Chapter Text
Love kinda sucks sometimes.
Well, most of the time.
Leo had fallen in love with his sister, Raph got together with some alien chick from another planet, Mikey kept crushing on girls that could crush him, and Donnie was in love with the same girl Casey liked.
With all of these examples, you would understand why Casey wanted to avoid love. Love, that messy but wonderful emotion so powerful that it made two brothers fight each other to death. It was stupid. That was the reason why he was trying to distance himself from April. He didn't have anything against the girl specifically. He just feels like he can't think properly when his feelings for her are blinding him 80% of the time.
He liked Donnie in a brotherly fashion even though they butted heads because of petty things. One of those many things was because of them trying to impress April. Donnie was at his back more times than they argued, and he was there when it mattered. So, he thought that having their bond being broken because of a girl was just ridiculous.
"Yo, Casey," Raph called. Casey shot the puck toward the goal before turning to his best friend.
"What's up?" Casey asked.
Tonight was one of those nights when Casey would practice his hockey. He and Raph snuck into the closed stadium with an ice rink so they could practice. It was part of Casey's routine and Raph would sometimes come along to help him.
Casey has been playing hockey ever since he was seven and he made friends that way. For the past few years, his social life can be described as a flickering lightbulb. Casey hasn't been to school in a while. He rather takes odd jobs to provide for his sister since his dad wasn't the most suitable father. He wouldn't get along with his coworkers so his only other option was making friends via hockey. He would go to tryouts and get into teams only to attend a few practices. He would be in and out of them, not attending for a week or two because of a mission the turtles needed him for. It happened too often that his team had to kick them out because they couldn't count on him during games. This is why he had to practice at every chance he got because he didn't know when the next opportunity would open for him.
He doesn't mind being absent for a few practices. If it's for the turtles, he'd drop his skates in a flash. The turtles have been like his family for so long and even though he fights with them sometimes, what family doesn't fight? He loves them and he loves going on missions with them but he also wishes he could have a sense of normalcy once in a while. Being with other humans and going to school like he used to…
But he can't do that. And he's fine with that. Sorta.
Raph tilted his head at the boy and Casey shifted uncomfortably under Raph's gaze. "What?" he asked.
"What's up with you and April?" Raph asked.
"Huh?"
"You've been avoiding her lately," Raph clarified. "Did you two get into a fight or something?"
"No?" Casey answered and Raph could hear the uncertainty in his voice. The boy wouldn't meet his eyes and it annoyed the red-cladded turtle. "It's just… some personal stuff."
"Well, you gotta solve it somehow," Raph said. He skated toward the puck and then passed it to Casey. "You're making everyone think something's wrong with you two."
"Nothing's wrong," Casey insisted. He passed the puck back and forth before he rushed to make a goal. Raph, however, deflected the direction his puck was going in and now was rushing towards Casey. "It's just that–" Casey caught the puck and then began skating away from his friend and the red turtle took chase " – Some stuff has been going on in my head that I don't want to bother you guys with." Casey attempted to pass it through the goal but Raph skated in front of the puck, taking it and then skating in the other direction.
"Like?" Raph asked as he passed Casey.
The human took chase before the mutant could go near the other goal. Casey stole the puck away and then from the distance, shot the puck towards his goal, however, he missed, just a few inches, and Raph and Casey watched as the puck slid away on the ice.
Casey sighed. He answered, "Like ruining my relationship with Dee."
"How is avoiding April going to ruin your relationship with Donnie?" Raph asked as he skated towards the stray puck and then began playing it with his stick.
"No, I mean…" Casey began rubbing on his stick as he looked down at the ice. "Donnie likes April. And I like her too." He leaned on his stick and sighed. "Donnie's like a brother to me. I don't want us fighting over a girl."
Raph turned to Casey and gave him a proud grin. "Wow, I finally heard something mature out of your mouth."
"Thanks!" Casey said with a wide smile, but then he realized the hidden implications. "Hey!"
Raph laughed and skated away as the ravenette took chase, screaming, "Come back here your butt!"
They got out of the rink but instead of Casey catching Raph, Raph caught Casey in a boogie.
"No fair!" Casey complained but he laughed along anyway.
They were soon interrupted by the ringtone on Raph's T-Phone. Raph shoved Casey forward and the human landed with an 'oof.' Raph made one last chuckle before picking up his phone. "'Sup, Fearless?" Raph asked.
"We got Krang activity near the docks and I think we're going to need backup," Leo reported. "Donnie will send you the coordinates."
"Got it," Raph replied. He hung up and then turned to Casey who was untying his skates. He asked, "wanna kick some krang butt?"
"You bet!" Casey cheered excitedly. He threw his skates aside and quickly got his gear to follow Raph outside the stadium.
When they arrived, the fight had already started. Leo and Mikey were fending off the approaching Krang while April was fending off the blasters, covering for the purple turtle. Donnie was typing away on a Krang computer beside a large circular machine that was sparking the odd pink-colored sparks of the aliens.
Raph and Casey didn't hesitate to join in. Raph threw his sigh at a Krang coming towards Leo before he ran to his brother and stabbed another Krang in the head. He was now back-to-back with Leo with a massive grin on his face. He said, "Situation," knowing that there was little need to communicate with his brother in times like these.
Leo blocked a laser with his katana and then slashed the head off of a robot. He said as quickly as he could, "Donnie's trying to deactivate a portal the Krang is trying to make!"
Casey jumped in to beat a Krang that was aiming at April and another one that was trying to shoot at Donnie. April looked more than relieved to see Casey fighting alongside her again. "Casey!" she exclaimed happily.
"Sup, Red?"
Mikey jumped from one corner to the next to avoid getting hit by the blasters, then he swung his nunchucks down to the opposing robots before jumping out of the way again before he got hit by the futuristic weapons. "Uh, Don?" Mikey called. "Would you mind hurrying up? Because more bots are coming than we could handle!"
"Just give me a sec!" Donnie said, his voice growing agitated as he pressed more buttons.
"Casey!" April called as the hockey athlete came closer to the female to protect Donatello from the incoming lasers.
"What?" Casey asked, spinning his hockey stick before charging towards a robot, smashing its head off its body before using that body to throw towards the other robots.
April deflected another laser before she desperately looked at Casey. "Casey, after this, we need to talk."
"About what?" Casey asked, acting oblivious as he charged another robot, breaking its arm before handing the gun over to Mikey with a heads up of, "Mikey, catch!"
Mikey quickly thanked Casey before using the gun to hit the Krang with it.
April replied, "Don't think I haven't noticed, Casey!"
Casey's stomach slowly began to boil a negative pit and he turned to Raph with a pleading look that silently said, " Bro, help ."
Raph only shrugged before punching a Krang in the face, which translates to, " Sorry dude, but you kinda dug your own grave. "
"Casey," April called again. "Did I do something wrong?"
"What? Of course, not!"
The portal began to flicker behind them, and the sparks all so distant from each other began to connect and make an image. The purple turtle cursed under his breath as he took a step back before pressing more buttons, wondering where he had it all wrong.
"Then why are you avoiding me?" April asked desperately, slicing Krang's robot body in half before turning back pleadingly at Casey.
The portal behind them grew bigger and bigger until the color of eyesore pink enveloped the whole machinery and slowly began to suck things inside, starting with the broken robot droids laying on the ground to much heavier items like the guns lying uselessly on the floor.
"I thought you wanted to talk about this later," Casey shot back, oblivious to the ever-growing power that was slowly sucking more and more things behind him.
But then a loud, "GUYS!" called behind them and the two humans saw their friend struggling as he held onto the control panel desperately. "NOW is not the time to argue! Grab ahold of something!"
Casey, April, and the other brothers began to feel the pull of the portal and they all tried to latch onto things they could grab a hold of Casey and April watched as Donnie began to get lifted off from his feet. The only thing keeping him outside of the portal was his hold on the control panel.
Leo and Mikey held onto the edges of the corner and Raph had to grab onto Leo to not be taken by the gust.
April yelped as she was off her feet and flying into the portal, but luckily, Donnie was able to catch her before she did. "April, are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Casey was trying to move away from the gust, turning his back and slowly trying to walk away as it was proving difficult to run.
"Casey!" Raph called, daring to let one of his hands go in favor of reaching out to his best friend. Leo grunted at the added weight, but he was far from giving up and letting his brother abandon his friend. "Grab on!"
Casey tried to reach out, and he was mere inches away from Raph's hand before he was swept up in the gust and into the pink portal.
"CASEY!"
And shortly after the human sacrifice was gone, the portal shut down.