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Donnie liked April.
Donnie really liked April.
And at the fresh age of 21, April was starting to come to the realization that she also really liked Donnie.
She was older now, wiser. And with this new found wisdom, she was able to come to the conclusion that all those years of heart flutters and aches were not simply because: “He’s my absolute best friend and I would do anything for him.” They stemmed from the greater, simpler root of, she really, really liked her best friend.
The slap in the face from reality came to her with an embarrassingly lewd wet dream she had about Donnie.
The beginning was innocent enough, which is how these dreams get you. The two lingered in his lab, the lair oddly quiet outside of their shuffling. Her dream self made a mental note that the others must have gone out to patrol, but her eyes were glued on Donnie.
Like all dreams, it had its own flow to time. One moment they were a respectable distance and then next April was pinned up against a wall, Donnie’s mouth pressed against her own. It was fiery, intense, and left the April in the real world feeling overheated.
Things progressed quickly from that moment, as dreams do.
As the tension began to build within her dream, April awoke with a gasp and a fast beating heart. She took a moment to regain her senses, too hyper aware of what had just happened and too scared to move her hips, not wanting to feel the evidence just yet.
April laid wide awake, unmoving, until she had to attend her first lecture of the day at 8am. Which, in all honesty, was a futile attempt on her education. She felt like a walking nerve and there was nothing that could get her to snap back to her senses.
It also didn’t help that whenever her T-Phone would vibrate with a text from Donnie, she had very vivid flashes of her dream.
If there was one thing that did come from the wasted day of listening to her professor's drone on and on, it was that April came to a clear conclusion of what had to be done.
It was maybe time to consider confessing to Donnie.
xxx
Word had spread of little robot dinosaur-esque creatures roaming the streets of NYC late at night. The group grumbled in frustration knowing Baxter Stockman was making a reappearance in their lives. So as April made her way to the lair, Leo filled her in on the plans to search out for him.
April groaned, causing a laugh to come from the rest of them. Her eyes caught Donnie’s as he smiled her way. With bright cheeks, she looked away and reassured Leo that it was a good plan.
It had only been a week since her wet dream with Donnie and she still struggled to maintain eye contact with him. She was too embarrassed to count the amount of times she tried to confess her feelings to Donnie. In his lab, during stakeouts, or just in the quiet moments when he helped her with her homework.
The moment she told herself it was time to confess, it felt like a weight off her shoulders. It was liberating to know what was happening in her heart and she wanted it out… But actually doing it? A whole other ballpark. Every moment she opened her mouth to get the words out, it felt like her heart was ready to stop and her throat would close up.
Tonight would have been yet another (probably failed) attempt, but an attempt nevertheless. Heading to the bathrooms to change into her jumpsuit, April came to the conclusion that this was probably a blessing in disguise. A gentle nudge from a higher being saying: ‘Give it a break, girl. Regroup and come back to this later.’
Her cheeks flushed as her competitive nature tried to claw itself out to prove that she could do this. But she pushed it back down.
Regroup and come back.
Finding Baxter’s lair was as simple as simple could be, for Donnie at least. After an hour of wandering the city rooftops, they managed to come across one of his bots ripping parts from an abandoned car. Leo swiftly picked the bot from the street and handed it over to Donnie. Donnie, in turn, took out its distress signal and camera, and finally hacked into its system. He was able to find a homing signal to Baxter’s hiding spot in minutes.
Leo was quick to stitch a plan together: gather intel and stop whatever he has planned. No frills, no thrills.
“Not even one thrill?” Mikey whined.
Leo rolled his eyes. “One thrill and nothing more.”
Their one thrill was crashing through the building’s skyline and surprising Baxter with their entrance. The whoops from Mikey and Casey helped give it an additional layer of: “We’re here to fuck shit up”.
Rage bubbled within Baxter as he unleashed nearly an army of bots.
It was exhausting.
With less time to focus on training due to school coursework, April found herself struggling to keep up the stamina needed to hold off the bots. Her arms felt heavier than usual and her legs were not as fast to dodge attacks. She gritted her teeth with each movement, commanding herself to keep going.
Less time physically training meant even less time to train her senses. Even with her psychic abilities, she didn’t realize in time that one of the little dino-bots was aiming for her chest. By the time she noticed the dot square on her, she was moving. Donnie, without any hesitation, had pressed her against his front, slipping them between a gap in Baxter’s machines. The laser meant for her narrowly missing them.
April did her best to regain her breath. In the stillness between the two, every inch of her body felt like it was on fire as she felt Donnie’s hands roam around her body, looking for any wounds. He leaned forward, his mouth by her ear.
“Are you okay?” His voice was thick with concern.
“Y-yeah,” April gasped. She could feel her face burn up as he finally stopped roaming with his hands. She struggled to get her breathing back to normal. “Sorry you had to save me.”
“You know I’ll always have your back,” he replied matter of factly. Catching her whenever she fell was as second nature to Donnie as breathing was.
‘Was now a good time to tell him?’ April absentmindedly wondered to herself.
She hesitantly turned her head to catch Donnie’s eyes. Etched on his kind, wonderful face was a reassuring smile.
Say it. Say it now.
“We should get back out there,” Donnie whispered as he listened to Mikey complain because one of the bots bit him by the ankle.
“Right. Time to stop evil… or whatever Baxter is.”
This earned her a snort from Donnie. He removed his iron tight grip from her body and she hated how cold she suddenly was without them.
They gave each other a quick nod and slipped back out to fight. As she sliced the head off of one of the bot soldiers, April tried her hardest to forget the feeling of his wandering hands and solid build against her back.
Baxter was eventually subdued, but to the misfortune of the group, he managed to escape at the last minute. This caused the entire team to complain knowing they would have to deal with his nonsense again in the future. Raph and Casey in particular made a big show of the highly probable future inconvenience the bug man would cause them.
There was nothing further they could do, so Leo called it a night and ordered everyone back to the lair for medical check up. It was the order of these things. They went out, they fought as needed, and Donnie played doctor before everyone crashed for the night.
Donnie checked on everyone’s wounds in the lab. Most were surface level scrapes that needed nothing more than bandages and antibiotic ointment.
April chose to be the last to get checked up on, hanging back by sitting on top of Donnie’s desk. She reassured Leo and Donnie that she was more than fine. She could wait.
Soon, everyone filtered out and left the two best friends alone in his lab. Donnie wasted no time in looking over her scratches and minor burns from some of the lasers. With how large his hands were, it never ceased to amaze her how gentle he was as he applied the ointments and gauze.
She couldn’t help her brain from remembering the way he felt against her between the machines during the fight. This snowballed into April remembering her dream with him. Once more, her face turned into a tomato.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Donnie asked, cutting April from her thoughts.
April snapped her head in his direction at the question.
She grimaced in embarrassment. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just beating myself up for how badly I was fighting today.”
“It wasn’t bad.”
April looked at him with a raised brow.
“Okay, so it wasn’t your best, but it really wasn’t as bad as you think.”
“Ugh. It was so bad,” April whined as she covered her face in her hands. “ I’m just so overworked with school that I can’t spend as much time training as I used to. And when I finally get a chance to come and train, all I can think about are the projects I need to do and tests I have to study for. But, when I’m studying and working on projects, all I can think about is how I need to keep up with training so I don’t become a liability.”
Now that the ball was rolling, she couldn’t stop it. The worst part was she could feel the frustrated tears stinging the corners of her eyes. April let out an irritated sigh, rubbing her face roughly.
“And then I keep having these annoying intrusive thoughts…” she muttered in defeat. “ It’s recently been feeling like I can’t win.”
It was quiet for a beat before April jumped at Donnie placing his large, three fingered hands on her shoulders. Looking up, her blue, tear filled eyes landed on his brown, empathetic ones. She hadn’t even heard Donnie get up from his rolling chair to stand in front of her.
“I-I know I can’t really relate to balancing school work with what we do, but… You’re not alone, April. We’ve gone through too much for you to feel like you need to bottle your thoughts. We’re always here for you if you ever want to talk. I am always here for you.”
Donnie’s words were so kind and sincere. April felt a fresh wave of tears form, but this time from relief.
“Thank you, Donnie. I really appreciate it. It’s just stress building up. Between school and stakeouts, I haven’t had much opportunity to relieve it. Once I find a way to get out all this excess frustration, I should be somewhat in the clear.”
She laughed at herself a little, hoping to help alleviate the mood a little. She felt ridiculous.
“You shouldn’t have to figure it out on your own.”
April cautiously looked at Donnie. He was looking down at her so intensely, it was impossible for her to look away. Thoughts of her dream invaded her mind and her heart began to beat a mile a minute.
Donnie’s thumb began to rub circles on her shoulders. He took a partial step forward, standing between her legs. She took in his expression, equal parts hesitant and like a man on a mission.
April stealthily pinched herself to confirm she wasn’t actually in another incredibly vivid dream.
She was not.
Her hands found themselves on Donnie’s wrists, looking up at him carefully. She wanted to give him reassurance, but she was too scared to say anything. If she said something, the moment would be ruined. So she did the only thing she could think of. She squeezed his wrists.
Thank God he was smart and picked up what she was putting down.
When Donnie’s lips pressed up against hers, it was hesitant at first. Gentle with closed lips. Exploring this new territory they both found themselves in. One, two, three more closed kisses with their bodies stiff as boards. These were soon no longer enough for her and she could tell by how his hands twitched on her shoulders that he felt the same. April slid her hands from his wrists, up his arms, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. She brought him closer so that she could wrap her legs around his waist.
That seemed to be the push they needed.
Donnie made swift action of opening his mouth against hers, pressing their tongues together. She responded eagerly.
The gentle kisses that reminisced too closely to a middle school dance were long gone. It felt, and probably looked, like they were trying to consume one another, but April couldn’t care less. She even made sure to let Donnie know just how much she appreciated the attention with a whole-hearted moan.
Contrary to her belief, that seemed to be a mistake, as Donnie suddenly separated from her. April struggled to open her eyes and look at him. She was ready to whine like a brat about the sudden separation, but thought better. Instead she took in the sight of her best friend. Flushed cheeks, half-lid eyes, and chest rising and falling from his panting.
Oh, wow. He was going to send her into an early grave.
“Is it helping?” Donnie quietly asked.
The question short circuited her brain. “What?”
Donnie cleared his throat and gave her a look. April struggled to pinpoint the expression, but it looked like a mix of serious and pleading. Like he was trying to convince her of something.
“Friends make out sometimes, right? To help relieve stress? I’ve heard that’s a thing.”
It dawned on April what Donnie was asking. She would believe in anything at the moment if it meant they could pick up where they left off. She didn’t give a shit.
“Yeah, totally. I’ve heard it too. It’s all the rage, I believe.”
It was a weak argument and neither of them cared. So with a quick nod of his head, Donnie held on to April’s face and kissed her like his life depended on it.
Between shifting of angles for a better experience, April told herself the next time they separated for a breath she had to do the responsible thing. She had to confess to Donnie her feelings for him. It was the right thing to do. She didn’t want him to think she was taking advantage of him as a way to relieve stress. She wanted this to evolve into something so much more.
When they stopped once more to catch their breaths, April knew this was the moment. She had to tell him.
Opening her mouth, she was ready to let the words out when a sudden bang from outside of the lab caught both of their attentions.
“Donnie!” yelled Mikey, very clearly distressed. “Raph destroyed the microwave!”
“Are you seriously ratting on me right now?” Came Raph’s muffled response from the kitchen.
April couldn’t hold back her laugh at Donnie’s grumbling at the two being idiots. She lowered her arms from around his neck and softly tapped against his hard chest with her knuckles. This caught Donnie’s attention.His annoyed expression softened.
“Feel better?”
“I’m… Definitely feeling a few things right now.”
Donnie flashed a shy smile down at her, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. She admired how he kept his hands on her, gently holding her head close to his, their foreheads touching.
He looked so beautiful.
He looked so deeply in love.
‘Now. Do it now,’ April yelled at herself.
In the end, she said nothing and Donnie made his way out of the lab, yelling at his brothers to stop destroying things.
April slapped her face in frustration and groaned out loud.
xxx
After their heated make out, April struggled with her school work on a whole new level she never thought possible. Worksheet was double-sided? The back part was probably not done. Had a speech she had to deliver for class? Words were stumbled upon over and over. It was simultaneously annoying and exhilarating at the same time. Not being her academic best was grating to the nerves, but the reason as to why made her blood boil in all the right ways.
It was the end of the semester and it wasn’t uncommon for April to skip out visiting the turtles on a daily basis to focus on her projects and studies. She absolutely used this to her advantage to try and compartmentalize what was racing through her mind. It was important that she made her feelings known to Donnie. She refused to make him think she was using his feelings to her advantage to just “relieve some school work stress”.
He would give her whatever she asked for and while deeply sweet, it wasn’t healthy. He would hurt himself going down that path. In her young teenage years she knew she took advantage of that quality, but now, she refused to be that way anymore. April was adamant about letting him know that his feelings were very much reciprocated and that these kisses could, and would, be so much more.
The poor guy had put his feelings out in the open for her often enough. It was about damn time she put herself in his shoes.
April leaned against her desk chair, ready to damn her Bio-Chem final to hell, run to the lair, and bare her soul to Donnie.
A beat passed as she contemplated the plan.
“No, I need to pass to keep my scholarship,” April reminded herself as she leaned over her materials again.
April made her presence known at the lair a week later, bags under her eyes, a weak smile on her lips, and her fall semester officially done.
“She lives!” yelled Mikey from the couch, the TV blasting his newest animated obsession.
All she could do was give him the devil horn’s sign with her right hand and an exhausted smile. She lived indeed, but at what cost? April knew she looked like she had crawled out of a hole. Black leggings, a large yellow hoodie, and her dad's worn leather jacket to help keep the cold out. Her hair was up in the messiest bun she could muster.
Towards the end of each semester, with each all nighter, and exam that piled on top of her already busy schedule, April found herself pondering if Casey had the right idea. Ditching college to work during the day and fight crime at night.
She just had one more semester until she graduated. Would it be so bad to drop out now?
The image of her father and Donnie frowning at her with disappointment was enough to throw the thought away. And though no longer with them, she knew Splinter would feel the same way.
“How were all your tests?” Mikey asked eagerly.
“Awful, but they’re finally done.”
“That means Christmas break, right?”
“Yup. I’m ready for winter break to take me into her cold embrace.”
“Ooh, we’re going to need hot chocolate,” the young turtle exclaimed, already wandering to the kitchen. “Leo and Raph are training. Donnie’s in his lab!”
April smiled at his disappearing shell, “Thanks, Mikey!”
Her smile soon turned into a grimace as her eyes landed on the lab doors. Any other time, she would have walked right through those doors, greeted him, and spoken about anything and everything under the sun. But now? It was like every action was under a microscope and there was an omnipotent scientist in the sky taking note of her every action.
She hated this. No wonder she swerved away from feelings like the plague when she was a teen.
Taking in a deep breath, April slid the lab doors open. She took in the sight of Donnie sitting in front of his desk, typing away at his computer at lighting speed. He had his tongue sticking out slightly in deep concentration.
April gripped the strap of her messenger bag tightly. Why was he so goddamn cute?
“Hey, Donnie.”
“April! You survived,” Donnie joked good heartedly. Never let it be said these turtles were not related.
April let out a soft laugh. “I survived.” She made her way to his desk, dropped her bag by her feet, and sat on top of his desk. “Bio-Chem kind of kicked my ass, but I’m pretty confident I passed.”
“You should have called. You know I’m always happy to help,” Donnie looked up at her from his chair, pushing away slightly from his desk.
April didn’t need her powers to feel the disappointment coming off of him because she hadn’t asked him for help. She would have been lying if she said the thought hadn't crossed her mind. She could remember on her third night of studying, pulling out her T-Phone and getting ready to reach out for her lifeline. But her heart wouldn’t stop pounding when her eyes landed on his contact photo and she was honestly scared her heart would give out the moment he tapped on her apartment window. So to save herself a trip to the hospital, she sucked it up like every other college student that didn’t have a genius mutant turtle best friend.
It also wouldn’t have helped much. If he had shown up, April would have spent the whole session thinking about his lips and hands. His smarts would have been wasted on her.
Wanting nothing more than to reassure him, April tapped his knee with her winter boot. “I know. And you know I will always take up on your offers to help. But, I had a lapse in judgment and apparently thought it was about time I put my big girl pants on and figured some shit out on my own.”
Donnie gave her a smirk and placed his hand on her foot that remained on his knee. “Meh, pants are overrated.” The pregnant silence that followed soon after his response was enough for both faces to go bright red. “Ahem. Anyways, I was thinking of working on the Shellraiser. Want to celebrate your freedom with a little elbow grease?”
“You know I do.”
The mindless work that came with tinkering on the Shellraiser was a welcome distraction.
April’s father never had any interest in learning how to fix cars. A skillset that he stated he didn’t mind leaving to others.
“I’m more interested in the gears that make the brain run. I can pay someone to figure out why my car keeps making a weird noise.”
April never questioned his reasoning. She figured it was how so many people in the city would rather stop by their local bodega to get a sandwich when they could easily make the same meal for half the price with ingredients from the grocery store. Some people just want the option and she figured she would do just like her dad.
Until Donnie actually showed her the ropes.
He had sprained his wrist during a training session with Mikey and was effectively out of commission for a few days. In his desperation to tinker with something, he begged April to come by the lair to be his replacement hands. It worried her that she would mess something up beyond repair, but his reassurance that it would be okay was enough to get her to agree.
It was high level at first. Cleaning beakers, plugging in data into the computer program, carefully measuring and combining certain chemicals, and restocking medical supplies. All in all, they were things that April felt more than qualified to help with. Having played assistant for most of her relationship with the turtle, she didn’t feel too cocky in saying that she felt confident in helping him.
She also wouldn’t deny that she had appreciated the moments where his plastron pressed up against her back as he made sure she did things as specified.
On the last day of her requested assistance, Donnie asked her if she would feel comfortable to help him do a routine check up on the Shellraiser. That was the one that April shot down immediately, no second thoughts.
Not even his puppy pout got her to waver in her resolve.
“C’mon, April. It’s not so bad, I promise. Just flash a light, check some wires, and make sure the programs are running as needed. It’ll be over in no time,” he swore with eager eyes.
April had to wince at the onslaught of emotions that oozed out of him and hit her mentally. It was pure confidence, eagerness, and adoration. She wanted to groan at his unwavering belief in her. For once, she wished he had no faith in her so she could fly under the radar in peace.
“Fine, but if something blows up, it’s not my fault.”
“Deal!”
Having Donnie by her side explain why certain things worked the way they did and how one little wire would allow the stink cannon to work as effectively as it did was endlessly fascinating. That was the moment that April realized her dad was truly missing out in not wanting to learn how his car worked. Then again, everything seemed far more fascinating when Donnie was the one talking through it.
The Shellraiser hadn’t exploded and April got to enjoy feeling the pride shine off of Donnie when it was all done.
A loud clang brought April back to the present. Looking below her, she noticed Donnie had rolled out from under the Shellraiser and was shaking his right hand.
“You okay?” she asked while bending down to get to his level.
“Yeah,” he grumbled. “Just pinched my finger when tightening something. I think that’s as good a stopping point as any. What's it looking like for you?”
The two stood back on their feet and Donnie inspected April’s work. She leaned her back against the ride while he got close to the open panel of wires she was messing around with. A pit in her stomach began to develop with every second that passed. It was silly to feel conscious of him looking over her work. She knew she had done just fine.
It wasn’t like he was her teacher grading her work…
With that thought; however, came the following visual of Donnie as her teacher, pressing her up against a chalkboard. The thought made April’s cheeks and ears turn red.
“Looks good!” Donnie exclaimed. “Thanks for helping with this. It’s so much faster with another pair of hands.” He looked down at her and noticed her tinted cheeks. “Want to sit down? You’re looking flushed.”
“No, no. I’m good. I promise. I think I’m still wound up from all that end of semester work.” It was a stupid excuse, but it was all April could come up with on the spot as his large brown eyes looked down at her.
Donnie made a pensive noise above her. “I can imagine. Projects, tests, and night patrols on top of that. It’s a lot. I’ve been trying to figure out how to make the Mecha-Turtle more efficient and smooth. It’s been wracking my brain, barely getting any sleep. Definitely got that stress building up.”
She knew where this was going. Donnie, for all his smarts, was not the smoothest guy she’d ever come across. She could tell by his tone of voice and his body language. The way he transitioned from pensive to gently playing with the hem of her shirt. April caught the way he leaned in closer, as if he didn’t even want a slip of paper getting between them.
“Friends make out sometimes, right? To relieve stress.”
She could read him like an open book and who was she to close it?
“Oh yeah? Sounds like it’s really got you pent up.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe. It’s practically consuming.”
There was no hesitance in his movements as his left hand cradled her face and brought their lips together. April let out an appreciative hum. She loved the way Donnie had a need to hold her face as they kissed. It was equal parts gentle in its approach and slightly possessive in its act. He was the one kissing her. He was the one making her moan. He was the one making her weak in the knees.
The ‘I’m a strong independent woman’ in April wanted to chastise herself for falling for such a ridiculous notion. Really? Possessiveness as a point of attraction? How low could you possibly get, O’Niel? But then Donnie placed his leg between hers and she very pointedly shoved those thoughts into the mental incinerator, where they belonged.
Yeah. He kissed her like he needed her to function and she absolutely appreciated every moment of it.
April raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck, bringing him even closer. With the new closeness and angle, they opened their mouths against one another, their tongues intertwining.
She purposefully ground her hips up against Donnie’s leg which had remained between her. The action brought out a moan from the two.
Donnie separated from her and April frowned at the loss of contact. Ready to ask him if everything was okay, she let out a yelp when he picked her up. She instinctively wrapped her legs around him and he had her leaning against the Shellraiser.
This was new.
And entirely welcome.
Flashing her a small smile, Donnie brought her back into an intimate kiss. The new position allowed for several things to happen that made April soar well above Cloud 9. One of them was mainly how his large hands gripped at her ass.
She was convinced he would tell her afterwards it was because it was better leverage to make sure she didn’t fall. But she would be able to feel the pleasure radiate out of him without a hint of shame.
God, this was perfect. This was ideal. This was the moment. It boiled in her blood, along with her increasing heat. April could feel it, this was the moment to tell Donnie how she felt. Making out like lovestruck kids against his car.
“Fuck, Donnie. I-” April separated from him, placing her hand against his chest. She had to give herself a moment to let her mind clear the haze. “Wait, I need to tell you something.”
Her best friend. Her amazing, wonderful, cute as all hell, best friend looked at her. His eyes were dazed and unfocused.
April was ready to let the confession rush out, when a sudden bang of the lab doors being slammed open echoed in the lab.
With wide eyes pointed at the direction of the doors, Donnie let April back on the floor, making sure she landed on her feet. She, in turn, made sure to fix her wrinkled hoodie that had ridden up her stomach.
“Ey, yo, Dee. You in here?” came Casey’s booming voice.
April thanked every powerful being in the sky that they were hidden behind the Shellraiser, thus blocking anyone walking into the lab from the sight of them. She looked up at Donnie, who very pointedly had his hands on his hips, frustration clearly written all over his face.
“I’m here, Casey. I’m working on the Shellraiser.”
As much as she didn’t want to, April pushed him gently to put some space between the two before Casey came around. Donnie didn’t bother hiding his disappointment. In moments, Casey Jones appeared in his toothless wonder.
“Oh, hey, Red. Glad you survived your tests.” April gave him a half hearted thumbs up and smile. “Anyways, Donnie, my laptop broke, mind taking a look at it?”
“And how, exactly, did it break this time?”
“Broken is broken, do the specifics matter?”
“Yes.”
“Naaah. C’mon, Mikey made hot chocolate.”
Donatello groaned as Casey wrapped his arm around his shoulder and dragged him out of the lab. Donnie glanced back at April, who lingered behind with the vehicle, before losing sight of her.
For April’s part, she sighed in frustration as soon as the two were out of the lab.
She had been right there.
xxx
Since April’s second failed attempt at a confession, she desperately tried to find a moment alone with Donnie, but it had been practically impossible. Between her father feeling particularly sentimental about the Christmas holiday and wanting to spend additional time with her and her being paired with Leo for patrols that week, the only time she saw Donnie was to say ‘hello, goodbye’.
She didn’t need psychic powers to sense the disappointment that was radiating off of him each time she bid them goodbye.
The amount of times April wanted to turn back from the turnstile and make up a lie that the weather was bad enough for her to want to stay the night was far too often. Hell, she would even go as low as just say that her feet hurt and she didn’t feel like walking home.
She was tired of saying goodbye to Donnie.
‘Confess to the guy already and you’ll have the ultimate excuse for getting to stay behind.’
Never let it be said that April didn’t fight for what she wanted. Her father always said she had a one track mind when she was adamant about getting something she wanted.
The statement used to make her angry as a kid, but now?
Her father was goddamn right.
As such, when time came for their next patrol, April didn’t hesitate to push the cards in her favor. As everyone got ready to head out into the cold night, she leisurely made her way to Leonardo.
“Hey, Leo. Any chance I could ask for a favor?”
“Sure. What do you need?”
“I recently signed up for my next semester classes and I was hoping to get a head start on understanding what the heck the material is about. Mind pairing me up with Donnie, so I could pick his brain?”
Leo looked at April, a single ridge of his mask raised.
‘Please believe me. Please believe me.’
“Only you would want to keep studying when your brain is supposed to be on break,” Leo muttered with a smirk on his face. “Fine. You’ve got Donnie.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” April shook her clasped hands at her leader gratefully, practically skipping next to him as they joined the rest of the group. Everyone was geared up and ready to stake out the night.
“Alright, slight mix up for the night. Raph and Casey, you keep sticking together and stake out Purple Dragon territory. Mikey, you’re with me tonight. We’re going to the old TCRI building, make sure we see no activity there. Donnie and April, you’re paired up. Stick to the docks,” Leo ordered.
April bit her inner cheeks, trying not to smile, as she saw Donnie’s head snap from her peripheral vision. She wanted to glance over and give him a smile, but instead settled on feeling the mental boom of excitement that came off of him in waves.
The three duo wished each other luck before separating for the night. April made sure to do the responsible thing and patrolled the docks as asked by Leo. She had her own agenda, but never let it be said that she didn’t know how to prioritize.
The first hour and a half of their time on the docks, the two separated and kept their eyes out for any kind of suspicious activity.
When the time elapsed and it was time for them to reconvene at their spot, April realized with a sense of giddiness that it was finally quiet. There was no one, besides the typical dock worker and security guard, to bother them.
Donnie was already at their designated meet up point by the time she got there. They had at least two more hours until Leo would tell them to call it a night.
When she landed on the rooftop, Donnie shot her a wide smile. She wanted to open her mind to feel his rush of emotions, but she didn’t need to. His expression and body language gave it all away. It was invigorating.
“Nothing on your end?” he asked.
“What? You didn’t hear me fighting the entire Purple Clan?” she teased.
Donnie rolled his eyes good naturedly.
“What about you?”
“Outside of catching a security guard trying to take a nap inside one of these crates, nothing exciting,” he responded, nonchalantly.
They each raised their eyebrows at each other and could not contain their respective smiles.
Donnie barely hesitated when he made his way towards her and by every account, April wanted to take him in with open arms, but she knew what she needed to do first. With every fiber of her being, she forced herself to raise her hand and put it against his chest, stopping his advances.
He looked distraught.
“I-I’m so sorry. I thought… I’m sorry.”
“No, no. Don’t apologize. I just need to get something out in the open before we keep going. I’ve been trying really hard to say it, but first Mikey and then Casey.”
He looked confused. She could feel the tension building up in his body. Bless him.
“Donnie. I’ve really enjoyed the times we’ve had together. I mean, I always like being with you, but these last few weeks, I’ve really enjoyed our times. But, I feel like I’m being selfish. I know how you feel about me and it’s not fair for me to keep stealing these moments from you without taking that into consideration.”
“April, you really don’t have to-”
“No. I have to. I need to say this. Donnie, I-”
The right side of her face grew hot at the sudden explosion and fire that broke out. The two turned to find one of the shipping containers no longer on the ground but high up in the air.
And that was when they heard the clear laugh from none other than Baxter Stockman.
“STOCKMAN!” the two yelled in unison. Donnie’s in shock, April’s in anger and frustration.
With years of training, the two expertly put their emotions aside and set out to fight the army of droids. Donnie pulled out his T-Phone and called out to his brothers for back up.
Unlike their previous run in, April was fighting brilliantly. She was half convinced the amount of anger boiling within her had cleared her mind to be the most efficient fighter she could be.
Three times she had been interrupted from owning the most important relationship in her life.
Three times!
Was this a sign? Did the universe think it was a bad idea for them to be together?
Fuck that. She wasn’t going to let the universe make that decision for her.
April blasted five of the droids away from her. Before she realized it, she was up in the air with Baxter’s buzz filling her ears.
Ugh, this was the last person she wanted touching her.
“Get your nasty hands off of me!”
“They’re not nasty! I clean myself regularly.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“I will drop you.”
April opened her mouth, ready to dare him, but she made a courtesy glance to the ground below. Yeah, she didn’t feel like having her big mouth send her to an early grave. Puffing out her breath, she looked over the scene until they landed on Donnie.
“Donnie!”
“April!"
“Stockman!” Baxter yelled and then laughed.
Donnie and April grimaced at his attempt at a joke. He ignored them and continued to laugh.
“Don’t worry, April, I’ll get you,” he yelled while beating down more of the droids.
April nodded and looked to her right where she noticed a handful of figures coming their way. The other turtles and Casey were right around the corner. She wanted to be relieved, but it was yet another distraction. Another hurdle in her race stopping her from reaching the finish line of admitting her true feelings to Donnie.
It was then that the idea struck her.
“Donnie! I need to say what I was trying to tell you earlier.”
“Can it wait? I’m a little busy!”
“No. If I don’t do it now, something else will get in the way and I’m tired of not saying how I really feel.”
Baxter pulled her back and brought her face level to his own. “What is this? What are you trying to do?”
“Nothing concerning you. Let me talk to Donnie.”
“Stockman. If you hurt her, I swear I will not let you go without at least five broken bones,” Donnie growled from the rooftop below them.
Well, if she wasn’t already infatuated with him, that low tone and threat of his probably would have done her in.
Before Baxter could get another word in, April pushed him away to look down at her turtle.
“Donnie, I like you!”
It felt like everything went still. Even the droids stopped in their tracks to look up at her. April fought against the crippling embarrassment.
“C-come again?”
“I like you. Really, really like you. I’m ready to be more than just best friends that kiss to ‘relieve stress’.”
Donnie’s eyes were wide and it looked like he was ready to drop his bo staff from shock.
In the pause, April felt her world shift once again. This time, with a new pair of green arms holding on to her tightly and freeing her from the grasp of Baxter Stockman. She looked up to find Mikey grinning down at her. Her heart stopped at the anxiety of what was about to come out of Mikey’s mouth if he overheard her confession.
“What up, O’Neil! Ready to kick some bug butt?”
Oh, thank God. They didn’t hear it.
“You know I am.”
The youngest ninja turtle whooped after safely dropping her on the rooftop. He then ran off, destroying dino bots along the way. From the distance, she could see Raph and Casey fighting as well. Leo made the executive decision to go after Baxter.
April stood straight on shaky legs and realized Donnie was in front of her, still staring at her with wide eyes. She cleared her throat, unsure of what the next best step would be. In her ideal world, they would have done this in his lab and let it transition naturally with heated kisses, but now? She wasn’t exactly sure what etiquette called for after confessing in the middle of a fight with the enemy.
Donnie opened his mouth, but Raph’s voice filled the air.
“C’mon you two. Stop standing around and do something.”
They hesitated, but went their separate ways to help in the fight.
xxx
The gang all forced their heavy limbs through the streets of New York back towards the lair. Having Baxter flying above them while simultaneously fighting his bots was never an enjoyable pastime. The only saving grace was that it was Baxter Stockman and not someone they truly had to be concerned about. So as they had watched him fly away as roughed up as he was, all they could do was groan knowing he would be back.
Raph and Casey led the charge, shoving each other playfully, clearly still filled with far too much energy. Mikey kept poking at Leo, trying to get him to smile.
In the back of them all were Donnie and April.
The two of them were uncharacteristically quiet as they walked to the lair. April’s mind was racing a mile a minute as she thought of every way she could bring up the subject.
‘On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the confession?’
‘Bet you weren’t expecting that one, eh?’
She was absently biting her thumbnail when she felt Donnie’s hand slip into her own. The feeling snapped her out of her thoughts and that’s when she realized they were already in the lair. Not only that, but Donnie had walked her to his lab.
Holy shit, how bad did she zone out?
He now stood in front of her, fidgeting. She could feel the hand she held shake ever so slightly.
Donnie spoke first, his voice barely above a whisper. “Did you mean it?”
He sounded scared.
It broke April’s heart, but she knew it was her doing. She had tugged at his heart too many directions over the years. It was her turn, her duty, to show him just how important he was to her.
“Every word. Every moment,” she reassured him. She squeezed his hand for extra measure. “I really like you, Donnie. I’m sorry for how long I’ve made you wait for me. I promise I won’t hurt you like that ever again. I’m in it for the long haul, not just when we feel like relieving stress.”
For a moment, April was convinced Donnie was going to cry from relief.
Donnie picked her up off the ground in a hug and held her tightly. He buried his face in the crook of her neck. A slightly wet sounding laugh escaped his lips. April took a moment to wipe away the single tear that managed to slip out.
“I was so scared,” Donnie whispered. “I know it’s ridiculous, but I would have given you any version of me you needed if it meant I could have you in some way. But it killed me to think one day you’d get your fill and leave me behind.”
April held Donnie tighter at the confession.
Donnie pulled away and stared at April intensely. “I’ll never be able to give you a normal life. I can’t take you out on normal dates.”
“If I cared about normal, would I still be going out on stakeouts and juggling school work at the same time?” she asked with a raised brow. “I don’t care about that. I care about you and how you make me feel. Nothing else matters.”
And to really hammer in the final nail to the coffin, she grabbed his face and kissed him soundly. She smiled at the pleasant hum that came from Donnie.
Donnie, for his part, continued to hold up April and took steps towards his work desk. He set her down gently, not once separating his lips from hers. Once he got them situated, he took his sweet time allowing his hands to roam up and down her back. When they got to her ass, he squeezed tentatively first and then with more confidence when he heard the moan it elicited from her.
“Holy shit! Donnie and April are eating each other!”
The two separated quickly, their hearts pounding from the sudden interruption. Mikey stood at the door of the lab, a large bowl of cereal held in his arms. He pointed a finger at them, like animals in a cage.
“Seriously, Mikey?” April asked with a groan.
In barely no time at all, the rapid footsteps of Raph and Casey echoed through the hallway until they made it to the lab. They also proceeded to point their fingers at Donnie and April, laughing out loud.
“You guys are so immature!” April shouted.
“Is this really how you guys are choosing to react right now?” Donnie asked, annoyed. “After all these years of giving us, mainly me, a hard time?”
Casey spoke for the three of them. “It’s because of all these years. We can’t believe it took you guys so long. So stupid!”
Casey and Raph continued to harp on them as they left the lab. Mikey followed them, but not before shouting a quick: “Make sure you take breaks!”
Donnie covered his face, absolutely mortified. April gave his shoulders a comforting rub.
“I, for one, am happy for you two,” came Leo’s voice. April looked at their leader. He had a kind smile on his face. “As long as it doesn’t get in the way of missions, you have my blessing.”
“In what world would we need your blessing?” Donnie asked incredulously.
“I’m just saying, as your leader-“
“Get out of here, Leo! Please!” April shouted.
Leo chuckled and closed the door to the lab, finally giving them privacy. Once she was sure there would be no further interruptions, April dropped her forehead on Donnie’s shoulder.
“They’re so dumb,” she mumbled, but she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.
“The dumbest,” he agreed. “Probably not as dumb as us, though.”
That made April look back up at him with a grin. “Nah, nowhere near as dumb.”
She watched as Donnie looked at her with unfiltered love. His pupils were dilated, his cheeks were flushed, and he was still holding on to her ass like a lifeline.
April really, really liked Donnie.
And she couldn’t wait to experience all the ways they would be able to relieve stress together.