Notes: This takes place following the end of season two and spans into season 3. Point of view will change between April and Raphael depending on the segment. The first chapter of this story was originally intended and posted as a one-shot under another title, but I've since been inspired to open it up into something much more ambitious. A big thanks to princessebee for her support and encouragement. I absolutely guarantee I would not have gotten involved as deeply in this fandom without her, much less be writing for it.

Beta: princessebee

April had been left to take care of the dishes alone again. Nevermind that she had just been tasked with feeding everyone. Not that anyone had come right out and asked her to. She basically had taken it upon herself. Otherwise, it seemed they all had agreed to survive on a diet of salty snacks and sugary cereal. They probably wouldn't mind living in a pigsty either, for that matter.

Leo wouldn't stand for this, she thought gruffly, then instantly wished her mind hadn't taken her automatically to such a painful place. She pushed the thought aside quickly, returning back to the matter at hand.

Still, it would have been nice if someone had offered to help with the clean-up. To make matters worse, another round of bickering had begun in the living room, with voices getting louder by the second. She didn't know what had started it off this time, but was sure it was something infantile as per usual. Familiar with this build up to the inevitable rough housing and not wanting the accompanying headache, she decided to stop midway through her chore, dried her hands, and headed out the side door.

The night's symphony of crickets was a soothing reprise from the turmoil inside, until it was broken by a crashing sound from within accompanied by the muffled voice of someone yelling Mikey's name. She couldn't discern who from outside but it didn't take much imagination to guess.

"Raph," she muttered to herself with a sigh, looking heavenward as if help would come from above. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, she glumly set off further from the house in search of a brief respite.

The only light came from the windows on the lower floor of the house, but the moon was full and bright in the sky overhead. She rounded the barn and was surprised to find that she wasn't the only one wandering around in the dark that night.

In the middle of the empty field before her sat Raphael staring up into the sky. She considered whether or not to announce herself. More than likely he was seeking solitude, as she had been. She'd been doing that a lot lately, she realized, though, at the moment, she wasn't sure why. All it seemed to accomplish was allowing herself to sink further into melancholy thoughts. After a brief deliberation, she silently approached him.

"Hey," she called out before reaching him, giving him the opportunity to let her know if he wanted to be alone.

He turned, surprised to see her at first, but remained seated in the grass. "Huh," he grunted. "Didn't hear you coming."

"Ninja," she commented brightly.

"Yeah, right," he chuckled.

"The fellas are having it out again. Thought you were in there with them," she confessed.

"Who me?" he smirked. "I would never."

"Right, right. I forgot about your gentle disposition," she commented sarcastically and was awarded a laugh. Their banter over, an awkward moment of silence followed. "Mind if I join you?" she finally asked.

"It's a free country," he answered with a shrug.

She sat on the grass next to him and followed his gaze upward; the two of them sat silently for a time. "So you come out here often?" she asked.

"Isn't that a pick-up line?" he offered dryly, still staring upward. "If you really want to hear the guys have it out, call Casey and Don outside and do that again."

She laughed clear and loud unexpectedly to the both of them, to the point that he jumped a little in surprise. The crickets momentarily quieted as she nearly fell over in laughter, before eventually getting ahold of herself. "Thanks," she giggled. "I needed that."

"That's me," he quipped. "A regular a stand-up comedian."

"But you know what I meant," she said. "Sitting in an open field in the middle of the night…It's just not what I would expect is all."

"It's a clear night," he pointed out, as though that were explanation enough.

It was at that, she agreed. The sky was deep and dark, sprinkled with thousands of glimmering stars.

"We don't get to see many stars in the city," she said in understanding. "I never thought about it much to be honest."

"Don't suppose you would," he snarked, but his heart didn't seem into it and she decided to let it go.

"It's the light pollution, you know. In the city-"

"Please don't," he begged, closing his eyes tightly in exasperation. "Don't do the Donnie thing. Not everything needs a fucking explanation."

"Sorry," she offered simply, immediately wondering why she had done so in the first place. It occurred to her that since she had met the turtles, quiet moments like these were few and far between, making them feel out of place and so perhaps she felt the need to fill them with chatter.

"Do you want me to go?" she asked genuinely.

"No," he answered quickly, still looking skyward. "If I'm being an asshole, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be. I'm-"

April watched as his eyes gleamed and she looked up to catch a shooting star cross the sky in front of them.

She smiled. "You've never seen one before."

"No," he breathed.

"Well, you know what you have to do, right?" she began.

"Do?" He finally pried his eyes from the sky to look at her with confusion.

"Yes," she continued. "If you see a shooting star, you have to make a wish. Especially if it's your first one. That's extra special."

"Don't be stupid," he scoffed at her instantly, as she had more than expected.

"You're right. It is stupid. Would you like me to explain why?" she asked smugly. "A shooting star is actually-"

"Alright! Alright!" he relented. "You win!"

April smiled triumphantly. "First you have to close your eyes," she instructed.

He sighed heavily, but did as he was told. But not without muttering, "This is dumb."

"Yes, we've been over that already," April reminded him. "Now you just make a wish."

He opened one eye and regarded her. "If I have to do this, you do to," he demanded.

"Fair enough," April agreed and followed suit by closing her eyes as well.

After some time, April leaned over toward him covertly and whispered, "What'd you wish for?"

"Oh no," he refused. "Doesn't that jinx it or something?"

She searched his face, even though he was still looking upward, and found herself reaching for his hand, squeezing it gently. "Leo's going to be okay, Raph."

Surprised by the touch at first, but accepting of it, he squeezed her hand back. "Yeah. Yeah, I know," he answered, but the sound of his voice betrayed him.

She wanted to convince him that it was true. That the universe had dealt them a crappy hand and it was bound to start being dealt in their favor soon. That, on top of everything, there's no way karma would take Leo from them too. But none of that was very practical, she knew, and would do little to change Raphael's state of mind.

So, instead, she silently returned to star-gazing in silence. A silence that was a lot less awkward than before. Before long, another star streamed across the sky.

"Want to try for round two?" she asked.

He nodded in agreement. "Couldn't hurt."

Credit: Much as I adore setoangel01's stuff, I did not consciously have her piece "Raphril Stars" in mind when writing this chapter, but would be hard pressed to believe it wasn't used subconsciously even if the image is for the 2014 movie. So I'm going to give credit, if for no other reason than her stuff is awesome and you should totally check out her deviantart page.