Chapter Text
Over an hour and a half passes before the two lovers grow tired and decide to head back to the family’s firepit. They use a powerful wave and its momentum to swim toward shore.
There is a hint of pink and orange in the sky just as they touch the shore. They’re barely back on land when they see Casey Jr. running toward them.
“Hey! Mikey says that dinner’s ready,” he announces, slowing down as he reaches the duo.
“Sweet! I am ready to chow down on some kabobs.” April rings any remaining salt water from her hair. “Do I dare ask who won the Volleyball Tournament?”
“Considering that Casey is the one delivering the dinner announcement, I will make the educated guess that Leo lost the tournament,” Donnie announces, looking to Casey to confirm his suspicions.
“Actually, the games tied!” Casey announces, correcting Donnie’s assumption. “The score was 3-3, and after dinner, we’re playing one more game. Hopefully.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m loving the game, but I’m getting tired.”
“Hmmm, well may the best team win I guess.” April starts walking towards the family’s firepit. “Come on, let’s get some food!”
Donnie and Casey Jr. closely follow April back to the firepit. As they approach, Draxum walks over and hands the three plates before guiding them to Mikey’s spread of delicious food. There are Mediterranean chicken kabobs, marinated beef kabobs, lemon rice, a light salad with Italian dressing, sliced watermelon, as well as roasted potatoes and vegetables.
It’s quite the feast, but it’s quickly gobbled up by the large family. Within an hour there’s only one tray of leftovers remaining.
After another round of sunscreen application—just to be safe, Raph insisted—Mikey brings out the bags and boxes of marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate for smores. Despite everyone being stuffed full from dinner, everyone agrees there’s always room for a couple of smores. They each grab one of the color-coded roasting sticks, pierce a few marshmallows onto the metal prongs, and get to roasting. Soon everyone is enjoying their delicious smores.
Well, almost everyone.
“Oh come on!” Leo exclaims as his third marshmallow slides off his prong and into the fire. “That one was perfect!”
“It would help if you didn’t angle your prongs into the fire, my dear brother,” Donnie chides as he helps April slide her toasted marshmallow off her stick.
“I’m not though!” Leo plops back down in his beach chair, a frown on his face.
Mikey mercifully hands Leo one of his toasted marshmallows. Leo accepts, albeit with a frown still on his face. Once he takes the first bite of his treat, however, the frown disappears and a small smile spreads across his face.
Leo’s barely finished his treat when Cass springs up. “Alright! Sun’s gonna set soon, and we have a game to play! Come on let’s finish this and determine who the true volleyball champion is!”
The four players leap to their feet, playfully taunting each other as they return to the net. As Leo gets up, however, he grimaces slightly; this minor facial twitch is caught by Donnie, who quirks his eyebrow but says nothing. While it’s too early to tell, he catches a reddish hue on Leo’s skin, and it’s not from the fire.
Donnie waits for the four competitors to leave the bonfire completely before he begins talking. “Papa, we left our medical kit at the hotel, correct?”
“Yes, why?” Splinter asks.
“I’m one hundred percent sure that Leo has a first-degree sunburn,” Donnie states, “Possibly a second-degree burn. He’ll need a strict regiment of applying my specialized aloe vera cream to his skin every two to three hours. He will regret not protecting his epidermis with a photoprotective topical product.”
Splinter hums but says nothing more. He shares a look with Draxum, who just sighs and takes a swig of his beer.
The sun disappears below the horizon an hour later, but the volleyball game is still going, illuminated only by the campfire and stray light from the resort. While April would normally be more than content to watch the heated competition, she has other ideas.
“Hey, Donnie!” April gets from her seat and tugs on Donnie’s arm. “Let’s go walk along the shoreline!”
Donnie quirks an eyebrow, resisting her pull and remaining seated. “The sun’s set, and your human eyes will struggle to determine where the sand ends and the water begins. Are you sure?”
“Oh come on, it’ll be fun! Besides,” April tilts her head and smiles, “you won’t let me fall into the water, at least not accidentally.”
“Contemplative hum, I suppose that you are correct.” Donnie turns to look at the family members remaining around the fire. “Will you need assistance in applying aloe to Leo’s enflamed skin?”
“No, we will manage taking care of Blue. You two have fun.” Splinter waves his hand.
Donnie nods, grabbing one of the flashlights by his chair as he gets up. After dusting any cracker crumbs from his plastron, he takes April’s hand and together they walk towards the shore.
There are a few people also walking along the shore, but not many beach-goers are brave enough to walk along the blackened abyss that’s now the Pacific Ocean. As a result, it’s relatively quiet as the couple walks along the ocean’s edge.
“So,” Donnie starts, keeping his voice low, “why did you want to walk along the shore after sunset? We could have done this earlier when the sun was out.”
April hums, swinging their arms as they walk. “Yeah, but then we would’ve missed out on enjoying some waves! It’s too dark to do it now, and I don’t have a death wish.”
“Ah, I suppose swimming in the ocean at night is exponentially more perilous than walking along the shore,” Donnie admits, looking out towards the dark abyss that is the ocean.
“And we haven’t been able to get one-on-one time this vacation. All the activities have involved the entire family.” April explains further, running her thumb across the top of his hand.
“Another excellent point, my dear April. Though I believe the last few days of this vacation are free-for-alls.” Donnie brings up his other hand to his chin, recalling the vacation schedule. “So we can go out on a date then. If you would like, of course.”
“I would love that, actually.” April stops walking and turns to face her purple-clad boyfriend. “I’ve been missing you. I’ve been so busy with uni and internship bullshit, I just feel like I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with you.”
Donnie stuffs the flashlight into his swim shorts’ pocket and uses his hand to cup his girlfriend’s cheek. “I have missed you too. It’s been a tireless six months. I’m sorry if I’ve been neglecting our relationship. I… I do love you.”
“Hey, I’ve not been pullin’ my weight either. It’s not completely your fault.” April leans her cheek into the palm of her boyfriend’s hand. “I love you too.”
Donnie smiles—one that his poor girlfriend cannot quite see in the darkness—and he nudges the tip of his snout against her nose. His eyes close as April closes the distance, pressing her lips gently to his. Donnie churrs, eagerly returning the kiss. He slides the hand on her cheek to cup the back of her head, pulling her closer.
It’s quite comical, how much Donnie has to stoop just to kiss April. But, at least the darkness of night shields their intimate moment away from prying eyes, granting them some privacy.
After a few seconds they break away, deciding to rest their foreheads against each other and enjoy each other’s company. Donnie continues to churr, the comforting rumble in his chest mixing with the rolling crashes behind them. The edges of the waves lick their feet, keeping them grounded in reality and to each other.
Several minutes pass before Donnie dares to break the comfortable silence. “Would you like to keep walking?”
“Yeah.” April leans back and looks down the path they’re walking on. “I think I saw a huge cluster of rocks down on one end of the beach that looked pretty deserted earlier. Hoping we can stargaze undisturbed there.”
Donnie looks towards the sky as some stars begin dotting the sky. “Well then, let’s hurry to your location so we can stare in wonder at the grandiose universe above us.”
They begin walking again, putting a bit more spring in their step as they approach their destination. The rocks are barely visible against the horizon, so Donnie pulls out the flashlight he brought and turns it on, using the light to guide them.
Once they arrive, they find a fairly dry, smooth rock to lean back against. The chill of the rock prompts a shiver up April’s spine, and she leans into Donnie’s side for warmth. Donnie wraps his arm around her, pulling her close. Once comfortable, Donnie turns the flashlight off and both turn their gaze toward the sky.
It’s beautiful. While the light from the nearby city obscures some of the night sky, the midnight canvas above is still filled with stars. The small pinpricks of light flicker and shine, bringing life to the celestial heavens.
“Wow,” April whispers, “It’s so damn pretty.”
“I agree, though the light pollution still blocks out a majority of the celestial bodies.” Donnie mumbles, his eyes fixated on the sky above. “We should arrange a short vacation to Joshua Tree National Park or another location without civilization for miles.”
April turns to look at Donnie. “You sure the lack of technology won’t send you into a spiral?”
“I think I can survive a couple of days without access to the wonders of the technologically advanced world. Besides-” Donnie raises his left arm and taps the screen on his gauntlet. “-I’ve improved the battery and connection capabilities of my tech gauntlet, so at least I’ll have this while I endure the fact that most of these remote locations don’t have modern plumbing.”
April snorts, “God, you’re such a dork, Dee.”
“But I’m your dork, right?”
“Of course.” April leans up to peck Donnie on the underside of his jaw. “You’re my dork, don’t know what I’d do without ya.”
Donnie chirps, the kiss catching him by surprise. But a smile quickly spreads across his face and he pulls April closer to his plastron as he starts to churr softly. She smiles, more than eager to snuggle closer to her purple-clad boyfriend.
They both return their eyes to the sky once more.
A few minutes pass before April breaks the silence again. “Ya know, I took a quarter of astrology as an elective. I think I remember some stories about the constellations in the night sky.”
Donnie temporarily stops his churring to hum in question.
“Yeah, wanna hear the stories? They may be nonsensical, but they’re still kinda cool.”
Donnie gently squeezes her arm. “Go ahead.”
And April begins reciting the mythology of the stars, from the tragic tale of the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor to the wild tales of the zodiac constellations. Donnie listens intently, enjoying his girlfriend's infodump about one of her classes. He occasionally butts in to ask questions about the nonsensical myths, but he mostly remains quiet.
“Ya know, it’s comforting that humans have always looked to the stars for answers and stuff,” April states as she finishes her tales.
“How so?” Donnie tilts his head, taking his eyes off the stars to look at his girlfriend.
“I dunno. I guess…” April pauses, searching her brain for words before she continues. “Knowing that people have always looked skyward to understand their fate, to find hope in the future… I guess it’s comforting to know we’re not alone.”
“Affirmative hum, I suppose you have a point, April.” Donnie returns his eyes to the sky once more. “Are you… looking for answers in the stars tonight?”
April’s quiet for a few moments. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“I dunno. I mean, I graduate next May, Donnie.” April’s eyes are transfixed on the sky above her. “And like, I’ve been studying hard to pass my classes with good grades, been writing for the university’s newspaper, I’ll be going back to my internship once we’re back. But once I graduate, I don’t know what will happen.”
“Are you scared you’ll get a job outside of New York? That you’ll leave all of us—and me—behind?”
April freezes.
“… yeah.”
Donnie looks down from the stars to April, his wonderful and clever girlfriend. While it’s pretty dark, Donnie can make out her eyes, the stars reflecting in them.
He bites his lip, gears turning in his head. “It won’t happen.”
April tilts her head to look at her boyfriend. “You seem very sure about that.”
“You won’t leave New York unless you want to.” Donnie shifts so that he faces April. “We’ll find a way to get you a job in the city. Or maybe a job just outside of the city. We’ll exhaust all opportunities before you set foot outside of the state. I’ll marry you before you graduate if I must.”
April almost chokes after his last sentence. “Marry me?!”
“Yes, of course!” Donnie pauses as the implications of what he just promised to catch up with him. “Shit, was that too soon? Did you want to discuss this in detail? I figured this was something we both wanted, though we have not had a dedicated discussion on this topic.”
“I, no, Donnie, of course I want to marry you.” April reaches up to cradle his cheek. “I just didn’t know you were thinking about it too.”
“W-well, I haven’t been thinking about it too much.” Thank Newton’s Cradle that the dark hides his blush. “I figured it would be better to propose and marry after you’ve graduated and secured your dream job. That way you’re not overwhelmed, and you can focus on your career aspirations.”
The heat of his cheek still registers against her fingertips. “I know being an emotionally unavailable bad boy was a phase in your teen years, but this is still so incredibly… sweet and sentimental, Donatello Hamato.”
The purple-clad turtle chirps at the use of his full name. “I… anything for you, April. You only deserve the best.”
April feels the pinpricks of tears collecting in the corners of her eyes; she’s overcome with emotion, with love for her thoughtful, scrupulous boyfriend. Of course, he would consider her well-being when considering when to propose and marry. A smile briefly spreads across her face before she pulls him down and presses her lips against his.
Donnie’s eyes briefly widen before they flutter closed, a steady churr rumbling in his chest as he pulls April closer to him. He will never tire of April’s warmth, from her physically warmer body to her radiant personality. He loves her very very much—that’s two very’s—and he cannot imagine a life without her.
As they kiss, a flash of light briefly dances across their eyelids as a loud whistle sounds. Seconds later, a boom reverberates in the sky. This is followed by more flashes of light and loud explosions. Donnie cracks an eye open to look; fireworks are lighting up the sky.
He breaks off the kiss to glance at them before looking back at his girlfriend. “Would you look at that. Fireworks. Would you like to enjoy these colorful explosives, sometimes referred to as man-made stars?”
April briefly considers it. “Hmmm, nah. Think I wanna keep kissing my lovable boyfriend.”
“Excellent choice.”
So they continue to kiss as the fireworks continue to explode in the sky, the colorful lights dancing across the couple as the darkness of night surrounds them.
“Leo, if you had bothered to apply the photoprotective topical product like April had recommended, you wouldn’t be covered head-to-toe in aloe and hydrocortisone cream.”
A painful whine escapes from Leo’s lips as he lies face down on top of towels on his hotel bed, his skin beet red and glistening in the low light from the lotion. “I didn’t think I would get sunburned that bad.”
“Dude, the sun didn’t set ‘til almost eight.” April chides as she applies a cool, wet rag to the back of Leo’s head. “And you were by the ocean which reflects light. You were exposed for nearly five hours.”
“I got a sunburn, and I didn’t even win the volleyball competition,” he whines, and Donnie and April share a look.
Leo continues to whimper and groan, committed to wallowing in his own misery. Eventually, they hear a knock on the door to the bedroom. A second later, the door opens to Draxum and Splinter making their way inside.
“I managed to find some mystic-infused cream for sunburns in the West Coast’s Secret Metropolis,” Draxum explains as he sets down a bag and pulls out a large bottle of the cream, “It should accelerate your body’s natural healing processes, but it will still take some time. Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, it will feel like a minor sunburn.”
“Oh, thank you!” Tears are streaming down Leo’s face, and he probably would be sobbing if it wasn’t for the fact that it would cause excruciating pain. “I thought I was going to perish.”
April and Donnie roll their eyes, but the four collectively help rub the cream onto Leo’s body so that they can get back to enjoying the last few days of their vacation tomorrow.