"I can't believe Master Splinter actually agreed to this," Mari said, as she, Raph, Leo, Cat, Mikey and Donnie jumped from rooftop to rooftop in the dead of the night.
"I know right, isn't it fantastic?" Donnie questioned, a lovesick expression on his face, causing Mari to roll her eyes, wondering if April O'Neal was good enough for her younger brother.
She knew that Donnie was extremely excited to show his crush (the only girl he has ever seen in his life) where they live, but Mari had doubts about this — but that was probably due to the fact that her brother had a crush on the girl. Mari wasn't sure she was quite ready for any of her siblings to have crushes, especially on someone that is never able to gain any romantic feelings toward them... like a human, for instance.
Donnie is merely setting himself up for heartbreak, and Mari really wants to make sure that that doesn't happen. She really doesn't want to have to hurt April, depending on how harsh she is about a mutant reptile having a crush on her.
"I still don't think this is a good idea," Raph said, in his usual gruff voice. "I mean, what if we can't trust her?" he questioned. At least someone shared Mari's thought. Donnie was too in love — or at least in like — to have doubts, Mikey and Cat are way too naive to doubt anyone, and as for Leo... he trusts their father enough to not question any of his decisions, as if not even he could make mistakes.
"We saved her life," Cat said, doing a front flip. She let out her signature giggle. How she managed to only giggle, while Mari's laugh is probably hideous, is beyond her. "Why wouldn't we be able to trust her?"
"Besides, who else is gonna save her father's life?" Mikey said, for once in his life, making a valid point.
Mari sighed, preparing to agree with Raph, when Donnie said, "How could someone that beautiful be untrustworthy?" He had a weird grin on his face, which unsettled his older sister, in more ways than one.
She never thought that any of her siblings would fall in love. They're teenage mutant turtles for crying out loud! And they've lived in the sewers all of their lives... There wasn't anyone for them to... crush on. Until April O'Neal that is, but it doesn't change the fact that she's a human girl that would probably have a type consisting of human boys.
"We're ninjas," Leo whispered. "Are you going to continue talking? We have to be quiet," he insisted, as he ran like Naruto — an anime that Mari might have given a try... in secret, of course.
"Yeah, would hate to get caught, before we get Donnie's girlfriend," Cat teased, while Mikey made kissy noises and Raph laughed.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Donnie hissed, a faint blush on his cheeks, but even so, the smile didn't leave his face.
Mari frowned. "Yeah, April isn't his girlfriend," she said and without thinking about her next words she added, "and she never will be." She didn't think there was anything wrong with her statement, but Donnie had stopped moving on a rooftop. And he stopped smiling.
"Hey, why did you stop?" Leo asked, as he and others turned to face him. "We don't have all night. We have to get there, preferably before April goes to bed."
"You good?" Mari asked hesitantly. Did he not like what she had said? She was just stating the obvious, so it shouldn't have been a very big deal. But Donnie seemed to think it was worth frowning about.
"Y-Yeah," Donnie said.
"Oooh!" Cat suddenly squealed, causing everyone to look at her in alarm, only for her to be bending down and picking something up from the ground. A fake jewel that must've fallen off of someone's assemble. "Wow, it's so pretty! Isn't it pretty, Mikey?"
Mikey shrugged, peering down at it. "I mean, I guess, but nothing looks better than pizza," he said.
Cat frowned. "Jewels and pizza are two different things... and, bro, now I kind of want pizza," she told her brother.
Raph rolled his eyes and smacked both of their heads at the same time, causing them both to scream, "OW!" as they clutched their heads and simultaneously glared at Raph, but then they quickly glanced away when they were met by a venomous glare by Raph himself.
"Well, we should keep going," Leo said, as he picked up jumping.
His siblings followed suit. Mari stared at Donnie for a second, before she followed the others, and Donnie jumped behind her, looking like he was deep in thought... but then again, isn't that always the case for the genius of the family?
Mari pursed her lips, as she ran. Maybe she shouldn't have phrased it like that, but she didn't want to give her little brother false hope either. April can't ever like him — and that's something he's gonna have to deal with. Still, Mari doesn't want to see any of her siblings hurt, especially over some girl or boy, even though she acts like they're a bunch of pains — Okay, that's because they kind of are. But that is beside the point. She just hopes Mikey and Cat stay innocent forever... though she also hoped that they would stop being so immature. Hm... Mari leaped over to Cat and Mikey, suddenly curious.
"So, what do you guys think about..." Mari shuddered, staring at Cat's and Mikey's wondering eyes, while Leo, Raph and Donnie were left unaware with what Mari was about to ask their younger siblings, "...about... love?" she brought her voice down in a whisper. The idea itself wasn't really repulsive, but talking about it with her siblings? It was rather unsettling for her.
"It's gross, but fun to tease Donnie about," Mikey immediately answered, a goofy grin on his face. "I'm never gonna have a crush on anybody. Talk about... bleh!" He made a grossed out face, and then frowned. "Why'd you wanna know?"
"No reason," Mari said, rather pleased by Mikey's answer, but deep down, she knew that that was the little boy in him talking, and perhaps maybe Mikey would think differently in the future... of the right girl or boy... or even non binary person came along, but Mari really doesn't see how that could even happen, considering what they are and that April and her father are probably going to be the only humans that know about their existence. She looked at Cat who skipped along happily from roof to roof. "What about you?" Mari questioned. Cat's just as immature as Mikey, maybe even more, so Cat's bound to have the same type of answer as him... right?
"Love," Cat said, and to Mari's horror, she sighed. "I think it's awesome and cute and makes me wanna squeal sooooooo hard, ya know?" But then she frowned. "Too bad I'll never experience it."
Mari wasn't expecting or hoping for that kind of response from her little sister, but she probably should have expected it. Cat may be immature and a complete idiot, but she is very much a girl that loves sparkles and cute things and... fangirls... so her not having the same response as Mikey actually makes perfect sense.
Mikey's eyes widened. "You really don't need to, Cat!" he said, hurriedly. Then narrowed his eyes at Mari. "Why did you wanna know? Have the hots for someone?"
"Please never say that again," Mari said in horror. She can't believe that her little cinnamon roll of brother said "hots" in such a way. "And to answer your question, the only one outside of the family we know is April and I don't like her that way, so that's a big no."
Mikey's good natured grin returned. "Well, we know the kraang. Have a thing for one of them?"
Cat giggled. "I'm already making a ship name!" she said. "Maybe Kramari? Maang? OH! I know! Kretta!
"It's perfect!"
Mari really regrets talking to them.
Suddenly, Leo came to a stop. "Okay, we're here," he said. And that was true, as they all went on the balcony that led to April's window.
The timing was perfect, in Mari's opinion.
Donnie's face once again had a love struck expression on his face, Mari's harsh yet true words long forgotten. Mikey and Cat were grinning and Raph and Mari both wore frowns. Leo had on a kind smile on his face.
"I'll knock!" Donnie quickly said. "Wait. Do I look okay, or—"
"Just knock!" Raph demanded. "Or I will!"
Donnie sighed. "Fine, okay," he muttered, thumping his right fist on the glass of April's window, a rather nervous expression attached to his face. There wasn't really anything to be nervous about, in Mari's opinion. It's not like Donnie is taking April out on a date, yet that's what he's acting like. Plus, all of his brothers and sisters were literally right there as well.
Anyway, back to the other thing... or the problem...
Mari was honestly hoping that April wouldn't answer... her window, as wrong as that is to want or to hope for, and it's not like she has any rational reason to be against this entire thing, because even if there are rational reasons to not want to bring her to the lair, it's mainly because of Donnie's crush on her that she really wish they could just... not show her where they live. Is it so wrong to be protective toward your younger brother? Because of so, Mari really didn't want to be right. As for whether or not April opened the window or not...
But Mari wasn't that lucky.
Only a few seconds later did April's face appear in the window. She looked confused for a second when she saw her mutant ninja turtle friends, but then a smile graced upon her face as she opened her window.
April rubbed her eyes and yawned and stretched just a little bit. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked them, crossing her arms. April wasn't expecting them, so a little bit of confusion from her was to only be expected.
"H-Hey, April!" Donnie said. "I-I-I mean, what's up? Hi? Er, I mean..."
Raph nudged Donnie in the rind, causing him to groan in pain. But really, if Raph didn't stop Donnie's rambling, it would have ended... embarrassingly for him.
April didn't look impress. She crossed her arms. "Do you know how late it is?" she said. "I was just about to go to bed."
"Hello, April," Leo said diplomatically. "We have came today to show you where we lived. We figured since we were going to be seeing a lot of you for the time being..."
April's face lit up. "Wow, really?" she questioned. "Sweet! Okay, I'm so there!" She looked down at her pajamas. "Just... can you give me a second to change?"
"Sure!" Cat said with a large grin.
"Go right ahead," Leo said.
"Awesome, I'll be right back," April said, closing the window and disappearing from sight.
Mari stir against the railing of the balcony, wishing she was doing... literally anything else. Donnie seemed extremely happy though, even more happy that Cat seemed to be.
"God, I wish we could go, I dunno, beat up people," Raph said. When he saw all of his siblings looking at him incredulously, including Mari, he added, "What? I'm talkin' bout people that deserve it, of course. Like the kraaang, for instance."
"Kraang are not people," Mari said, rolling her eyes as her arms were placed on her hips.
"Yeah, they're alien robots!" Mikey said, waving his hands around.
"With scary brains in their chest," Cat added, shuddering slightly. "Those things were disg—"
"Will you guys just let it go already?" Raph questioned, interrupting Cat telling her siblings about the disgusting brains, smacking both of them in the head at the same time.
"Ow!" Mikey and Cat yelled out, clutching their throbbing heads.
"Well, we wouldn't be so bothered still if you just believed us in the first place," Cat said, puffing out her cheeks.
"Would you have believed it if one of us said it?" Leo questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Mikey and Cat glanced at each other before looking at Leo and Raph and saying, "Yes!" louder than it really needed to be.
"Yeah, well, that's because you are both idiots," Raph said as if it was just a simple fact - to Raph, that probably was the case.
"Hey!" Mikey protested.
But Mari didn't care about her siblings conversation whatsoever, and apparently neither did Donnie, as he was still waiting for April to reappear, still wearing the biggest smile he has ever had on his face.
"What in the world is April doing?" Mari muttered, with crossed arms.
Mari personally thinks that April is taken a rather long time getting ready, but it's not like she knows how long it takes for a human girl to get ready, seeing as how she's a turtle that wears a shell and a yellow mask and that's it.
"She hasn't been gone for that long," Cat said, rolling her eyes playfully.
She was the only one to have heard Mari's simple and rather short muttering, seeing as she was right next to her older sister... and she has good hearing—if she's paying attention (Read: listening in or eavesdropping. That was not the case this time, of course, but Cat is rather nosy a lot of the time).
April reappeared at the window wearing a yellow shirt and blue shorts, and of course shoes as well. She opened up the window once again and smiled at her friends. April must've never thought that she would be friends with mutants... that also happen to be ninjas wearing coordinated masks and carrying different style weapons, with a mutated rat for a father and that absolutely looooove pizza, even only having tried it recently. Oh, and lives in the sewers, which is probably the least bit weird part of it ironically enough.
"Okay, I'm ready," April said, "sorry it took so long, but my aunt wanted to talk to me, but she's asleep now, so we should be good."
"Great, then let's go," Leo said.
"This is gonna be sweet!"