Chapter Text
April O'Neil rubbed the rough texture of her graduation robes between her fingers, feeling the rough texture. She had gotten bored of bunching up the cloth into her hand before letting it go pretty fast, so this was the next best thing to keep herself busy as the ceremony dragged on. Her arms were sweating in the heavy cloth, and she felt like she was going to melt right into her chair. Even if her orange hair was tied up, it still hung heavily on the back of her neck. For a girl who had helped save the world multiple times, was a trained kunoichi, with psychic powers, and could throw people across a room, one would think that a high school graduation would be nothing. A walk in the park, a piece of cake, nothing to worry about. She had done much more impressive things.
Like fighting the Shredder, taking down his Foot clan, going to space, far beyond what any modern NASA scientist could ever hope to achieve, and seeing things that would make people think she was crazy. Fighting mutants and creatures that were bigger, stronger, and tougher than she was, and coming out on top. But no, getting up in front of people was the hard part, that was what was making her heart race.
To be fair, while April had been scared doing those things, at least she had people she trusted around her. All she had to do was look to her left and she was surrounded by a family that would do anything for her. And knowing that she would return the favor in a heartbeat.
April sat up a little straighter in the foldable chair that she was sitting in, getting a look at her class. There was a long line of students walking up to the platform, decorated with fake flowers in the colors of their school, the teachers wearing robes of their own, shaking the hands of the president, before getting their diploma, taking a picture, and walking off. The names are getting read off as fast as possible, but this was still going to take multiple hours.
A few rows ahead of her, she could just make out the dark hair of the one person in this school she actually cared about, Casey Jones. He was slumped in his chair, his arm draped over the back of the chair, and letting it hang there, spreading out his legs.
The teachers were probably going to be surprised when he walked up to get his diploma. He and April had a bet that Casey would not be let through and the administration would double-check to make sure that they had that right before letting him go. Or they would be more than happy to get rid of the disruptive Casey. No building had been able to hold him.
But to be fair to her vigilante friend, she had also been on the verge of not passing. A lot of leeway was given after all of the recent destruction and invasions that had happened throughout their high school careers. And even with that, the two humans had been stressed out of their minds for their last exams, studying weeks in advance to make sure that they were going to pass.
Well, April had been stressed. Jones had approached everything with the same attitude that he always did, unbelievably laid back, and not worried. Even with the help of a literal genius, algebra had been hard for him to grasp. Poor Donnie spent hours at the kitchen table with the two of them, going over the same problems over and over again, step by step. April was sure that the mutant was going to get gray scales right in front of them when he had to explain how to “check your work” for the hundredth time.
The rest of the Hamato clan had done their best to help as well. At least as much as they could, having never gone to school themselves.
Leo had taken an interest in her history lessons, making flashcards and quizzing her whenever they had a chance. The neatly written cards were still at the bottom of her back, tucked away with a rubber band to make sure that they did not get lost. Sometimes she would walk into the lair, and Leo would pop out of nowhere to ask her a quiz question. He was enthusiastic, to say the least.
Donnie had helped with science and math, obviously, but she was sure that he found it boring. Dumbing down his mind to the high school level and he had worked on alien technology had not been the most fun thing, but he had assured her that it was fine. That he wanted to help.
Mikey had helped with American government, especially when she started to put it into analogies of things he understood. Teaching him how it worked had helped a lot, even if she was not sure he would care to remember any of it.
She had been lucky enough to have an art class her final semester, and Raph had been over the moon to help her. Giving ideas, technique tips, checking in with her progress and advising on what colors she should use. Often he would sit with her, his sketchbook in his hands, while they switched off playing songs. The noise would attract the rest of the people currently in the lair until Leo was reading a book with them, Mikey had stolen a piece of paper and doing his own drawing, Donnie was working on something in his notebook, while Casey also read a book. It was those peaceful moments that April loved the most, where it was all of them together, just existing in the same space. A song would end and whoever turn it would wordlessly step in to put on a new one It was quiet and comfortable, something that April never thought that she would get in all of her life.
They were also the moments where the loss of their sensei hurt the most. The moments of peace happened even when April had just started to know the mutant ninjas, and Splinter had always been there, either reading something of his own or meditating nearby. His presence was like a weighted blanket over the rest of them, warm and comforting. Where they all knew that nothing could get to them. It was impossible. Safety that was undeniable, unchallengeable.
They had gotten close to that feeling before.
When it was all of them, really all of them, Karai and Shini too, watching a movie together, curled up on the couch, pizza, popcorn, and soda all over the place, laughing at one of the dumbest movies they had ever watched, after her and Casey’s last final. In the middle of a laugh, tears in her eyes, April had accidentally looked over to the entrance of the lair, the open turnstiles that lead out into the abandoned subway tracks. It had become a home a long time ago, but not one that was always safe from people trying to kill them.
But there, with the turtles, Casey, Karai, and Shini, it was about as safe as they all could get without Master Splinter. No one was going to get to any of them without a fight. She had sworn silently at that moment to always protect her family, even if she had made the same promise so long ago.
And now she was here. One of the kunoichi's of the Hamato clan, getting her high school diploma, without any real clue on what was going to come next. But she knew that she was not going to be alone.
“Casey Jones.”
April's head snapped up to the stage as the name zoned her back into reality. Casey walked up, getting his diploma from a disdainfully looking teacher, but the vigilante did not bat an eye. Giving him a toothy grin, taking the diploma, holding it up for the entire assembly to see, and shouting at the top of his lungs: "Goongala!"
She looked over to the bleachers above them, packed full of families and friends, picking out Casey’s dad and sister, cheering at his name. Not too far from them were the more human passing members of their group, Karai, and Shinigami, waving and whooping.
And then if she looked straight up, deep into the jumbotron that hovered over the stadium, deep into the shadows, she could make out four different pairs of eyes, staring down at them, their cheers blending into the rest, unnoticeable to the world.
April was proud of Casey. School was not his strong suit, he just didn’t do well in it. Never really got it. But he was smart, and brave, if not horribly reckless. He has saved her life more times than she could count, with that stupid wooden bat, and hockey pucks. But even beyond that, Casey was more intelligent than people gave him credit for, he knew how to fix things, just not in the way that Donnie knew how to invent things. Math was not easy, but he could pull together a working car out of some rubber tubing, scrap metal, and a dream.
Should he be working on rockets? No, but he worked on the Shellrazer regularly, and was getting better at math, so maybe there was hope yet.
At the end of the day, April wanted to see him succeed, and whatever that looked like for Casey Jones, then she was going to be happy for him.
The world was open to them now. Laws no longer held them to a building, they were free to do what they wanted. April had thought a bit about what she wanted to do for the rest of her life, and what career she wanted to choose. Sure, fighting crime as a kunoichi was always going to be a part of her life, no matter what, but it was not going to pay the bills. Investigative journalism seemed fun at times, but she was not sure. College seemed like a good next step, but she was not sure if she wanted to just leave.
If she could just leave. They had all been through so much, far too much, and some things were only starting to bubble to the surface.
April couldn't leave them. They were the only people that understood her. The last time she had tried to make a normal friend, Irma had turned out to be a kraang spy, with a mission of getting to the turtles.
She couldn't leave them. They were going to need her now more than ever. And they were all they had.
It had been hard for all of them. That was not a surprise. Of course, things were going to be hard, because nothing had ever been easy for them, ever.
April looked up from where she had been staring blankly at the floor. She was standing now, waiting in line to get to the stage. Most of the people before her, April had no idea who they were. A few stuck out from classes but that was it. Despite the flutter in her chest, April was not sure how to feel. This was the end of one part of her life, and the start of another. She was no longer a child. 'Adult' was a word she was not sure she liked, but maybe she would grow into it.
The end of an era. But she knew that she was not alone.
“April O’Neil.”
The young kunoichi climbed up the steps, going up to the president of her high school that she had seen in the hallways a few times, and shaking his hand.
Glancing behind her, she could see Shinigami, Karai, and her father all out of their seats, jumping and cheering, the witch waving a small flag. April walked forward to receive her diploma from the teacher handing them out, her chemistry teacher from junior year. The old woman smiled, her white hair tied up into a tight bun, with many formal decorations on her gown.
“Congratulations April. I know your future is bright.”
And as she took the diploma, putting her right under the jumbotron, and taking the moment to look up. Just as she had suspected, four pairs of whited-out eyes stared back at her, their cheers echoing around in the hollow center, mixing in with her more human’s friends and family, but they were there nonetheless. Like they would always be.
---
On the best of days, the lair was filled with life and noise. That’s just what happened when four boys lived together, there were very few times when April had walked into the mutant’s home and it was quiet, and usually when that happened, something was wrong. Or Mikey was sick, it was a toss-up.
But now the lair was alive with activity for different reasons. The turtles had decided to host a graduation party for her and Casey and invited all of their friends from around the city. Despite the large size of the lair, with everyone here, it was getting more to the cramped side, especially with the larger mutants such as Slash, Leatherhead, and Muck Man. But that did not seem to bother anyone, mostly happy to mill about, talk, and partake in whatever potluck treats had been made and brought by people.
“Hey, April!” Slash shouted as she walked by with a cup of cider in her hand. The large turtle smiled at her. “Congrats on the graduation!”
From a conversation, she had with Leatherhead a moment ago, most of the mutants were not really sure what sort of accomplishment they were celebrating, as they had been animals before being given sentience. But that did not stop them from congratulating her and Casey.
“Thanks, Slash. Can’t believe that it’s finally over.”
“Have you considered any sort of higher education option?” Rockwell floated up to their conversation, inviting himself in.
April shrugged.
“Not sure. Maybe later, but I don’t really want to leave the city at the moment.”
“Aren’t there colleges here?” Slash asked.
“Well yeah, but,” she paused for a moment, her thoughts were a bit all over the place when it came to her future. “I just don’t want to jump into something at the moment. Sort of just taking it easy after everything?”
She did not need to elaborate, nor did she plan to. A large, heavy hand settled on her shoulder with a tenderness that was learned. She looked at the turtle, and the soft smile, despite his sharp mouth
“He would be proud of you, April.”
She wiped the corners of her eyes, taking the tears out of them.
“I know. Just wish he was here.”
“We all do,” Rockwell agreed.
The funeral had been years ago. And yet the pain was still so fresh.
“Huh,” April sighed, pulling herself out shrugging the hand off her shoulder, and being let go with no resistance. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bring down the mood. I was just grabbing more punch before the breakdancing competition started.”
“It’s not a problem,” Rockwell comforted, raising a hand as if to stop the thought before it went any further. “Although we should make our way over there at some point as well. Mondo Gecko has been preparing for this moment for weeks now.”
April laughed, imagining the small gecko dragging his older teammates to help him with his moves.
“Well, I will say, I do know that the brothers have been doing the same, Casey as well, so he is going to have some tough competition.”
“Well may the best mutant win,” Rockwell said, turning to Slash, “we should get some beverages as well before it starts as well.”
“Right, see you over there April.”
She waved the two mutants a temporary goodbye, before picking her way across the lair to the lab, where the breakdancing competition was going to happen. She moved like fluid water through the crowd, dodging around people, avoiding tentacles, limbs, and other body parts as she went. As a kunoichi her skills came into handy even when she was not in battle, it had become a normal way for her to move.
However, she did not make it to the steps of the lad, an arm slung around her shoulders, and pulled in close.
"Ah! April-chan!" Shinigami squealed into her ear, holding her close. April lifted her drink a bit to make sure that it did not spill anywhere. "Congratulations! Free from the clutches of school!"
April chuckled a bit, the physical affection not being something she was used to, especially not from her fellow kunoichi.
Shini had her normal witch hat on, with a skirt that had the different phases of the moon printed on the edges. Combat boots with tights, and fingerless gloves that traveled up her arms. Black lipstick, with shaded eye shadow that went from a dark gray to black. If there was one thing that Shini did right it was style.
"Thanks, Shini," she struggled to say, always forgetting how strong Shini was. "Finally glad to be out of there."
"And now you can be a full-time ninja," she gave a wink, before giving April space, putting a hand on her hip lazily.
"The hot career path, ninja."
"No less important," Karai walked up. She had her leather jacket on, with long jeans and boots. Her jacket was decorated with studs, and patches, with a sword earring hanging from her ear. Much more casual than usual, but there was still a tonto blade tucked away in the back of her jacket. April got it, she had her fan tucked away in her boot as well. "Someone has to keep those four out of trouble."
"And you think I'm the one that does that?" April questioned, laughing a bit at even the thought.
"True. More like we're the ones who bail them out of things."
April smiled. It was nicer to just talk with the two ninjas. The hostility that Karai had always shown to April had lessened at least a little bit. With Karai realizing Shredder had lied to her after all of these years, and there was more respect that April got from her after she had become a full kunoichi.
"Well, we are going to have a girls' day out," Shini said, looking at April's usual outfit, "get you some new clothes. Make you look like a proper kunoichi."
"What's wrong with my current outfit?" She was a bit offended, she had picked it out herself, making sure she was going to get full range of motion, pocket space to put extra shurikens, and smoke bombs. She even had some plans to put some extra armor pieces underneath it for more protection. Nothing heavy, but just things to keep vulnerable parts of her body safe.
"Nothing if you want to look boring while fighting," Shini said, "it's ok, Karai didn't have any style when we met either."
Karai rolled her eyes but did not protest.
"We'll get you looking super cute, and functional, maybe even some things for when you're not fighting."
"Oh, that's not really necessary," April was quick to decline. She wasn't sure how to feel about being alone with the two ninjas. "I do appreciate it Shini, but I don't know if a whole wardrobe makeover is really-"
"It's necessary, trust me," Shini's eyes narrowed, and April was sure that she was not going to be able to say no, "We're going to make you look cute."
April had the feeling that she was not going to have much of a choice, so it was easiest just to go along with it now, rather than fighting. At least they wanted to hang out with her.
"So, are the brothers ready to get their shells handed to them in breakdancing?" Karai asked her hands loosely at her sides.
"I was actually going to go see if they were ready to go with that, but I've heard a lot of people have been practicing."
"Oh, I hope they have been," Karai occasionally had moments that Mikey dubbed 'evil Karai'. Where her eyes would get dark, an evil smile, like all of those times they had fought her when she had been with the Shredder. This was an evil Karai moment. "I have as well, and I am so ready to beat them into the ground."
"I don't know Karai, they've been getting pretty good."
Her smile widened. It was easy to see the snake DNA she had been mutated with, her mouth stretching further than it should, and her eyes flickering over with yellow.
"But I am better."
"Come on, let's try to bribe Michelangelo if he will add some specially requested songs," Shinigami grabbed Karai's hand and pulled her off into the crowd. "See you over there April!"
She smiled after the two girls, a flutter in her heart. They were good people, maybe her boys had been rubbing off on them. Hopefully, not too much though, she liked them the way that they are, even if that was something she was not used to. She wanted to get used to them being around like she had with the turtles. Where their presence was a comfort, seeing them in the mornings, in the corner of her eyes hidden in shadows, laughing, training, whatever. They were her family. Mikey had accepted Karai as his older sister, April thinks that he had called her sister the moment they learned who her father was.
And April hoped that she could see her in the same way. Maybe one day.
With that thought, she turned on her heel, took a drink of her now lukewarm drink, and made her way to the lab.
Climbing up the steps of the lab, pulling the door open to slide in.
All of Donnie’s equipment had been shoved to the sides of the room, with white sheet curtains drawn across them so no one was tempted to touch anything. It was the biggest space that they had in the lair, so it was the only space where they could have the breakdancing competition. The trade-off was that Donnie was allowed to horribly maim anyone who touched his research or experiments. A message that had been passed along to all of the partygoers, and one that seemed to stick for everyone.
Mats were set up in the center of the room, cushioning the concrete a bit, with some of the bar stools pulled out from the kitchen spread out through the room. Raph’s boombox had been placed on one of the bar stools, where Donnie was connecting it to his laptop, and bigger speakers that had been taken out of the Shellrazer. The playlist came courtesy of Mikey, who had insisted that it was the greatest thing that any human, mutant, or turtle had ever heard. Which, April was inclined to believe him.
Casey was the first to notice her enter the room, adjusting some of the curtains to make sure that all of the lab equipment was hidden.
“Hey Red!” he shouted, crossing the room. “About ready to see me destroy all of these chumps?”
“Seems like everyone is getting ready for the competition as well,” she said, glancing out to the room behind her. “But ‘destroy’ seems to be a stretch. You know a lot of people have been preparing for this.”
“Yeah well, they have not seen the awesome power of Casey Jones on the dance floor. They are not going to stand a chance. Besides,” he looked right and left as if he was about to share the biggest secret of his life, “I have a secret weapon.”
“And what would this secret weapon be?”
“See and now it would not be a secret anymore.”
April rolled her eyes, looking over his shoulder to where Donnie was putting the final touches on the sound system.
“How is it going, Donnie?”
The mutant glanced over his shoulder at the two humans, giving a gapped smile at the two of them.
“Oh hey, April!” he flipped the cords over the chair, before standing up and joining them. “Just finished, this baby should be able to handle whatever music Mikey had picked out for this.”
“Where is Mikey?”
“Cornered by Mondo Gecko,” Casey jerked his head in the direction of the living room. “Trying to get him to put on his song so he had a better chance of winning.”
"And Shini and Karai, if they can find him," April took another sip of her drink.
“Which is not going to happen,” Donnie rolled his eyes, “Mikey takes his music very seriously, if it does not go with the playlist it’s not getting in. And I don’t think that anything Mondo listens to is going to make the cut.
“Also I already tried to get him to add music that would help with my rhythm. He said no.”
“The Donatello, cheating,” Casey gasped, putting a hand on his chest in fake shock, “a ninja without honor.”
Donnie flicked him on the forehead.
“You did the same thing.”
“And you have no proof of that.”
“Are we ready to get our breakdance on!” Mikey burst into the room, one arm wrapped around a bowl, with Ice Cream Kitty bouncing around with each of the ninja’s steps, and the other holding up his T-Phone, showing off the playlist, but was moving around too much to actually see what he had chosen.
“Do you have to be so loud?” Donnie grumbled, “You're going to cause hearing loss.”
Mikey blew a raspberry at his brother, before waltzing over to the sound system and getting logged in.
“Well we should start getting people in here,” Casey started to make his way to the door, “so everyone can see me wiping the floor with you all.”
“As if,” Mikey shouted across the room.
Casey rolled his eyes but kept on his track to the doors, probably just to shout out to the rest of the lair that the main event was ready.
And April was left alone with Donnie, the two of them looking out to the living room, of all of the friends that they had made along the way. A room packed full of people. It almost did not seem possible.
“Did you ever think we would make it this far?”
Donnie chuckled a bit at the question.
“No. I never thought that we would be able to even make other friends. Growing up, it was just us and Sensei. Meeting other people seemed impossible. And now this. Never, in a million years did I think that it was possible.”
He turned to look at April, a strong warrior after all of this time, but still the nerdy, endearing scientist that she had met all those years ago.
“Sensei would be proud of you.”
She returned the smile.
“He would be proud of you too.”
The sounds of people moving to the lad started to make their way to the lad. Their conversion was over, but the words were true. April knew that Master Splinter would be proud of every single one of them.
If only he had been there to see it.
---
Throwing the last of the trashbags against the wall just outside of the lair, April dusted off her hands, before walking back past the turnstiles. They were going to take care of the garbage another time, which just meant taking it to different dumpsters topside, but at the moment they just wanted it out of the way. Her bare feet slapped against the cold stone, her slightly too big llama pajama pants dragging against the ground. It was not as cold as someone would think, with the strange heating system that had been put in place years ago that made this part of the sewers specifically warmer. The lair was empty, at least emptier than it had been the entire day. Everyone had gone home for the night. Or day for the nocturnal mutants and humans.
Hours had been spent cheering at the breakdancing competition for everyone who had participated. Despite the reservations that Mikey had about not tainting his playlist, he had caved after a while, and people just started a queue of songs that people put in. Turn after turn was taken, a blur of people walking into the mats to dance for a bit, with the cacophony of people surrounding them, cheering them on.
Leo and Raph did a routine that they had made up together, a complex sequence of moves, dancing around each other, jumping off of each other’s shells, and swinging the other around. It was so similar to the way that they moved in battle. So conscious of where the other was at all times, where the other was going to land, and preparing for the next move before they even touched the ground. Intently aware, no matter what, no matter what happened, a side effect of Raph’s protective nature, he had to know where his brothers would be if he was going to protect them. And Leo’s role as leader, to know the strengths and weaknesses of his team, to know where they needed to be, his intense awareness at all times. It was a dance between the two eldest brothers, one that they had been performing in every battle, but it was so much better when they had gotten to choose the place and time and to know their family was not in danger if they did not perform perfectly.
Casey had meshed well with Mikey and Raph, for different reasons. He was able to keep up with Mikey’s spontaneousness, while also able to do well with Raph’s more grounded way of moving. He could move in tandem with Mikey, while also being where Raph needed him to work around one another.
Donnie worked well with all of his brothers, it was just the way that his mind worked. Picking out the patterns, knowing the skill set of each brother, and being able to fill whatever role that he could. Not in the way that Mikey instinctively knew the places that needed to be filled, but the more technical understanding of what was missing and being able to keep up that way. He was able to throw Mikey through his more bouncy way of moving, Leo’s comfortability in the air, and the way that Raph stayed connected to the ground most of the time.
The only one that seemed to instinctively move around one another was Donnie and Casey, who were able to fill the spaces missing one another. April chose not to look into that too much, even if she did think it was sweet.
Karai had won the whole thing. It was not really a competition, but she had blown everyone out of the water. And the few dances she did with other people showed her ability to adapt fast. But from her smile alone, April thinks that she had a good time.
After hours of breakdancing, people started to go home, leaving just the mismatched mutant family was all that was left. A few stayed behind to help clean up a bit, so there was not a lot to do when everyone had left. Now they were all taking turns showering, and getting into pajamas that had been brought specifically for this reason.
April walked into the lair, the smell of popcorn, various chocolate snacks, and sugary pop in the air, with Leo sitting in the pit, getting the movie all set up for when people were ready. His bad leg was stretched out, with a hand lazily rubbing it back and forth, sometimes digging his fingers in rougher at points. There was clanging from the kitchen, and distant voices, telling her that Mikey was still getting snacks ready.
“Hey,” she said, plopping down next to the turtle, watching him flicking through the Netflix account that all of their friends in New York shared. She thinks that Jack pays for it.
“Hey.”
April looked down to his leg.
“Bothering you?”
“Eh, not too much, just did too much without my brace on. But I’m trying to get strength back in it without the brace.”
“Yeah, that’s probably it.”
She was not sure where to go from there. Leo had always been resistant to using his brace, or accepting that his knee was never going to be the way that it had been before. That he had been changed that night, and even after all of these years, that reality had not sunk in. Despite all of the physical therapy that Splinter had put him through, all of the work Donnie had put into making a brace that would make it easier to absorb impacts, and the support that he had from everyone, it was not something that he accepted about himself. There were good months, and there were worse months where he would not gripe as much about wearing his brace, and other times where they always had to check if he had it on.
Sometimes he said it made him feel like a child, and like they did not trust him when they had to check each time they went out for patrol that he had his brace on. And often the response was “We wouldn’t do this if you took care of yourself.”
April did not want to get into it at the moment, highly doubting that Leo did either, so she let it be, just sliding into the couch, and pulling his leg across her lap, forcing him down onto the couch as well, before massaging it.
Leo hissed in pain when she dug her fingers in. They had all done this enough to know where the tight knots were, and the parts that caused him the most pain.
“Sorry,” she hurried to say, before moving to another spot.
All of the turtle's skin was scaly, that was just a byproduct of what they were. Scales ran around most of their skin, their shoulders, arms, and legs, only the places that were used a lot did not have the same scaly finish in them, specifically their palms and soles of their feet. She could run her hand over the side of Leo’s leg and feel the slightly bumpy scales that he was covered in. But at the knee, Leo’s scales were a bit more discolored, a scar that wrapped around his knee that was another remnant of Shredder that had been left behind.
They all had a private collection of scars from all of their battles. On the turtles they were much easier to see, etched into their plastrons, shells, and places where the scales did not grow back no matter how much time had passed. April had her own, a slash across her thigh, chest, arms, and legs, that she had mapped out in her mind. When she had gotten her first scar, in her first encounter with the kraang, where the turtles had broken her out, falling from the sky in Donnie’s arms, while the ninja expertly brought them safely to the ground, she had stared at it for a long time. A cut on her forearm, where she had been nicked by a piece of the kraang’s metal exoskeleton. It had scared her a bit, the dried blood that had crusted over the sides of the wound. It had not even been that deep, and yet she had not been able to get it out of her head for weeks.
Since then, she had gained many scars. She had bled to the point where she needed stitches, holding one of the turtle brother’s hands while the thread was pulled in and out of her skin. She had been poisoned, gotten concussions, sore muscles pulled joints, and a plethora of other injuries. It had desensitized her after a certain point, wounds, and blood were just another part of her life now.
But there were some scars. Some that hurt more than others.
April had one scar from Shredder from the night that they had gone to fight the crazed man, to end this once and for all. She had gotten her across the back, not deep, but it was still there. Much too close to her spine for comfort. April was not even sure if she was the target.
The brothers each had their collection of scars from Shredder or even scars that they did not like, or were not proud of. And the one that stretched across April’s back, the one she thankfully saw the least but was still burned into her memory, was the one for her.
The noise from the kitchen started to get louder, as Mikey bounced out into the room, a large bowl of popcorn in his hands, with a six-pack of soda draped over his arm, with Shinigami walking next to him, some snacks in bowls as well. Their laughter bounced off of the walls, filling the space around them and bleeding into everything else. The two of them had that effect, filling the room with light.
Shinigami wore a dark pair of silk pajamas, short sleeves with longer pants that dragged on the ground, with bat footy socks. Her hair was tied up into a bun, with some of it escaping the scrunchy and fell around her face.
Mikey did not have his ninja gear on, besides the normal mask that the brothers never seemed to take off. In place of the normal knee, below, or belts he had a soft blanket draped around his shoulders, hooked over the sides of his shell to make sure that it did not fall off.
“April-chan!” Shini exclaimed, jumping a bit as she did, without slipping any of the bowls, immense but expected control from the kunoichi. “And Leo-chan, we have brought snacks!”
“That’s great Shini, just don’t let Mikey-” Leo’s words hissed at the end as April moved onto a new knot in his knee.
“Sorry,” she apologized, working more gently.
“Dude, I told you you should have worn your brace,” Mikey descended into the pit, and placed the bowls down on the small table they had dragged over for snacks and things.
“I know I know, I didn’t think that it would be that big of a deal.”
“Movement is movement,” Shini said, following the turtle to set the bowls down, “why would dancing have any less effect?”
“See!”
“Ok, ok yeah, sorry. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
April made eye contact with Mikey and Shini, skeptics and all. But they let it go, and the two just settled down on the couch, Mikey taking a spot next to his brother, while Shini made a bowl of snacks for herself.
The sound of voices echoed from the rooms, as Raph, Casey, and Donnie exited the hallway, arms loaded with pillows, blankets, and a futon.
Raph and Donnie were also stripped of their ninja gear. Donnie's purple mask was pushed up above his eyes, while Raph's was hanging loosely around his neck. Casey was wearing the baggiest clothes in existence, black sweatpants and a long sleep shirt with a white skull in the center. The sleeves were bunched up at his wrists and the pants were dragging on the floor.
“Salvaged all of the usable blankets,” Raph said, “don’t worry Mikey, we couldn’t find anything clean in your room.”
“Hey, I wash!” the youngest protested, sitting up straighter to get a better look at his older brother.
“Oh yeah, when?” Donnie asked, a gleam in his eye.
“Last-” The silence did not spark confidence. April shuttered to think how sweaty the sheets were, even if it was up in the air if the turtles even sweated. “Year?”
A chorus of disgust followed, and one of the blankets that Raph was carrying was flopped down on top of the youngest head.
“Wash your sheets.”
Mikey stuck his tongue out at the older, but took the blanket regardless, wrapping himself up into a burrito, overtop the blanket he was already wearing.
April could feel two sets of critical eyes on her, but knew they were looking beyond her and to where Leo was all stretched out, getting his knee worked on.
“Why didn’t you wear your brace?” Raph rarely beat around the bush with anything, and this was one of those moments.
Leo sighed, already annoyed with all of the questions. April, while she could sympathize, but he had also brought this upon himself.
“Didn't think I would need it.”
“Leo, you have to wear your brace,” Donnie said, passing out some of the pillows he carried, before setting the floor futon down on the ground. “It’s going to get worse if you don’t wear it.”
“Yes, I know Donnie.”
“It’s going to just keep getting worse, you’re rubbing bone and exposed nerves together, and it’s not like we can go to a doctor or surgeon for any permanent changes or fixes, and I can’t do surgery-”
“Yes, Donnie I know!”
“Why can’t you just take care of yourself, Leo!” Raph raised his voice to match the eldest, making April tense up.
“Guys stop!” Mikey shot up immediately, “It’s April and Casey’s graduation, it’s their day. Let’s not fight for one day.”
The tension in the room hovered for a moment, April’s hands stilling on Leo’s leg, looking down. When the brothers got like this, April felt the most alien to them. She had been around for many arguments, they had lived together for the better part of half a year, and she had known them during hard times. She had started arguments, finished arguments, gotten into screaming matches, stormed off, and made one of them storm off, things had gotten physical before, although that was something that only happened recently, as she could hold her own in a fight now.
It was not like she had not been around for arguments, and it was not like she knew that this would not be the thing that would break them apart.
But the way that Raph stood, it was defensive, almost as if he was ready to throw the first punch at any moment. Donnie stood up straighter, his intelligent eyes darting between all of the people, analyzing, his brain working for strategies. Mikey’s eyes brimmed with teams, fists clenched at his sides. And Leo’s narrowed eyes, determined and refusing to back down. It was the family that she knew and loved, these parts of them were a part of them just as much as any other part. But she did hate it. She hated it a lot. She wished they never had to fight. But with so much stubbornness in one clan, herself included, it was bound to happen.
Which was why she found herself shocked when it was Raph who took the first slow breath in, holding it, and letting it out slowly.
“Ok.”
That was it. But he did not storm off, as was a sort of norm for Raph, separating himself and calming himself down. He just walked into the couch pit and crossed his arms. A bit away from the rest, but at least he was not leaving.
April took a breath in, following the red ninja’s lead, and letting it out slowly, before digging her hands back into Leo’s leg.
“What movie did you pick Mikey?” Casey asked, effectively distracting the group from what had gone down.
“‘Return of the Ice Monster: Ice Monster 12’” he wiggled his fingers next to his face as if that made it more intimidating, “it’s supposed to be the scariest one in the series.”
“It’s going to give you nightmares then,” Karai walked into the living room, her hair still wet from a newly taken shower.
She had a loose pair of sweatpants and a tank top as her sleepwear, with similar black bat socks as Shini. April had not been looking to the shadows to see how long the kunoichi had been standing there, and if she was waiting for a moment to break the tension, but it would not be a surprise if she had.
“Nothing is worse than squirrels,” Mikey said with a graveness that was hard to not laugh at.
“Come on, let’s get this movie started!” Casey shouted, nestling in next to Donnie, handing off a bowl of popcorn.
They spent a few minutes getting everyone situated, passing out snacks, blankets, and pillows, and figuring out where they were going to be on the couch. April ended up sandwiched between Leo and Mikey, a blanket shared between all three of them. Mikey stretched his legs across their laps, leaning against Casey. Karai was sitting on the floor, on the futon, with Shini behind her, playing with her hair. Donnie was also on the floor, his long limbs able to stretch out, rather than being crunched up with the rest of his family. Part way through the movie, Raph had recovered, and sneaking his way over to Casey’s other side, not saying anything as he leaned against the human.
Mikey had gotten scared, clinging to April as the movie kept going.
Three movies later, sleep was tugging on April’s eyelids, barely able to keep them open, and see the actors across the screen. Sleep drifted her in and out, snippets of consciousness that she was barely aware of. But she knew that she was picked up by strong arms, and placed down on something soft, tangled in with other limbs. Someone latched onto her around her waist. She held onto them, trusting everyone in the lair, knowing that they would never hurt her.
A blanket was pulled over her.
Through blurry vision and watery eyes, she could just pick out Leo and Karai, the eldest of their mismatched band of ninjas, tucking everyone in, before settling down themselves. April’s brain did not stay on the image long, before she slipped back to sleep, curling deeper under the blankets. Safe.