Babies, I cannot REMOTELY explain how crazy my life has been; Starting rehearsals for a new show, one of my cousins got married, another one broke almost every bone in his body, another one died, my uncle is dying and my last 2 grandparents are rapidly developing dementia.
It's all fine.
ANYWAY, have a wee bit of angst.
April sat curled on the couch, a quiet night aside from the drizzle plucking against the window, and the gentle clicks of her keyboard; inventory was her least favorite part of business.
The gentle click of a bedroom door gave her no worry as two socked feet padded softly across the apartment, likely just Dana getting a snack before retreating back into her cave. Instead, the younger cousin plodded gently over to the other end of the couch, sitting down gingerly as she fiddled with her fingers. There were several minutes of heavy silence, permeated by one large sigh as April adjusted to take in the sight of her cousin, looking entirely too small and withdrawn. The redhead couldn't help her brows knitting together.
"Hey, what's up, bubbles?" She was hoping the moniker would get the clearly looming storm cloud to dissipate, but no such luck as Dana turned herself toward the older woman with red rimmed eyes and a timid wobble of her lower lip.
"I'm having big sads." Like being transported back 15 years in the sweltering heat of Pennsylvania summer, April remembered 'big sads.' Like a curse her poor cousin could never quite break from; an unexpected deflation of an otherwise bright girl as she grappled with herself for no reason. April pulled the blue light glasses off the bridge of her nose ( bless Donatello for saving her eyesight early enough) and patted the couch cushion closest to her, a gentle smile gracing the smoothness of her cheeks.
"C'mon, turn around. Just know I haven't braided since the last time I did this so I'm definitely not giving you anything to leave the house in." That cracked a pitiful smile on the blonde's face as she wiped a stray tear off her nose. After allowing Dana to scooch backwards up the couch, April started with gently combing her fingers through the long hair to divide the part as evenly as possible.
"Anything I should be worried about? Do you wanna talk about it or is it just one of those ones?" If there were a genuine problem, of course she'd want to help find a solution for the burdened young woman, but she also often knew these didn't necessarily always happen with reason. Dana sat quietly for some time, alternating between picking apart her nails and wringing her wrists. At about the halfway point of the first French braid ("I know Dutch braids are your favorite but I don't have the patience to try and remember those ones.") Dana gently shifted, a deep breath releasing from her lungs.
"No, it's just one of those sad ones. I got lost in my own head again…" ah, the gentle fade of pulling out a sad girl's thoughts out. April gave a light tug on the hair she gathered to add to the braid.
"And what little forest did we get caught in?" A small huff from the front of the little couch pile.
"Excuse me, that could count as child abuse."
"You're almost 20."
"Well, the principle still matters."
April couldn't help but snort, sure Dana was avoiding the subject, but some form of humor was a better sign than silence. The two continued in a more comfortable silence, April pulling the camera on her phone after finishing to allow her little client a view of her work. Dana bummed an approval, lips inching ever so slightly into a lopsided smile as she turned to face the other woman again.
"You've still got it better than me, mine ended up on different levels cause I didn't want to use the mirror." April couldn't help the small frown.
"You never asked your mom to do it?" Dana only shrugged.
"She wasn't great at long hair stuff to begin with, and she did her best but she didn't really get why I would ask for this. You were the best at it, still are." It also didn't help that all of Dana's other cousins were boys, April seemed to be the only one who didn't accidentally make her feel crazy. She smiled as much as she could muster, still not quite out of the woods, but faring much better after some gentle care. April, always knowing what came next, allowed Dana to get comfortably spread out on the couch, head gently dropping on the red heads thigh.
"I'll put something on the TV that isn't too engaging, but I have to keep it low while I finish work." Dana muttered a low thank you, one cheek squished upward into her makeshift pillow, as April pulled up some ridiculous travel channel marathon and restarted where she left in her inventorying. Shortly after starting, as if by second nature, April gently stroked the hair at the crown of her little cousin's head. It wasn't until an hour or so later, after finishing her work and doing a little bit of browsing for new leads, April realized the weight on her leg had become solid as Dana drifted into a well needed nap. Checking the time, she knew she should wake the girl and get them off to their respective beds, but the look of tranquility that finally came across Dana's face was too much to resist. An episode of Mystery's at the Museum could go by before she disturbed her. About halfway through the watch through, April's attention was drawn to the window opening and a very bouncy Michelangelo dropping into her living room. She was quick to place a finger up to her mouth, shushing gently. Mikey proceeded to instead creep forward with an exaggerated gait.
"Oh my goodness, this is so cute, the guys are gonna be so sad they missed this. I gotta get a picture!" Before any protests could be made, Mikey's phone was shoved precariously close to the sleeping girl's face and the flash went blaring, earning a few grumbles and hands shoving up in front of her eyeline, but no awakening.
"Mike, bud, I'm sorry you came up this late for nothing, but it's been a long night, I was about to put her to bed, okay?"
"Long night? Would you like me to make it better? Rose petal bubble bath? A nice soufflé? Little foot rub?" Did he have to be so adorably frustrating? April looked at him, brows raised to accompany a disciplined frown, the youngest turtle quieting accordingly.
"Well, since the rain kept me out too late to spend time with you lovely ladies, the least I can do is bring her to bed. . . Pleeeeeease?" April had to fight snorting out a laugh, it would only encourage him.
"Yes, if you stop making it weird, but then I'm getting ready for bed, so no hang tonight." With a quick salute and a "yes ma'am", he picked up the deadweight holding April hostage, cradling Dana gently as he quickly delivered her to the back bedroom. After tucking in the small girl and getting a head pat from his sweet red headed angel, Mikey left mercifully quietly into the night.
"Dude, why do you have a picture of Dana asleep on your phone?"
"Uh, excuse me, why are you snooping through my phone, so nosy."
"You LITERALLY put it down with the photo pulled up in front of me, numb nuts."