity swept in, he gently reached out, ever so lightly brushing a finger to her forearm laid on her lap; she was frigid, he'd have to get extra blankets to get her warm in a moment. She smiled softly at the contact, sniffling back a few more tears.
"Alright princess, what's got you all gross and sad? Tell the big guy what happened." Dana's eyes darted anywhere but toward him and Raphael held his breath; he fucked it up, he scared her, he made it worse. All of a sudden, the air in the room felt too hot, the space too tight and panicked, he tried to backtrack to safety.
"I mean, I can also call April if you would feel better talking to her, she can come and get you if that's what you need."
"No, no! I'm sorry, I just … it's embarrassing and you're gonna laugh at me and I feel so stupid…" a fresh wave of tears came all at once, silently shaking the smaller of the two as she tried to regain control of her own emotions. Raphael felt his heart bleed, if something could make her feel this upset, he certainly couldn't laugh at it (and if he did he better find a very polite way of excusing himself to the bathroom if he ever wanted her to talk to him again). He added his thumb to her arm to gently grasp it, to jog her out of her spiral.
"Hey. I'm not going to laugh at you. You're upset and the reason is important for me. And everyone else. To help you." Not a smooth fix to that accidental flub, but at least she'd been too caught up in her own sadness to notice. She finally lifted her head enough to meet his gaze fully, a deep breath coming in and holding briefly to prepare herself.
"I mean, it's kind of dumb and I wouldn't blame you-" a pointed stare and a raised brow ridge had her pausing. "I- okay. . . Uh, well I went out with Gerry and his friends cause he asked if I wanted to hang out, and like I'm trying to be a good friend cause we said we'd stay friends and he's not a bad person I just wasn't interested and stuff so like yeah…" Dana stopped at Ralph's gentle squeeze of her arm, taking another deep breath to slow herself.
"So like, we ended up going to this karaoke night place and I was in the middle of the big round booth table and, uhm, he snuck me drinks and it was good but - but Gerry got up to do a karaoke song and he like dedicated it to 'a special girl I'm with tonight' and yeah, definitely weird, but whatever. And then he started singing this song that talks about his ex cheating on him and being awful and his stupid friends were all laughing and I asked to be let out and they wouldn't let me and-" a choked back sob interrupted Dana's train of thought as she pressed the heel of her hand into one eye, trying to quell the tears. Raph had to stop himself from clenching the hand gently holding her, feeling anger warm his face and drip down his neck.
"and Gerry kept looking at me and like pointing at me and I just wanted to get out so I, uh, climbed out from under the table cause they wouldn't let me out, and instead of just letting me crawl my way out, already super fucking embarrassed, one of them kicked me while I was down there… and, and I don't think they meant to but it hurt and when I got up Gerry was done and trying to come over and talk to me so I just ran out." There was the last crack in the dam, and a new wave of broken sobs wracked Dana's body. Raph, not really accustomed to comforting the opposite gender, froze briefly. Should he come closer and hold her? He certainly wanted to, but with not being sure of her feelings toward men after this lovely experience he barely felt certain in moving just a tad closer. The slight movement caught the small blonde's attention, and with no warning she lurched forward and latched onto his arm. Raphael could feel heat flushing his face with embarrassment; his limited interactions with women really hadn't prepared him on what to do when one attaches themselves to you while crying hysterically, but it was very obvious he couldn't just leave her weeping into his outstretched arm. Hyping himself up (they do this shit in those stupid romcoms, you know what to do. Just go in, no hesitation) he gingerly pivoted to face Dana, bringing one leg up to rest on the mattress as he placed his free arm around her back. Her response of letting go of his occupied arm go to gently clunk her forehead against his plastron had him feeling brave, encircling both arms and drawing gentle lines up and down her back as her body jolted with hiccuping sobs. They continued like that for several minutes, him stroking reassuring touches down her back while keeping a comfortable distance in order not to crowd her, her with her face pressed against the broad point of his plastron, reducing to gentle whimpers and hiccups. When Dana lifted her head, she grimaced with embarrassment and tried her best to produce a watery grin that didn't reach her eyes.
"Ugh, god I'm so sorry this was so embarrassing, I shouldn't have come down and put you guys in this spot. I just - I knew he'd call April, god I was worried he'd even come to the apartment and I just wanted to make sure I didn't have to talk to him after being so mortified. I can, uh, go if you want."
"No, no you don't have to-" (Be cool Raph, that was creepy fast) "I mean, it's late and you've had a really long night, so why don't you stay here. I'm gonna go get some extra blankets, you're turning me into a turtlecicle with how cold you are."
With no arguments, he was back quickly with blankets, gently laying them down onto the lumpy center where Dana remain upright. Gently, he pressed his finger onto her forehead and guided her to lie down, reaching around her head to grab one of his excess pillows and quickly shifting toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Came the meek, almost gravely voice from Dana, clearly fighting sleep off. Raph turned to see her eyes half lidded and a small pout. He raised a brow in confusion.
"I'm … going to sleep on the couch?" Why did he feel the need to phrase it as if that wasn't the correct answer. A creep of pink suddenly rose on her cheeks, but she refused to look away.
"Can you, like, stay with me? Just until I fall asleep! I don't think I can be alone right now." He wanted to say no, knew that she was probably just drunk and not thinking straight, that his father, or god forbid Leo would have his head for not being a proper host, but she just looked so broken and lost. He rationalized she'd be out within 10 minutes and he could sneak away before anyone could figure out what happened. Softening his gaze he gently plodded back to the massive bed, gingerly placing himself above the blankets at the farthest edge from his little guest. Dana, a little too drunk to care and feeling safer than she had in hours, had no hesitation in grabbing the large arm closest to her and yanking it over her waist, somehow making the behemoth of a host shift closer. Satisfied when he was close enough to burrow against the hard expanse of chest, the mortified turtle she manhandled felt her relax against him. Just until she was out, he reminded himself, then you can sneak out.
Raphael felt the weight of his eyelids as he shifted to wake up, throat burning with how dry it felt. He couldn't remember when he headed to the couch to sleep but it was far more comfortable than the last time he slept there. He shifted to roll off when he registered the warm weight pressing into his arm, and his eyes bolted open. There, curled into the crook of his arm, drooling down the edge of his plastron, little Dana slept undisturbed; she almost looked like she'd never even showed up in hysterics, had it not been for the clear shadow of dried mascara down her cheeks. Gently removing his arm and replacing a pillow for her head to relocate, he tip toed his way out of her grasp and through his bedroom door. The moment his door was closed and he heard no movement from the room, he sprinted to the kitchen, putting as much distance from the awkward feeling he'd woken to. Gingerly, the giant grabbed a glass and filled it from the sink, taking down water in enormous gulps and refilling for sweet relief. He figured since he'd been able to sneak out safely, he'd just crash on the couch and hope the throw pillows could be at least mildly as comfortable as his own; not even teasing the risk of returning to the bedroom. The sound of a throat clearing behind me had him jumping out of his skin; caught like Mikey stealing snacks. He shifted to look over his shoulder, finding none other than his blue banded brother leaning against the kitchen doorway. Raphael couldn't fight the eye roll.
"Listen, don't get on my ass, I was going for the couch and I fell asleep before I even knew I was tired. I just wanted to make sure she'd be oka-"
"I'm not mad, Raphael." The look on the older brother didn't give any indication as to what he was feeling, Raph hated when he did that. The younger scoffed.
"You sure about that? You look real peachy right now." Leo couldn't help but crack a smile. Stepping toward the sink where his brother still stand guarded, Leo placed a friendly hand on Raph's shoulder.
"So what happened to make her come running down to her knight in shining armor?" Raph snorted into his umpteenth glass of water, inducing a watery fit of coughing. After clearing himself from unintentional drowning, he finally turned to fully face his brother.
"Dude, she was upset with her jackass ex-boyfriend and she was blasted and scared. It is definitely not that deep." Leo quirked an eyebrow at that.
"Scared? Did he do anything we need to take care of personally? I didn't think she was seeing him at-"
"They're friends, Leo. Or, I assume were after tonight. No physical danger other than running out without her coat, she can tell you the details if she wants to later. Don't worry too much about it. Oh, and can you text April to let her know she has to go pick up D's coat in the morning? I've got no idea when she's gonna wake up and I left my phone in there." His brother gave a subtle nod in return, but made no move to grab his phone, let alone stop looking at him. It was starting to get on Raphael's nerves.
"What? I got something on my face? Why you looking at me?"
"You do know she likes you, right?" Raph looked at the older terrapin like he'd sprouted an extra head. Leo continued looking at him as though he couldn't believe how dense he could be.
"I'm serious. It doesn't make you curious that she felt unsafe and upset so she came down here? She didn't even wake Master Splinter or wait for us in any of the main rooms." Raphael could feel his eyes rolling before he could stop himself; Leo wasn't supposed to be the brother who made up fantasies.
"She knows where my room is and she wanted to be alone and warm, and should I remind you she's drunk? that's it. And, oh wise one, even if she did, she's bound to wise up because we aren't exactly compatible." Leo thought of smacking his brother upside the head, quickly schooling his expression so as not to set off the temperamental sibling as Raphael pushed past him to get to the couch.
"… She knows where Mikey's is too, and yet she went right passed that door for yours. Don't sell yourself short, she's a smart girl and she clearly cares about us, but she's downright attached to you. Don't pretend like you don't notice." Raph stilled in his stride through the main area, refusing to turn toward his brother. This 'I know more than you' attitude pissed him off regularly, but putting his feelings into it bordered on boiling him from the inside. With a roll of his shoulders he straightened.
"I find it really funny that you, Mr. 'Protect the family, don't trust easily' are just acting completely on board with this ridiculous fantasy." Had the big barra turned, he'd have seen the soft smile on his otherwise stoic brother's face.
"She's April's family, and April trusts her. One way or another, she's our family too." Leo turned to walk back toward his own bedroom to leave his brother, but not before tossing out one last quip that would maybe piss him off, but would definitely get him thinking.
"Y'know, it's funny that you'd choose the word fantasy and not nightmare if you're so vehemently against the idea."