July 4th. Tausha didn’t know why it was really, but the whole vibe of the day had left her feeling thoroughly homesick. She tried to hide it, not wanting to seem ungrateful to those that had done so much to help her cause. Yet she could not help but turn away as April handed out the baseball caps patterned with the Stars and Stripes; one each to wear as they headed out to watch the fireworks from the New York City rooftops.
“Hey,” Raph urged softly, giving Tau a nudge and holding out a cap for her to take. “I made sure Ape got this one for you, when I saw it.”

Setting a smile upon her face, Tau turned back to accept Raphs’ offering. And promptly did a double-take as she recognised the unexpected flag adorning her hat, looking up at Raph with an odd mix of appreciation and confusion in her eyes. Raph gave a nonchalant shrug.
“It’s still red, white an’ blue.” he grinned. Tau beamed back at him, tugging the cap onto her head and curling her arm about his in thanks. Suddenly, home didn’t seem quite so far away after all…