100 Theme Challenge - 68. Hero

100 Theme Challenge
68. Hero

April followed Don closely as he picked his way through the maze of sewer tunnels. They moved as fast as they dared, both aware that the Kraang could be in the sewer system searching for them.

They had separated from Casey fifteen minutes earlier but hadn’t heard from him. Don was certain the boy should have run across at least one of the other turtles by now so the T-Phone’s silence did not bode well.

Apparently April’s mind was running along those same lines. “Maybe we should call him,” she said. “It’s been too long.”

“I can’t risk the sound of the phone giving him away,” Don told her. “He could be hiding somewhere waiting for the Kraang to pass.”

April didn’t respond to that for a minute and then said, “Casey’s showing off. He’s trying to be a hero.”

Don glanced at her and saw that she was biting her bottom lip while staring straight ahead.

“He’ll be okay,” Don said, trying to reassure her though he was far from believing it himself. He knew that Casey took chances.

“We should have tried harder to talk him out of leaving,” April said. “He always argues with me but he listens to you.”

Don shook his head. “He argues with me too. I think Raph’s the only one who really speaks Casey’s language.”

“Is that why you two were standing in the middle of the street? You were arguing?” April asked.

“Kind of,” Don said, purposely keeping his answer vague.

“About me?” April guessed, her eyes on Don as she tried to read his expression.

Don could feel his face heating up. “I saw your hologram before Casey did and he didn’t know why I’d run off. Then he saw it too and stopped me from going after you because he thought it was a trick.”

“That’s one of the differences between you,” April said softly. “You never hesitate to be there when I need you or even when you think I need you. Casey is more . . . cautious.”

She sounded a little bit disappointed and Don debated on whether he should tell her that Casey wasn’t unconcerned about her well-being, he was just more concerned about Don’s. He wondered too if her hesitation before the word ‘cautious’ was because that wasn’t a term usually used to describe the overly enthusiastic Casey Jones.

Don settled for the simple truth. “He cares about your safety too, April. It’s just that Casey isn’t used to someone like you who is so capable and resourceful.”

“You mean someone who’s a girl,” April said, qualifying Don’s statement.

“He likes those qualities in you,” Don was quick to say. “He likes that you’re unique.”

They didn’t say anything else for a few minutes and then April asked with a touch of shy hopefulness in her voice, “Does he talk about me much?”

The question made Don’s stomach do a back flip. “Not to me,” he said a trifle defensively.

April’s cheeks reddened. “I’m sorry, Donnie. I can see how uncomfortable you are when he’s around us and I know why.”

Swallowing audibly, Don stuttered, “You d . . . do?”

“Of course,” April said. “It’s what we talked about. You like me and you see Casey as a rival.”

The fact that April recognized that Casey could be a rival for her affections told Don that she’d done some thinking along those lines. It made him feel forlorn.

“He’s human and you can go out in public with him,” Don said in a low voice. “When you’re with Casey you can have a normal life.”

“If I was worried about trying to have a normal life I wouldn’t have come back to the lair,” April said flatly. “I realized even before finding out that I have alien DNA that normal doesn’t mean the same thing for me as it means for other people and I’m okay with that.”

“Then you don’t mind all of this craziness?” Don asked.

April laughed, her eyes darting over to look at him. “Actually I sort of like a little craziness. I have to say that I don’t care for the times when someone’s trying to kill you guys or use me for strange experiments, but hanging out with you more than makes up for it.”

Don’s heart started to flutter wildly. “You like hanging out with me?”

April moved closer to him, so that her arm was nearly touching his as they walked. Smiling at Don, she said, “Yeah, I do. You’re smart and funny and really sweet. I like those qualities.”

“I don’t look like Casey though,” Don said, searching her eyes.

April stopped abruptly, forcing Don to spin around to see her. “I happen to like the way you look, Donatello,” she said with finality. “You don’t look like Casey, you look like Don. It just so happens that I think Don is very cute.”

Slightly flustered by April’s compliments, Don threw caution to the wind. “I think you’re beautiful,” he told her, blushing madly as he said it.

Staring up at him, April asked softly, “You do?”

It was then that Don decided to take a page from Casey’s book and be daring. Leaning down slowly, Don placed a kiss on April’s lips.

The kiss was neither too quick nor did it linger. Don enjoyed the softness of her lips, the touch of moistness that gave her mouth such an alluring shimmer, before lifting his head to break the kiss.

He was surprised to see that April had closed her eyes as he kissed her. Don had half expected that she’d jump back from him before he ever connected with her mouth and he’d moved in slowly to give her that chance.

Instead of trying to avoid the contact, April had tilted her head as she closed her eyes. Now they fluttered open and the corners of her mouth lifted as she gazed at him.

“I . . . I’m sorry, I know you wanted to go . . . go slow,” Don stammered, almost unable to comprehend his own audacity.

“I liked that,” April said in a low voice. “Don’t apologize.”

“It’s just that this isn’t the most auspicious time or . . . or place . . . .” Don closed his mouth, not sure what he was trying to explain to her.

“You wanted our first kiss to be special,” April said. “It was special, Donnie.” Waving a hand around to illustrate where they were, she went on, “This is our life. The Kraang aren’t going away anytime soon, Shredder isn’t going away anytime soon, but we’re fighting them together. What could be more special than to finally realize that no matter what, we’re together?”

Don reached out to caress April’s cheek with the backs of his fingers, wanting nothing more than to kiss her again. What she’d said about fighting reminded him of Casey and even though he was finally sharing an intimate moment with April, something he’d dreamt about for so long, he couldn’t focus on just her.

Pulling his hand away, Don took a deep breath and said, “I wish this moment could last forever, but we have to find out if Casey and my brothers are all right. I’m going to risk a call.”

Taking the T-Phone from his belt, Don hadn’t managed to do more than lift it when it started to vibrate and Don saw Mikey’s picture on the screen.

“Mikey?” Don asked.

“It’s Casey, not Mikey,” Casey said, rather unnecessarily. “Where are you?”

“Still in the sewers. We’re trying to avoid running headlong into any Kraang search parties,” Don said. “Did you locate my brothers?”

“I found Leo and he said he’d find Raph and Mikey and they’d meet us back at the lair,” Casey said. “I told him they’d have to go on foot ‘cause April kinda broke the Shellraiser.”

“That means you’re on your way back to the lair too,” Don said, feeling a sense of relief.

It was short lived. “Actually I ain’t. I sort of ran into a little problem,” Casey said, sounding sheepish.

April had pressed in close to Don in order to hear the conversation. “What kind of problem, Casey?” she asked.

“Well, I saw some Kraang getting ready to go down into the sewers and decided that it wouldn’t be a great idea for them to follow you two,” Casey said. “So I shot a few soda cans at their heads and got them to chase me. Now I’m hiding in a pigeon coop on the roof of a building on Amsterdam.”

If Don hadn’t made the T-Phone so sturdy, he would have crushed it in his hand. “You should not have done that,” he told Casey. “They probably have patrols on the street and in the air looking for you now. Don’t move; I’ll come and get you.”

“No ya’ won’t,” Casey said in protest.

“You listen to me . . .” Don spluttered angrily.

Before he could say more, April intervened. “Wait you guys. Casey, you’re about a block and a half from Irma’s apartment. Do you think you could make it there if you stayed on the roof tops and in the shadows?”

“Yeah, no sweat,” Casey said.

“Good, then meet me there. Her parents are out of town and we can hide there until the Kraang give up the search,” April said.

“I’ll only do it if ya’ promise to gag her. She gives me a headache,” Casey said facetiously.

“Try to be nice,” April said, “and ditch your gear unless you want her to know about your alter ego.”

“Shoot, I hear something. Gotta go. See ya’ in a few,” Casey said as the connection went dead.

“You aren’t going out there alone,” Don immediately told April.

“There’s a way from the sewers into the sub-basement in Irma’s building,” April said. “I explored it once when she was doing laundry.”

“Then we’ll both go. Casey’s stunt was dangerous for all of us. I have to make sure he wasn’t followed before you show yourself,” Don said.

April nodded meekly, seeming to see how senseless it would be to remonstrate with him.

After a few minutes of silently trudging through the tunnels, April said, “You’re a real hero, Donnie. Please don’t be frustrated with Casey. I think maybe he does some of those crazy things because he wants to be your equal. I guess I’m trying to say that I don’t think you have to worry about him being a rival because I get this feeling that he actually wants your approval. What I mean is I don’t believe he wants you to dislike him.”

Startled, Don asked, “What gives you that idea?”

April shrugged. “Call it one of those vibes I get from time to time. I sense something different about Casey when you’re around, and it isn’t jealousy or dislike. Give me time, I’ll figure it out.”

Pressing his lips into a tight line, Don dropped the subject. It wasn’t as if things weren’t already complicated enough without April starting to dig around looking for Casey’s motivations.

With growing trepidation, Don wondered what would happen if April found out the truth.