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gwydionae · 1 year

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Nice and Respectful

A/N: What? A 2012 Raphril fic? In this, the year of our Lord 2023? Madness, I say! Honestly was just feeling kind of nostalgic. I've still got a long list of TMNT prompts I never ended up writing back in the day, but there were some I had a feeling I might get back around to eventually. Here's one of them (shockingly not a Raph and Mikey fic).

Posted on fanfiction.net >here<.

Teaser: It had only been a few months since Casey had barreled into their lives, and his familiarity with April hadn't gone unnoticed. Raph was determined to put his younger brother out of his pining misery, but plans never survive contact with the enemy, or his dark, cramped closet, apparently.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Takes place late in the 2012 show's second season.

Stuck in a Closet

Nice and Respectful

"Hey, Raph! You ready?"

April's cheerful voice rang through the common room as she entered the lair with a wave to her friend. Looking up from his seat in front of the TV, Raph was instantly on his feet, turning off the old movie he'd been watching and tossing down the remote. He fell in line next to her as she continued on in the direction of the bedrooms.

"Ready to cover my ears from all the noise you call 'practicing'," he said with a grin, bobbing out of the way as her hand flew out to smack him on the arm.

Discovering the drum set in his room several months ago, April had all but begged Raph to teach her how to play, and finding her puppy dog eyes somehow even more manipulative than Mikey's, he had reluctantly agreed. It had been a little awkward at first. The two of them hadn't exactly been close at the time, April mostly hanging out with his siblings when she came to visit. But the more lessons they had, the more he relaxed around her, and while not exactly a musical prodigy, she always did her best to follow his instructions.

"At this point, maybe that's more on the teacher than the pupil," she retorted, shooting him a smirk as he opened his bedroom door for her.

Raph snorted. "Even the best teachers can only do so much with what they've got to work with." Taking one last glance back toward the lair's entrance, he shut the door behind them before dropping the snarky banter and attempting to redirect the conversation.

"So no Casey today, huh?"

It hadn't been long after he had started giving April drum lessons that one Casey Jones had barreled into their lives. At first he had seemed a welcome distraction; the patrols with his brothers, while often dangerous, involved a lot of waiting, so teaming up with a fellow brawler who was constantly on the move was fresh and exciting. However it didn't take long for Raph to note a certain glint in Casey's eye whenever April was around - a certain glint he'd come to recognize from his too-tall, gap-toothed brother's face.

Raph had tried warning Donnie that his little crush was doomed from the start, but it never stopped his lovesick brother from continuing his attempts to woo April. When she and Casey had started turning up together, however, Donnie wasn't the only one keeping an eye on them. The two had seemed on pretty friendly terms, and the more Raph watched them, the more obvious it was that Casey was hoping for more than that someday. And if April felt the same, well, better to put his brother out of his pining misery sooner rather than later.

Being shut up in a room alone with April with no sign of Casey or his brothers seemed as good a time as any to try and get some answers.

"Nope, just me today," replied April with a smile as she sat down behind the drum set. "He said he had something to take care of at home." Holding up a drumstick, she pointed it at Raph with a smirk. "Besides, if he were here, you know you'd be running off with him to go terrorize the criminals of the city, or whatever it is you do, which would leave me without a drum teacher."

"Hey, I'm not the one he follows around like a lost puppy," said Raph as he raised his hands in a show of defense. "I've barely seen you without him attached to your hip the past few weeks. Hard to teach someone who's got their boyfriend hanging all over them." He watched her expression closely as she rolled her eyes at his words.

"I can't help what he does, and he's interrupted us just as much as you've run off with him. And besides, he's not - "

Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of a loud metal band blared from April's T-phone. Casey's ringtone. She reached for it with a wry smile.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered as she brought the phone up to her ear. "Casey? What's up?"

Annoyed at the interruption, Raph strained his ears to try and overhear the conversation, but unlike usual, the voice on the other end was quiet and incomprehensible from where he stood. He frowned, getting the sudden feeling that something was off.

"Casey? Speak up; I can't hear you. What's wrong?" There was another pause before April's brows furrowed in confusion. "Are you at home? No, wait - don't hang up! Casey? Casey!"

Raph watched as she removed the phone from her ear, her expression changing to one of concern. He kept his voice calm as he asked, "What was that all about?"

"I'm not sure," she said, staring at her phone before suddenly standing up from the seat she'd just taken, "but he said he needed help, so I'm afraid this time I'm going to have to bail on you. Sorry, Raph."

As April hurriedly headed for the door, Raph grabbed his sai off his makeshift bedside table and followed close behind her.

"I'll come with you," he said, sheathing his weapons and tightening his mask as he caught up and began walking alongside her. "If that idiot's in trouble, it's best not to go alone. Do you know where he is?"

"He said he was at home in his room," she explained as they made their way to the lair's entrance. "He doesn't live too far from here - maybe about ten minutes on foot?"

Raph frowned at the news. Ten minutes was an eternity with a potential life on the line. Reaching out to grab April's arm, he stopped her in her tracks and began gently pulling her away from their usual exit.

"Then let's take the Stealth Cycle," he said. "We'll get there faster, and it's small and quiet enough that whoever's there will never see us coming."

She nodded and continued following him as he turned down the sewer tunnel leading to Donnie's underground parking garage. Upon reaching it, he flicked on the lights before heading over to the Shellraiser to grab his keys. Unlocking the bike remotely, April pulled open the hatch and stepped aside so he could jump in. As it was made to only seat one comfortably, he motioned for her to climb onto his lap before placing the key in the ignition while she closed the hatch. Within seconds, they were speeding out of the secret entrance to the surface and onto the street, April directing his path.

"There it is," she said after several blocks, pointing to a somewhat worn down apartment building. "Casey's room is on the fourth floor, right over there next to that fire escape."

"Guess that's our ticket in," said Raph as he quickly parked the Stealth Cycle in a nearby alley. He locked eyes with April. "Ready?"

With a nod, she threw open the hatch, and the two jumped out, immediately heading toward the fire escape as he locked the bike behind them. Keeping his eyes on Casey's window to try and catch any visible activity inside, the two climbed up the fire escape as silently as they could. But as they each crouched down on either side of the window, they noticed no signs of a struggle. Raph watched as April cautiously peeked through a gap in the curtains, and after briefly sweeping the room with her eyes, let out a low gasp.

"Casey!"

Instantly grabbing his weapons, Raph made to pry the window open with his sai. Luckily it was unlocked, and as he raised it as far as it would go, he silently slid into the dimly lit room.

He had never been in Casey's room before. Cheap posters lined the walls depicting the local hockey team and various metal bands, and clothes were scattered all over the floor and bed. As April slid into the room beside him, a low groan drew his eyes to the desk in the corner where he saw Casey seated, hunched over with his head on the hard surface, arms dangling at his sides. April was already rushing to his side.

"Casey! Casey, are you ok?"

"Wha-?" Casey's head shot up at the sudden call of his name, and when whirling around to face the intruder, nearly fell out of his chair, just barely catching the edge of the desk in time. "Red? And... Raph!? What are you - !?"

Other than seeming completely dumbfounded, their supposed victim seemed no different from usual - no new scratches or bruises, no signs of a struggle. Glancing at the desk, it was covered in papers and a large trigonometry textbook.

Raph snorted and folded his arms with a frown. "Seems fine to me."

Groaning, April ran a hand down her face in exasperation. "Did you seriously just want help with your homework?"

"Casey!"

All three flinched and looked toward the bedroom door where loud, stomping footsteps could be heard coming closer.

"Oh sh-!" With a panicked look in his eyes, Casey quickly shoved his new guests toward his open closet. "He cannot find you, please - !"

Grabbing April, Raph did as he was instructed, eyeing the open window on the complete opposite side of the room with envy as he squeezed in amongst the discarded hockey equipment and the sparse amount of clothes that actually somehow found their way onto hangers. The closet door slammed on them at the exact moment Casey's bedroom door slammed open. The muffled voice of one who could only be Casey's dad could be heard from the closet, an argument quickly breaking out between the two.

"It's not just about hockey, it's your future! If you don't pass this class - "

Raph sighed in annoyance. "I can't believe we rushed all the way over here just for -"

A finger pressed against his mouth brought his quiet muttering to an abrupt halt as he suddenly became all too aware of his and April's current positions. The closet was only just barely big enough for the two of them to stand in, and as he'd pulled her in with him, she was currently leaning up against his plastron, his arms still resting on her waist. Thanks to the dim light peeking in from under the door, Raph could just make out April's face mere inches from his own, eyebrows lightly furrowed as she leaned her ear toward the door.

If Donnie ever found out about this, he might just send Mutagen Man after him.

He tried to rationalize that it wasn't so different from their ride here in the Stealth Cycle. But then he'd been on a mission; it'd been a necessary measure to getting here as quickly as possible. The idea of having a girl sitting in his lap hadn't even registered. Now, however, they were just stuck here, waiting for who knew how long until the coast was clear and they could finally leave. He could feel her shirt under his palms, her light breathing on his skin, her chest against his plastron...

What he wouldn't give to have Leo's ability to meditate at the drop of a hat right now.

A soft sigh broke through Raph's spiraling thoughts, and April wriggled slightly in his grasp. Doing his best to move as silently as possible, he slowly withdrew his hands from her waist. With a small smile in thanks, she squirmed a bit more before grinning in victory and pulling her T-phone up to his face and pointing at it. He cocked an eyeridge at her curiously as she began motioning back and forth from the phone to the two of them until he realized that she was probably trying to start a text conversation with him to keep from dying of boredom. She gave him an annoyed pout when he shook his head, so with a roll of his eyes, he raised his comparatively large hands to show them empty and very quietly whispered, "I can't reach it."

Realization dawned on her face in the light of her phone's screen, and she quickly typed something into her phone before turning it around to face him.

Type where it is. I'll get it.

Raph called on every ounce of his ninja training to steel his facial muscles from showing any reaction to the idea of her digging around in his belt. Nodding when his response was done, she read it before angling the light of the phone downward and began patting at his belt.

"No, my left!" he hissed quietly, doing everything he could to ignore the hand groping half blindly at his waist.

Glancing at him with an apologetic look and a mouthed "sorry", April switched hands, and after several seconds that seemed to drag on far longer, she held his T-phone in front of his face triumphantly. Snatching it from her, Raph quickly turned it to silent and sent off his first message.

I am going to kill your boyfriend when this is over.

Shooting him a glare, she scowled as she quickly typed her response.

He is not my boyfriend!

Raph smirked. Coulda fooled me.

A dangerous gleam seemed to enter April's eye as she typed, looking at him smugly as the message came through.

Says the guy trying to snuggle with me in a tiny closet.

No amount of ninja training could have kept his eyes from growing to twice their normal size, heat rushing to his face. He could hear a stifled giggle as his fingers fumbled over the letters, rushing to protest.

I wasn't snuggling!

She cocked an eyebrow at him with a smirk.

That guy couldn't know anyone was in here.

Uh-huh.

The wrong move could have given us away.

Is that why you started talking as soon as the door was shut in our faces?

Raph's fingers itched to retort, but no clever comeback came to mind. Sulking with an immense desire to curl up into his shell for the next three months, he huffed, doing his best to ignore his embarrassment.

Shoulda just left you out there to get caught.

Wincing, April gave an exaggerated shudder. Ugh, no thank you! The last thing I need is someone else accusing me of being Casey's girlfriend.

Between this and her rather emphatic denial of their relationship, it seemed his hopes of knocking some sense into his younger brother were fading fast. She and Casey were definitely not as close as he'd guessed, and so long as she remained single, Donnie wasn't about to give her up. He could never understand why she put up with a mutant turtle constantly flirting with her, but apparently his advances weren't the only ones she found unfavorable.

What's so bad about that? Casey's cool. For a human.

Raph watched her face closely as the message appeared on her screen, noting her pause before hesitantly entering her response. He was Casey's friend, after all. It was possible she wouldn't be honest with him even if she did answer the question.

It's not that... It's just... whether I'm at school or in the lair, it feels like I can't escape from someone hitting on me or acting jealous. It's exhausting.

"...or in the lair". So this really was about both Casey and Donnie. That made sense, but in that case, the solution to her problem seemed stupidly obvious.

Tell them to buzz off.

It was hard to tell if the slight smile April shot him before typing was a bit sad or just tired. Her fingers worked a little slower this time as if she were more carefully measuring her words. They soon stopped, but her eyes stayed glued to her phone, teeth gently biting her bottom lip. Curious, Raph raised an eyeridge but continued to wait patiently until, with a soft sigh, April pressed "send".

I don't want to do anything that might ruin our friendship. I don't have a lot of friends as it is. And it's not that I don't like them, it's just...

Raph wasn't sure if April really didn't know how to finish that sentence or simply didn't want to tell him. He glanced up at her, but her eyes seemed to be looking anywhere but at him. Focusing back on his T-phone, he made his response as blunt as possible. It was about time she started being more honest with herself, for everyone's sake.

Casey's a slob and Donnie's a turtle?

The quiet snort she let out was vastly preferable to her continuing to act all awkward and hesitant. Since they'd met, all she'd done was bite, kick, and sass her way into getting what she wanted - going on missions, training with them, even convincing him to teach her how to play the drums. All this beating-around-the-bush crap just felt weird.

Casey is a slob. And arrogant. And neither of them understand boundaries. And Donnie can be so pushy when he wants something... Honestly, the fact that he's a turtle doesn't even bother me at this point.

A look of confusion fell over Raph's face as he read - and then promptly reread - the last line. He glanced up at her curiously before responding.

What's that supposed to mean?

Upon receiving his message, April grimaced slightly before shooting him an apologetic look, though he wasn't entirely sure why.

Sorry. It just means that it's not about what a guy looks like but how he acts that matters. I'd take a mutant turtle who's nice and respectful over a human that acts like a jerk any day.

Raph blinked, eyes glued to his screen. They kept scanning her latest text over and over again, but the words written there clashed so violently with everything he'd believed up to now that his brain refused to properly process them. He wasn't sure how long he hesitated, but his utter bewilderment must have been extremely obvious as a new message popped up before he had even begun to formulate a response.

You don't believe me.

Finally tearing his eyes from his phone, Raph found a look of mild annoyance on April's face, a look he felt would have been far more appropriate on his own under the circumstances. His whole life he'd been warned that humans would never understand them, and here she was trying to convince him that if the right one just happened to come along, she'd be totally fine getting all cozy and swapping spit with a giant, green, scaly reptile monster.

Raph wasn't even sure what kind of a face he was making anymore, but whatever it was, April's reaction was to let out a huff and furiously start typing again.

I have six friends - six! And of those six, four of them are mutant turtles. In the past year, I've met mutant rats, monkeys, pigeons, dogs, even a walking container of glowing goo! My dad was a giant bat just a few weeks ago! I think I'm more used to mutants than humans at this point. So why is that so hard to believe?

She really was going to make him spell it out for her. He'd never seen her as the naïve type, but he did at least have a lot of experience waking people up from their fantasy worlds with blunt words and harsh realities. Guess he'd add her to his list of clientele.

Being friends is one thing. But you can't just take a mutant out on a date, ya know.

Without even batting an eye, she texted back. Who needs fancy restaurants when there's pizza gyoza?

Raph rolled his eyes. Sure. And how about introducing all your friends and relatives to a talking turtle? That'd go over real well.

April shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. Casey and my dad already know, Irma's cool, and we could wait and worry about my extended family if things got serious.

Eyes narrowing, an incredulous frown settled on his face at her flippant words. And if things did get serious? You finding a nice corner of the sewers to live in together? Because no chance a mutant could live up here.

That managed to give her a slight pause, but even so she seemed little bothered as she typed her reply. I could make it work if I had to. I lived in the sewers with you guys for like a month last September, and I'm always down there training or hanging out anyway.

It took every ounce of his willpower to not sigh heavily at April's continued stubbornness. Taking a deep breath, he slowly let it out as he willed his tensing shoulders to relax before fixing her with a dull stare. For her part, she seemed completely unfazed by his agitation, so with a shake of his head, he conceded defeat. There was no point arguing about something that would never happen.

Fine. You keep telling yourself that. Good luck finding that perfect, mutant soulmate that's "nice" and "respectful".

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly before she steeled it into a disappointed frown and sighed. There was no hiding the mischievous look in her eye, though, as her newest message came through.

Yeah, that could be pretty hard. I mean, I can't even find one who won't try anything if we happen to get locked in a closet together.

Eyes widening at the accusation, Raph heard a giggle escape from April. The composure he'd managed to regain was gone in a flash. His face flushed, temper finally bubbling to the surface.

"You were the one who kept pawing at my belt!" he said in a low hiss, tightly gripping his forgotten T-phone.

Meeting his gaze, April smirked and whispered, "You were the one who let me."

Both parties stiffened, however, when a muffled yell could be heard coming from somewhere else in the apartment.

"Just thinking out loud, that's all!" Casey's voice rang out from the other side of the door in response. "Word problems, ya know?"

Raph could hear his heart pounding in his chest as silence once again fell over the dark space. The relief that his blunder hadn't gotten them caught was palpable; the last thing he wanted was to have to explain to Splinter how suddenly Casey's whole family knew about them thanks to him and April being stuck in a tiny closet together, unable to control themselves. Noticing her quietly raising her phone once again, he saw April type a short text before looking up at him with a sheepish grin.

Oops.

Raph huffed lightly but didn't respond, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. He briefly glanced over at her but just as quickly looked away again. The last ten minutes or so had left a strange knot in his stomach. His personal mission to help Donnie move on from April hadn't exactly gone as planned. The fact that the reason she didn't return his affection had nothing to do with him being a turtle made everything that much more complicated. An immutable fact like the way one was physically born couldn't be argued with; even Donnie would have to eventually surrender to it. But if such standards didn't matter, it was up to her to state clearly what she did and didn't want.

But her worry about the repercussions of doing so made sense. Donnie and Casey would be practically insufferable, whether trying to change themselves to suit April's taste or bemoaning the fact that they'd been spurned. Leo and Mikey might be sensitive to her right to choose, but he wouldn't blame them if they had a "turtle's first" mentality. And April, well, she might just decide that avoiding them all again was easiest. No more missions, hanging out in the lair, drum lessons...

Eyeridges furrowed, he ignored the tightening in his chest at the thought as he felt a light tap on his arm. Looking up, he noticed April holding up her phone, a new message at the bottom.

Hey.

Her eyes were glancing from his face to the floor and back again, that awkward, hesitant look from earlier once again settled on her face. Shifting his stance, he uncrossed his arms and concentrated on his phone.

What.

There was only a brief pause before her text came through. If I were to ask Donnie and Casey to back off, do you still think Sensei would let me train with you guys?

Well, he'd put the idea in her head. He shouldn't discourage it now.

He wouldn't just kick you out, if that's what you're worried about.

It didn't matter the reason. It didn't matter that it had nothing to do with his brother being a mutant turtle. They deserved to know how she really felt, and she deserved to be treated with respect. And if after all this she felt she was better off not dealing with them anymore, that was her right, too.

Would you still give me drum lessons?

The tightness in his chest flared up again. Long as you still want'em.

Even if certain members of your family didn't want to see me for a while?

Finally glancing back up at her, Raph caught April looking at him with a mix of hope and apprehension. She knew what her actions could lead to. She just wanted assurances that she wouldn't lose everybody. He shot her a lopsided smile.

You're not just their friend. They'll get over it.

The smile he got in response was a grateful one, and he soon found two, small arms wrapping around his neck, her cheek pressed up against his own. And when she whispered a thank you that only he could hear, he prayed that she couldn't feel the heat building in his neck and face.

Patting her back with one arm, he clumsily typed a message into his T-phone with the other.

Now who's snuggling?

Raph could feel her shift slightly as she read her phone over his shoulder, a quiet laugh tickling his neck forcing him to hold back a shiver. She didn't let go.

This is actually pretty comfortable, for being stuck in a dark, cramped closet. Maybe I'll just take a nap.

If she couldn't hear his heart pounding before, he was almost certain she could hear it now. The idea of her falling asleep while pressed up against him like this wasn't unwelcome, but it was as if all of his senses were suddenly heightened. He could feel the warmth of her body seeping into him, hear her light breathing, see her red hair and smell its shampoo. He'd never been so aware of her until now. It unnerved him.

And yet he still found himself unable to discourage it.

Just don't start drooling on me or something.

She laughed and gave him a squeeze before putting her T-phone back in her pocket and silently pulling a clean sweatshirt from its hanger. Balling it up, she laid it on his shoulder like a pillow and whispered, "No promises."

Closing his eyes, Raph valiantly attempted to focus on meditating. But as time dragged on, his brain refused more and more to hone in on anything that wasn't inherently April. His hand - it was lightly resting on her back. Her arms - one had fallen limply off his shoulder while the other still gently gripped his plastron. Her breathing - it was slow and even and warm against his neck. Eventually he found he could regulate his own breathing if he purposely tried to match hers, and while he was still far too anxious to fall asleep, he could feel his muscles relaxing.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that before a light jiggle of the doorknob jerked him fully awake. Opening his eyes, he squinted as the dim light from the room beyond began filtering in, Casey standing there holding his finger up to his lips. The look on his face rather quickly changed to one of surprise, however, his eyes taking in the somewhat intimate position Raph and April had ended up in.

Wanting nothing more than to escape his friend's curious gaze, Raph quickly shook April awake, motioning for her to remain silent as Casey pointed to the open window.

"The old man's finally asleep," he said as Raph began leading a somewhat groggy April out of the closet, "but keep quiet. His room's on the other side of that wall."

With a silent nod, the two former captives made their way to freedom, Raph steadying April on the fire escape as she rubbed the last of the sleep out of her eyes.

"Sorry about all this." Casey at least had the decency to look sheepish. "I'll call you later, ok?" With a last wink to April, he silently shut the window and closed the curtains.

Raph jerked his head in the direction of the Stealth Cycle before beginning his descent, April following close behind. It wasn't until they finally made it to the ground that she finally broke the silence.

"Just how long were we stuck in there?" she said with a yawn, stretching her arms out wide.

"Almost three hours," he said as he opened the hatch on the bike.

Her jaw dropped as she let out a groan, shoulders slumping. "Three hours? Are you serious?" She walked up to the bike and sighed as Raph jumped in. "I don't suppose Master Splinter wants to hear some soothing, beginner drum music before he goes to sleep."

Raph snorted and shook his head. "Not unless you wanna pay for it during training tomorrow." He held his hand out to her. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Taking the hand, she stepped in, seating herself on Raph's lap as she'd done before. If she noticed a little extra color in his cheeks this time, she didn't say anything.

"I guess Casey found a way to interrupt our drum lesson after all." She sighed again as the hatch closed over them, Raph revving the engine.

"He is good at that, isn't he," he said as he pulled onto the street. He had to pay extra attention to the road, his eyes subconsciously wanting to dart toward the face mere inches from his own. If April thought they were perhaps going a little too fast, she didn't say anything about that either.

After only a few minutes, Raph pulled into the alley next to her home and opened the hatch. Before she jumped out, however, April managed to surprise him once more by wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Thanks for the chat tonight," she said as she released him before pulling herself out of the bike. Looking away, she tucked some loose hair behind her ear. "I, um, might be a little late tomorrow." Taking a deep breath, she straightened up. "I'm going to have a talk with Casey after school."

Looking her in the eye, Raph gave a sharp nod. "Casey might be an idiot, but he's a good guy. He'll understand." He then shot her a crooked grin. "But if he does give you any trouble, let me know. I can be pretty convincing. Just ask Mikey."

April gave a short laugh. "I'm sure you can be." With a wave and a smile, she backed away from the bike. "Thanks, Raph. See you tomorrow."

With a final salute, he closed the hatch of the Stealth Cycle and drove off, glancing up at his rearview mirror to watch April's shrinking form. If she was planning to talk with Casey tomorrow, then Donnie likely wouldn't be far behind. His eyes narrowed in determination. If that was really how she felt, then it was best he knew, but perhaps he might try being a little bit nicer to his lovesick brother in the meantime.

At the thought of her turning them down, his stomach gave an uneasy lurch and that tightening in his chest was back. Gripping the wheel even harder, he growled and pressed his foot on the gas as far as it would go until he was careening into the garage. Locking the Stealth Cycle and throwing the keys back into the Shellraiser, Raph hurriedly stomped through the common room, which was thankfully empty, and into his room, shoving his door shut behind him. Seeing his drumsticks still laying out from earlier, he had a sudden urge to hit something, but he didn't know why. He wasn't angry, but a part of him felt ready to explode at any second if he didn't do something about it.

Pacing around his room, he busied himself with tidying up his drums and putting away his gear until he pulled his T-phone out of his belt and noticed a new text notification. He'd forgotten that he'd never taken it off of silent mode. Doing so, he quickly tapped to see who the text was from, stopping in his tracks when he realized it was April. Feeling an odd sense of nervousness, he quickly shoved it aside and clicked to read the message.

Thanks for being such a nice and respectful pillow tonight. Good night, Raph.

He stared at the text, reading and rereading it several times before he finally responded with a short, "night." But even then he couldn't stop staring, his heart pounding like a bass drum in his chest. It took him several minutes before the horrible realization finally sunk in about three hours later than it probably should have. The stomach lurches, the tightening in his chest, the shiver up his spine at her laugh on his neck, having a hard time concentrating on anything but the feel of her skin and smell of her shampoo...

He liked her. Not just as a drum student. Not just as a kunoichi. Not just as a friend.

He, Hamato Raphael, the one who'd spent countless hours trying to convince his brothers that any relationship with a human would never work out, had fallen for April O'Neil.

She was coming here tomorrow to tell his brother that she wasn't interested. And she was counting on him to stick by her side. As a friend.

With a loud sigh, Raph sank onto his bed and buried his face in his hands.

"Oh, crud..." ____________________________________

A/N: This is technically connected to my “Solo” fic and the various other fics surrounding it, but I try to write all my fics to stand on their own, and I think this one works out. Thanks to everyone who's ever reviewed or favorited my fics - I love you all, even years later! I fairly frequently read old reviews, and they never fail to put a smile on my face. ^_^

(If you got this far, hope you liked it, Rosy! <3)

As always, critics and grammar police appreciated!

#tmnt 2012 #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #raphril #raphael #april o'neil #casey jones #my fanfiction #this will always be 'stuck in a closet' to me lol

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