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itzzaira · 6 months ago

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Ohhhmjgosh this is so freaking cute kzbskshakjakaja Ohh so amazing I love it!

Part of the @tmnt-secret-santa-2024

@itzzaira I'm your secret santa!

I wrote a short one-shot with lots of 2003 turtle tot cuddles. I really hope you like it! I tried to focus more on Mikey because I was getting the vibe he was your favorite. He's honestly the hardest out of the four for me to write so I hope I captured him alright.

Prompt: Brumation- just a lazy day with softness and cuddles and fluff while the four turtle babies are just sleepy and clingy to each other.

Maybe it was his memory fading or his old age making him more susceptible to the cold, but Splinter was sure his winters spent in Japan were nothing compared to the New York winters he faced now. The old rat sipped on a cup of chamomile tea then turned the page of the book he was reading.

The lair was quiet besides the sounds of old cartoon reruns playing on the television. Splinter had learned during the boys’ first year that turtles got especially sleepy during the colder months. As mutants they didn’t enter a proper brumation as regular turtles would but the cold weather turned his usually rambunctious and noisy tots into little cuddle bugs.

Currently, the four were all snuggled together on the couch under a plethora of blankets that Splinter had tucked them in. Raph was on the end of the couch, his legs tucked up to his chest forming himself into a stiff little ball. Leo was on the opposite end of the couch, the hood from the slightly too big jacket he was wearing pulled over his head.

It covered his eyes to the point where he surely couldn't see the cartoon playing and his chest was rising and falling slow and even so Splinter figured he must have fallen asleep. Which only spoke to the exhaustion the small tot was experiencing as Leonardo usually liked to watch his brothers fall asleep before nodding off himself.

The two youngest, Donny and Mikey were in the middle, squished in between their two older brothers. Their chubby little arms were tangled together, their heads leaned close, and eyes planted squarely on the television.

It was nice to have silence in their little sewer home for once. As a single father to four under four, Splinter rarely had the opportunity to mediate or read for himself. However, it was the silence that gave his mind the opportunity to wander more than usual.

Their supplies were dwindling. Not enough that they wouldn’t have food to eat but Splinter could tell the boys were growing sick of congee and tea everyday. It was times like this that made him miss his old life in Japan with Yoshi and Tang Shen more than usual.

Things had been so much simpler back then when he had been a regular rat. There was no need to worry about dwindling supplies or staying hidden. Not that he regretted his mutation. It had brought along opposable thumbs and the intelligence and ability to properly practice ninjutsu just as Yoshi had. He was also finally able to understand the many Japanese soap operas he had spent many evenings watching from Tang Shen’s lap.

But most importantly it was what led him to the four little turtles whom he loved just as Yoshi and Tang Shen had loved him. Splinter had never pictured himself as a father and yet here he was single rat dad to four under four.

“Sensei, I’m cold.”

Michelangelo’s mewl brought Splinter’s attention to the pile of turtles nestled together on the couch. Even through all the extra layers and warm blankets, the cold was still getting to them. He wished he could have kept the old kotatsu from Yoshi’s home in Japan. That certainly would have done wonders for the four shivering little turtles.

“Shhh, Mikey,” Donny said, pressing his hand over his younger brother’s mouth. Then immediately turned his eyes back to the cartoon on the TV.

Donny shrieked the moment he felt a warm wetness on his hand. He should have known better. Placing his hand over Mikey’s mouth to shush him was only asking for the younger boy to lick his palm out of retaliation.

“Sensei!” Donny wailed, frantically wiping his wet palm on the side of the couch as Mikey broke out into uncontrollable giggles.

Splinter closed the book he had meant to be reading. He had enjoyed the momentary silence, but now it was time to get back to his 24/7 job as a father.

The rat adjusted the burgundy shawl around his shoulders then gathered the old blanket, he had been using for himself, into his arms. Even with his fur, the cold air was still a little much for Splinter. However, he could handle a little cold. The little turtles needed the warmth more.

The old rat walked over to the tots and tucked the additional blanket around their tiny shivering frames. “How’s that, my sons?” He knew it probably wasn’t much help. Certainly nowhere near the amount of warmth a kotatsu would have brought but this was the best he could do.

“But, Sensei,” Leo said. “Won’t you be cold now?”

The little turtle had said it with such innocence and sincerity that Splinter had to laugh. It was sweet how even at such a young age, Leo was worried about his old father.

Splinter patted the boy on the head, “I will be just fine, Leonardo.” Splinter adjusted the blankets around the tots. “I’m more concerned about you four. Any warmer?”

“I’m still cold,” Mikey whined, puffing out his flushed cheeks with a heavy little huff.

“I’m hungry,” Raph joined in on the whining.

Donny nodded, “Yeah, me too.”

Hungry?

Splinter checked the clock on the wall. It was nearing noon. He had been so caught up in his own mind that he hadn’t realized quite how late it had gotten. “How’s some congee sound?”

Mikey’s face wrinkled up, “Rice porridge?”

“Daad,” Raph whined, “We’ve had it like ev’ryday this week!”

It’s all we have supplies for, Splinter thought to himself. He doubted four four-year-olds would understand their situation and Splinter didn’t want to put that worry on them either way. He was the parent after all. He would handle all of life’s stresses just as Yoshi had done for him.

Splinter took a seat on the edge of the couch, cupping Raphael’s flushed cheek in his palm, “It's good for you and it’ll warm you up.”

Raph huffed, “Well, I’m sick of it!” He crossed his arms across his plastron and made the grumpiest face his four-year-old body could muster. Raph probably thought he looked tough but really he just looked like a chihuahua baring its teeth.

It was quite adorable.

“We have had it a lot this week, Sensei,” Donny said matter-of-a-factly.

It was true. Splinter had prepared the same congee at least four other times that week. Splinter loved it but maybe rice porridge wasn’t exactly the most appetizing thing to a couple of four-year-olds. Maybe he could at least spice it up this time with some chicken or maybe mix in an egg or add some pickled ginger. Of course, they would actually have to have those ingredients in the first place for that to be a possibility.

“I want chicken nuggets!” Mikey exclaimed.

Splinter returned his attention to an excitable Michelangelo.

What?

“Did ya’ hear me, Dad?” He tried again. “Can we have chicken nuggets, please!?”

The look on Mikey’s face melted Splinter’s heart. The small turtle looked so innocent as he stared up at Splinter with wide, pleading eyes. Maybe it was because he had been deemed the youngest and thus the baby of the family or maybe Mikey just had a natural charm about him but there was something about the little turtle that Splinter just couldn’t say no to.

But he needed to.

Splinter cupped Mikey’s chubby little cheek in his hand. “I’d have to go on a supply run, my son.”

The only food they had was enough rice to make a few more pots of congee that could feed all five of them as well as some saltines, a couple containers of yogurt, and a few other miscellaneous ingredients. Nothing that he could make chicken nuggets with.

Splinter knew he would need to go on a supply run sooner rather than later but today was not that day. There had been a massive blizzard the night before. The roads would be slick and slippery with ice and the shops would be barren from people snowed into their homes. It wasn’t exactly the best conditions for a supply run.

However, at the mention of a supply run, Mikey’s face lit up. “Can you get the dinosaur ones?”

“Oh, Please please, Sensei!” Donny joined in. “I really wanna eat a Brontosaurus!” The little boy exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. “Or a Raptor or a Triceratops or a Skorpiovenator!”

Splinter wanted to shut them down. It was too dangerous for a supply run. They could survive off of congee for a few more days until the ice melted. But Mikey’s cuteness mixed with Donny’s excitement for Dinosaurs made it nearly impossible.

How could he possibly say no to them?

A tiny sneeze from Mikey was the nail in the coffin. Donny wrapped an arm around his younger brother, trying to provide to him what little warmth he could even though he himself was shivering.

Splinter, maybe a little too frantically ripped the shawl from his shoulders and wrapped it around the two shivering boys. That was the last thing he had to offer them. There were no more blankets left in the lair unless they started stripping their bed sheets.

“I’m cold too, Sensei,” Raph muttered as he wrapped his shiering arms around his chest.

“You can have this, Raphy,” Leo said, as he began to unzip his sweatshirt.

“No–no,” Splinter zipped Leo’s sweatshirt back up. His oldest was always quick to think of his brothers’ needs before his own. It was sweet but at the same time Splinter worried how that might develop as Leo grew older. “You need to stay warm too, Leonardo.”

Leo settled back against the couch and pulled Raph close to his side. Raph, who usually wasn’t the cuddly type, leaned his head against Leo’s shoulder and let out a wide yawn. Splinter grabbed the edges of the first lighter blanket and tucked it up to the boys’ chins followed by another lighter blanket then finally the heavy wool blanket.

Donny yawned, then stuck his thumb into his mouth, a habit Splinter had been struggling to break him from. Mikey stared up at Splinter with tired eyes, “Are we gonna have dino nuggets for lunch?”

Splinter’s heart broke. They needed more food. They needed warmer clothes. They needed more blankets. As much as he didn’t want to risk his own safety and possibility of discovery out on the surface. He needed to risk it anyway.

Splinter cupped Mikey’s cheek, “Alright, my son.”

Leo sat up straight, “Am I in charge, Sensei?”

Splinter shut down a coming argument from Raphael almost immediately. “I don’t think anyone needs to be in charge. I’ll only be a few hours.”

Leo’s face fell, “But what if a bad guy comes?”

“I bet I could take ‘em!’ Raph but in.

Leo rolled his eyes, “Yeah, right.”

Raph glared at Leo then turned to look up at Splinter, “You said I’m doin’ really good at trainin’, right, Sensei?” The hot-headed toddler looked up at the rat with a fierce glow in his eyes.

Splinter let out a subtle sigh. “You’ve all been doing excellent.” It was the truth. The boys had all been doing very well in their ninjutsu training, which thus far had consisted of basic punches and kicks.

Splinter readjusted the blanket around the boys’ shoulders. “But remember, we are all very safe down here. No one will find us.”

“Are you sure?” Donny said, followed by a wide yawn.

Splinter chuckled quietly to himself, “Yes, I’m sure.”

Leo took his turn to yawn widely, which then spread to both Raph and Mikey. Splinter smiled at the cute sight in front of him. Whoever said yawns were contagious knew what they were talking about. Splinter bent down to adjust the blankets once more. “Looks like it's nap time, my sons.”

The boys all nodded, their heads falling to each other’s shoulders.. Splinter ran his hand along the tops of each of their heads. “Sleep well, my sons.”

“Sensei, you’re back!” Mikey cheered as Splinter entered through the archway, cloak still covering his head and grocery bags in hand. The tots scrambled their way out of the blankets and came running to greet their adoptive father at the door.

Mikey and Raph each attached themselves onto one of Splinter legs, while Leo and Donnie both grabbed a grocery bag from his arms.

“Hello, my sons,” Splinter greeted.

“What’s this, Sensei?” Donatello asked as he pulled out a small black electronic device from the grocery bag he had been carrying. The object was small and square with a large vent on the front.

“That’s a heater,” Splinter replied, struggling to move with two tots still attached to his legs. It wasn’t a kotatsu but at least they could finally have some heat. Splinter had always avoided snatching a heater out of fear that he would be caught but he was desperate. Luckily, the clerk barely even glanced his way as he walked out the door with a small heater under his cloak. Maybe they really hadn’t noticed or maybe they understood that someone stealing a heater was only doing so for a valid reason.

“A heater?” Leo asked, head cocked.

Raph and Mikey released their tight grips on Splinter’s legs to toddle over to Donatello. “A heater?” Mikey asked, giving the device a poke.

“Yes, my sons.” Splinter said as he grabbed the heater from Donny.

The boys followed behind like obedient little ducklings as Splinter carried the heater over to an outlet in the wall. “This is to help keep us warm.” He set the device on the ground and plugged it into the wall then turned the heat up to high.

Raph held his hand out in front of the vent. “I think it's brok’n, Sensei.”

Splinter chuckled to himself, “Patience, Raphael.”

Raph scrunched up his face in frustration. “But it’s s’pposed to be hot.”

“It’s hot now, Raphy!” Donny grabbed his brother's hand and held it in front of the heater’s vent.

“Whoa,” Raph held out his hand in front of the vent, mesmerized by its heat.

“It’s like magic,” Mikey exclaimed, stepping in front of Raph so he could feel the full force of the heater.

Raph charged at Mikey, “Move outta the way, Pipsqueak!”

Splinter stepped in before Raph could push Mikey to the ground. He knew it was only play fighting but after his trip to the surface he really wasn’t feeling up to cleaning any accidental boo-boos.

“There’s room for all of you.”

Splinter grabbed the four pillows from the couch and set them each equal distance from the heater. The boys each took a seat on an individual pillow and allowed Splinter to wrap them up on the several blankets.

“All snug?”

The boys all nodded, eyes drooping, and heads bumping against each other.

Splinter smiled at the four all cuddled together. “Lunch will be ready soon.”

“Okay, Sensei!” They all called back.

“Boys!” Splinter called, “Lunch is ready!”

Splinter had expected them to come running the moment they could smell cooked chicken. But instead he was met with an odd silence.

“Boys!” He called again.

Still no response.

Splinter grew worried for a moment.

Had they run off?

The old rat hurried his way to the living room and was met with an adorable sight. The boys had all pulled their pillows closer to the heater and were cuddled up together in an adorable ball of snoozing tangled turtles.

Raph, being the biggest, was on the bottom of the pile serving as the base. His arms were wrapped around a pillow and his head was buried into a blanket. Donny was laying across Raph’s shell, his head tucked into the crook of his neck. His thumb was once again shoved into his mouth, causing a bit of drool to run down his chin.

Leo was laying on the other side of Raph. Donny was taking up a bit too much space for him to properly sit on top so he settled for laying on his shell and using Raph’s shell as a footrest with his arms sprawled out at his sides like a starfish.

Mikey was curled up in a little ball on top of Leo’s plastron like a puppy in donut formation. His head was shoved deep into the crevice of Leo’s shoulder. Leo stirred a bit moving his arms to pull Mikey closer to himself.

It didn’t look like the most comfortable of laying formations but they certainly looked adorable. Splinter wondered how many more cute cuddly moments he would be able to catch like this before they grew too old for cuddles.

Splinter grabbed a disposable camera out of a nearby drawer and snapped a photo.

At the sound of the photo snapping, the boys each stirred but they didn’t wake. Instead they only attempted to snuggle closer to each other and the heater.

Splinter smiled at the sight.

Dino nuggets could wait.

He would let them rest for now.

#bye I love dinos #wonderful #THEY'RE ALL SO CUDDLY AND CUTENZKJSJSJ

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itzzaira · 6 months ago

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@tmnt-secret-santa-2024 @bluefeather-tmnt

Hehe hello hello, my dear giftee!<3 Happy holidays, I hope you enjoy your gift and I hope your day turns out wonderful! Have an absolutely amazing day my friend!

"Tomatoes, Doritos, and-... what do you mean slow down?"

"-tomatoes, we're out of tomatoes-!"

"-Dad said he wants a party-sized sweet chili Doritos this time, should we be worried-?"

"I don't see any vegetables on the list-"

"That's boring Leo!"

The oldest cringed, making a face the other three turtles behind him couldn't see. He stood in front of an open fridge, which was currently lacking... everything, really. Ugh. They hadn't gone to the surface for a good while, being on school break and all, they desperately needed to go 'shopping' again.

Thus the current chaos.

"I want gummy bears!"

"And get them stuck in your braces again?" Donnie asked, but still wrote down the request on his list anyway. "Because I'm not helping you this time."

Mikey huffed and crossed his arms.

Leo shook his head.

"...We need mushrooms-" He weakly tried, but was cut off by the youngest once again.

"I am not cooking that."

"You don't have to-"

"You are not setting foot in my kitchen either." A threatening glare was shot his way. Leo awkwardly looked towards the genius for help, and cleared his throat. Should he just give up? Or perhaps go out alone-

"You are not adding another pack of instant coffee." The leader spoke before he could stop himself. Donnie blankly looked up. And blinked.

Leo just placed his hands on his hips with narrowed eyes.

"..." Grumbling, the younger scribbled through the item with a sharpie.

"Dad wants us to get instant ramen!" Raph let his presence be known as he walked inside, still shouting for reasons Leo couldn't understand. "The cheese one!"

"I could just make him a better-tasting one..." Mikey grumbled, crossing his arms. "He doesn't even add the flavoring."

"He's old," Raph patted his head, while looking over his purple brother's shoulder to check the list. "You forgot the Monster Energy."

"You don't even like Monster." Donnie, unimpressed, looked up again slowly. "You just drink it because it has 'Monster' in the name."

"I do not-"

"We're out of eggs?" Leo hesitantly tried again, but was ignored once more. Maybe he should just make his own list? He didn't trust Donnie's anymore.

Oh, but he didn't have the time to start all over again, the delivery trucks would arrive at the stores soon enough. They would need to act fast once those arrived so Leo did not have the time to start with listing everything from scratch.

But Donnie must have added at least half of what he said, right-?

Without asking, he plucked the list from Donnie's hands, ignoring the protests behind him as he turned to the fridge again. He quickly skimmed over the notes, then plucked the pencil out of his hands too.

"Leo!"

"We're not getting more ice cream we have enough of that." Leo scolded, scratching that out. Okay, he couldn't find any milk- which. Mikey... might have banned them from getting milk after-... everything. But Leo wanted cereal so oh well. He added it to the list. What else, what else...

All four of their phones started ringing at once, but Leo, too focused on his task, did not bother to try and pick up his phone. That was, until Raph announced.

"April is calling."

"April?" He turned around so fast with huge eyes, if it had been any of his brothers doing that it would have been funny. His cheeks reddened just the tiniest bit when all three of them looked at him with those stupid grins, and he turned back at once. "I mean. Yeah. Sure. Pick up, I guess." He muttered, trying to appear nonchalant by leaning on the fridge door- only for said door to swing away, causing the turtle to lose his balance and almost fell. He managed to catch himself by holding onto the edge of the fridge for dear life.

Raph snorted while Donnie covered his mouth, shaking his head to the side. "You sure you didn't want April to see that?"

Leo would absolutely not face him.

Mikey giggled while accepting the call, grinning up into the camera when April's face appeared. "Hi April!"

April, seemingly unfazed by how close the camera was to Mikey's face, grinned back and waved. "Heeeey-" she started, clearly awkward, before frowning. "Sorry to- ahm, interrupt? When you didn't call earlier I wanted to see if you dudes are okay!"

Their friend was just so nice!

"Oh, we're fine." Raph huffed before narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms. From the tone I his voice, though, Leo could tell he was smiling. "If Nardo over here would have stopped stressing over our grocery list, we would have been done ages ago!"

Hey now that's not- "It helps that we're prepared." Leo tried- but already could tell no one was listening to him.

"Grocery list?" April asked, sounding confused. She put her phone down on her table, then turned around and opened her wardrobe. "Why would you need that now ready? Store doesn't open until eight."

"Exactly." Donnie shrugged, quickly looking into the notes on his phone. 'We have about... twenty-seven more minutes until the delivery trucks arrive, which would give us an hour to get our groceries-"

"Half an hour?!" That seemed to make Leo snap out of it and panic, closing the fridge at once. "It takes us half an hour to get there- we gotta go!"

"Oh, come on." Raph threw his head back in annoyance. But still, he complied, getting up.

"Sorry April, we gotta go!" Mikey cheerfully waved- but just before he could end the call, April spoke up.

"Why don't you just go during the day tomorrow? Would be a lot easier..."

"Because then humans would see us." Mikey's smile went away to make way for a frown. "Duh."

"But..." April turned around to face them again. "You guys can go out in the open now."

"And?"

...

It took a minute.

April stared at them, unimpressed and just the tiniest bit disappointed at how long it was taking to land- however, after a painfully long minute, Donnie's eyes finally lit up.

"...We can go out into the open." He repeated in awe- Leo was pretty sure that if stars could appear into his eyes, they would have.

"Yeah?"

One beat.

Two beats.

Three.

But then the realization finally settled.

And the remaining three froze.

Right, they,,, they could go into public now. Shell, they went to school. They'd gone to both vets and doctors too. They were allowed to go out into the open.

Stores were part of the open.

"...Yeah, why are we trying to sneak in the middle of the night?!" Raph asked, voice pitching higher as he dramatically sat down again, clearly excited by the idea. "We can go out during the day!"

"Through a door!" Mikey added, actually bouncing up and down in place while his hands flapped in front of him.

"Without trying to force open containers!" Donnie finished, adjusting his glasses-

"Absolutely not." Leo cut through their excited rambling with a serious expression- ignoring the shock and heartbreak on his brother's faces.

"Hey, what-?"

"You don't get to just decide that!" His hotheaded brother claimed, smile completely gone as he glared daggers at him. Leo cleared his throat again.

"As the leader, I can and I just did. Let's go-"

"Leeeooooo." All three complained, getting up when Leo turned his shell towards them all. "You can't just decide for us!" The genius huffed, putting his phone down. Mikey still held onto his with April on the line, who just looked awkward now.

"We wanna go during the day! We can do that, now!"

"Come ooon, you know you wanna go-" having had enough, Raph got up from his seat and quickly stepped forward to glare Leo in the eyes- but stopped when he got a look at his face.

Leo looked... insecure. Worried. He was hugging himself, finger tapping against his arm over and over again in a steady rhythm with his gaze cast down, clearly thinking (probably overthinking) about something.

Raph blinked. "...Leo?"

"It's dangerous." The leader's expression was stoic- oh. Now Raph recognized that look. Fear.

Judging from Raph's expression the youngest two got the hint, getting into Leo's field of vision. Gently smiling, Mikey passed the phone into Donnie's hands so he could hold Leo's. "We've always wanted this, Leo! What's the worst that could happen?"

A lot, judging from Leo's face. Still, he squeezed back. "...Human's can be mean." He weakly tried.

"Then we'll he meaner!"

"No."

"The meanest!'

Raph looked a bit too excited by that idea. Donnie, without looking away, took a step back.

"We can ask April to join?" Donnie suggested, looking at the phone questionably. The human nodded excitedly, balling her fists in front of her face.

"Of course, always! I need to go shopping anyway."

"..." The oldest's gaze traveled to the phone. Next, he looked at each of his siblings, one by one, who looked at him expectedly.

In the end, he sighed in defeat.

"...We're making a plan."

The others immediately cheered.

~~~~~

It always felt weird to just... walk in the open.

Don't get him wrong, they'd done so a handful of times- like every day when they went to school at the crack of dawn, so early no one ever saw them!

But... still. It always felt wrong.

Leo itched for walls. For dark, the familiar dripping sound of water, the smell. Unpleasant, maybe, but what he was used to. The lack of walls and the blinding light always made him feel vulnerable and exposed. Anyone could strike at any given moment (logically, Leo knew no one would but hey, he'd lived with that fear for years) and it was so crowded too.

"Aren't those the turtles?!"

"Ohmigosh ohmigosh, it's them!"

"I love you Raphael!"

At least the attention was positive.

Mikey seemed to thrive with all the happy energy, happily running and spinning around and bouncing from one corner to the next- but then again, the youngest had always been very much a people person. Leo was glad he finally had the attention he'd craved-

"Aren't you the leader?" A sudden voice from behind made the one in blue help and sharply turn around, but relaxed when he saw it was just another human. They appeared to be the same age April was, clearly excited to be talking with him. "You are so cool, dude!"

Okay. Okay. Stay cool, Leo. Someone is excited to see you. Be cool. Respond like a normal person. You got this.

"Ahm... I, uh- thank you-?"

What was that.

"I-I mean!" Leo's smile widened in a way that seemed painful as he perked up, squeezing his hands together to try and get the tension out. "You seem cool too, uhm- dude-?"

Aaaaand that was his cue to stop talking please.

Luckily, Raph seemed to have noticed and took pity on him, abruptly grabbing his older brother by his shoulders and pulling him away. Whatever he shouted to the stranger was lost to him, as the leader was just relieved to shut his mouth. Still, he mouthed a quick thank you, which earned him a squeeze.

"How much longer, Don?" Raph asked without letting go, leaning a bit more over Leo's shoulder to get a look at the genius. Donnie adjusted his glasses again as he narrowed his eyes, pulling his phone screen closer to his face. Hey, they'd never taken a normal route before leave them alone.

"...I think Google Maps is glitching." The genius frowned. "It says we're under water now."

The hothead grumbled. Leo looked worried.

"So we're lost now?"

"I didn't say that."

"Do you know where we are?"

"...." The face Donnie made was enough. Ugh.

At least Mikey seemed to be having a good time.

The youngest flung himself against Donnie without any warning, earning a yelp followed by giggles. Donnie snickered, wrapping his free arm around the other's shell. "Hey, Mikey."

"Everyone is so nice!" Mikey gushed, letting go to be able to bounce on his heels again, starry-eyed. Next, he looked around. "Are we close?"

"Uhm..."

...

Mikey, being the very smart turtle he was, had the best solution ever.

"Heeey ma'am!" He called out to the first person he saw, completely ignoring his brother's bewilderd looks and protests. Donnie froze while Leo immediately freaked out- and Raph laughed. Because of course he did. Leo's misery must he hilarious to him.

...Okay, that's not the correct emotion. Leo was having fun. Nervous, yes, but fun. They were outside! In the sun!! Which felt so so nice on his skin, warming him up in ways he hadn't even known were possible. It made him feel kind of tired already without having even done anything- huh.

Luckily, the poor woman Mikey had chosen seemed to know the way, kindly pointing it out. After thanking her a thousand times, Mikey started running again. "Come on!!!"

"Mikey-!"

"You heard him." Raph, who started pulling Leo with him against his will, followed the one ahead. Donnie, with similar excitement, followed.

"...Does he even know where he's going?"

The clear answer was no, considering Mikey wasn't even looking. Luckily, Donnie had listened too.

-------------

"..."

'So. What do we do?"

"I think we just go inside. And grab stuff."

Turns out, the turtles had walked past the store ten minutes earlier- then walked past it again when chasing the youngest. Donnie had managed to drag them the correct way... but now what?

The four turtles stood in front of the store entrance, looking at it with awe- which was probably weird to anyone else, it was a grocery store- but hey the building looked different during the day, how were they supposed to recognize it?!

"Grab stuff of the isles?" The idea sounded strange, even more so when Leo said it out loud. The leader cringed, then gulped. "Without hiding?"

"Without hiding!" Mikey cheered- but his energy had toned down when the store had come into view, the usually-energetic turtle suddenly growing unsure and quiet. Guess it hadn't actually dawned on him until it was too late.

"And we can take our time, too." Donnie spoke, pocketing his phone finally. "The site says they're open until nine."

"What is the security for?" Raph narrowed his eyes, suddenly untrusting- because why would a supposedly safe place have security? They were never there at night!

"Security-? Okay, that's it we're going home-"

"That's normal!" The one in orange grabbed Leo's arm before he could run away. "Stop looking for excuses, we got this!"

"Do we?" The genius deadpanned, looking at the oldest two with disappointment. Leo's nerves seemed to have infected the sais-wielder too, arms stiff and hands itching at his sides, gaze focused on the security-personal. "Raph, that's normal."

"I'm gonna call April!" Mikey happily ignored them once again, stepping away to be able to talk with their friend.

"..." Donnie sighed, stepping in front of Raph's field of vision so he couldn't look at the entrance anymore. "Raph, please- Leo's already freaking out I can't have you freaking out too."

...Oh Donnie sounded a bit unsure now too. Oh no.

"I'm calm." He very much wasn't, but his brothers didn't need to know that. Leo managed to smile one of his awkward smiles- he even met the genius' eyes. "I'm just... nervous. I'll be fine."

His younger brother smiled back, a small twinkle in his eyes making Leo's heart warm- he knew Donnie was just as excited as Mikey was, he was just a lot calmer about it. A gentle tidal wave compared to the youngest's bright light.

If Mikey was a bright light, Raph was a raging flame- the hothead was a bit too quiet. Leo tapped his shoulder to snap him out of it. "Raph?"

"Can we go inside already?" Raph complained, as if he hadn't been frozen solid earlier- huh. "The sun is getting annoying."

"Just waiting on Mikey and April-"

"I found her!!"

...speak of the devil.

The three turned around- Leo could feel himself relax at the sight of their human friend, because at least she should know what they were doing. She'd also been there the first day of school- April knew a lot. So hopefully they wouldn't look like total fools in there!

"Mikey said you were all panicking?" April didn't bother to greet them- she just sounded amused, her voice having a teasing tone to it. Leo looked away at once, cheeks heating up as Donnie answered for them, unbothered.

"Nardo was."

"Leon."

"When isn't he panicking?" Raph snickered, nudging his shoulder- but the leader wasn't having it. Without any amusement, he just looked down with a deadpan expression-

"You were eyeing the security guards a second ago."

"I have no idea what you're talking about-"

"Can we go already?" Mikey whined, using April as a weight to hold him up as he threw himself back, standing on his heels. "We could have been inside already!"

"There's air-conditioning in there?" The human patted his hands. Mikey's eyes lit up.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!!"

"Mikey-!"

April was laughing as the youngest pulled her along, quickly turning her head towards the other three. "Well? Come on!"

...

Come on. You got this.

Leo braced himself by taking a deep breath in and out- before he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, bit his lip- okay, okay... one... two-

Raph grabbed his hands again, dragging the leader with him before the oldest could finish his count. Leo protested- but quickly shut up when he saw the look on Raph's face.

Excited, but clearly trying to hide it with a stoic expression. The was he cut off the blood circulation in Leo's wrist told him he was also nervous.

"..." He sighed, and shook his head.

Finally, they stepped inside.

--------------------------------

To anyone else, a store was just... a store. Somewhere that was available almost all the time, that there were different kinds off, that anyone could enter and everyone would mind their own business. Stores were everywhere, no matter the kind.

To the four turtles, stores were a luxury.

Going outside was a luxury.

Heck, it sometimes still felt wrong whenever they just- stepped outside. In the open. Under the sun. Without hiding.

And now they got to enter a store?

The four stood frozen for a moment, taking in their surroundings. They'd been here plenty of times, but... never during the day. Never without hiding. Never without being on their guard, ready to fight, to blend with the shadows, to-

You got it.

April gave them a minute to process, shooing away anyone else who tried to get near for a picture or autograph or what not. Hm. Leo had forgotten about that. Then again, he also forgot stores weren't usually empty. Ugh. Now his plan to split for effectiveness was useless, there was no way he would let them-

"The fairylights are so pretty!!" Mikey squealed, clasping his hands together. He was the first to snap out of their trance, excitement seemingly having doubled ten-fold. April laughed, then patted his shell.

"Yeah, they are. I think they put them up yesterday for the holidays."

"Can we get fairylights?" The youngest turned to the oldest with those puppy eyes he was so famous for- and Leo, unfortunately, was weak to. Oh well. He wasn't asking for anything bad sooo....

"Sure we can."

Mikey cheered, grabbed April's hand- "Let's go!" Ignored any protest as he dragged her along this time. What was it with everyone getting dragged today?

"Hey, wait up!" Raph laughed, running after them- only to almost immediately run into a little girl he had completely missed. Quickly apologizing, he ran off.

Leo blinked, before groaning. "Are you going to run off too?" He asked, both amused as well as annoyed. He might as well not have planned, nothing was happening as it should!

...Instead, he was surprised when his little brother took hold of his arm, and gently pushed his cheek against Leo's shoulder. That... was troubling. "Donnie?"

"There's more people than I thought..." The genius mumbled, his eyes darting across the space before focusing on his feet again. "It's weird."

Well. That was something Leo could definitely agree with. Without looking away from the crowd, he rested a gentle hand on top of the one clutching his bicep.

Those were... a lot of eyes. It felt more suffocating than usual, but Leo blamed that on the walls. Walls.

His eyes twinkled, a childish grin starting to grow on his face. "We're in a store."

"I'm aware." Donnie whispered back, looking up with those big eyes of his. At seeing Leo's face, he couldn't help but respond with a soft smile. "I thought you didn't want to go to a store Leo?"

"Hush." Let him enjoy this before the nerves took over again, Donnie.

Thankfully, no teasing followed- and in a moment of bravery, Leo gently pulled the younger forward. "I think those are the vegetables.... should we start there?"

Ew.

At the face Donnie made, Leo huffed, rolled his eyes, and pulled him forward. "We need it."

If anyone should know, it would be Donnie. At least. Leo thought it would be Donnie. He was proven correct when the one in purple followed him without argument.

Okay, follow your list Leo... he could see all the other greens they were missing at home, but his mind wouldn’t let him grab any of those until he found the tomatoes- which had been the top. So... where are they.... hm...

While the leader was looking around, the younger noticed the mist sprinklers that hung all over the vegetables. He blinked- had those always been there? He never noticed them when 'shopping'. But then again, it was always dark and he never let his feet touch the ground- so maybe he didn't notice before?

The genius held a hand forward- and squealed when the mist hit his fingertips. Leo giggled, covering his mouth with a hand. "Don?"

"I never saw these during the night!" Donnie flopped out without thinking- squeaking and turning red when that sentence made multiple eyes turn on him. He covered his mouth while lowering his head. "I mean. Uhm. Online. When. Uhm..."

...

Leo laughed sympathetically when Donnie buried his head into his shoulder again. He wrapped one arm around the turtle, letting a hand pat his shell- when he spotted a smidge of red from the corner of his eye.

Tomatoes! Finally!

...

Why were they next to the apples-?

-------------------------------

Mikey was ecstatic.

And that might be an understatement.

Hey, to anyone else it might be boring, nerve-wracking or frustrating, but Mikey was born to he social. He was born to entertain, to create, to talk, talk, talk. And his family, who all existed out of introverts, obviously got sick it after a while.

Even little Mikey, who'd always yearned for the outside world. Don't get him wrong, they all did- but he was pretty sure Leo could also do without, Donnie was content with his online friends and Raph was-... Raph. And although he saw the way his older brother's became happier when they started school- none had been as excited as Michelangelo had been.

They got to be normal.

How cool was that?!

"Oof!" The youngest snapped out of his daydream when Raphael pushed the cart he was sitting in against a wall, jostling the turtle in the process. They'd both completely forgotten about store carts, Mikey had always wanted to sit in one! And although Raph had been clearly happy to push the cart while running in the isles, April had warned them against it- apparently they couldn't run? They had to be slow?

It felt weird. Against his nature. New.

"Earth to Mikey." Raph flicked the back of his head, smirking when the youngest responded with an offended "hey!" He turned back to look for April- had they lost her again? He hadn't even run that much this time! Ugh. "Do you see April?"

"Wasn't she going to grab bread?" Mikey leaned over the cart, letting his arms dangle over the edge. After a bit of thought, he added. "...We also need bread."

"Than that's where we're going." Raph declared, full of confidence-

...

Where is the bread isle?

...

Where were they actually-?

A quick look around- fish, chicken- cheese? That... was an odd combination. "Uhm... where is the bread isle?"

"Didn't April call it the bakery?" Mikey sat straighter, squinting his eyes to try and see- but nope. "Uhm... maybe we can just stay here? I think we needed cheese anyway."

"Cheese it is!" Mikey squealed when Raph started running, grinning like a maniac and ignoring any odd looks send their way. Mikey almost fell backward in the cart, but managed to grab onto the edges.

"Raph! Slow down!" He laughed- he actually didn't want the older to slow down, but April said they couldn't, sooo-

Raph, to his credit, did no such thing. He kept running, missing the cheese section by a mile- which is how they'd ended up finding the bakery on accident.

The sais-wielder dug with his heels into the floor to stop, panting from the adrenaline- the snickers let Mikey know he didn't have to worry. Instead, he propped himself up on his knees and pushed himself up by leaning his full weight into his hands- aaaaaand almost fell over. Yay!

Raphael held onto the cart before he could topple over, actually laughing this time at the face the younger made. Michelangelo huffed, looked away- his annoyance evaporating as soon as he spotted their human friend. "There she is! April!!!"

The human yelped, and dropped the loaf of bread she had just been grabbing.

...Whoops.

...

Oh well.

"Hey April!" Raph pushed slower this time, gently making the cart bump against April's side. She shot him an unimpressed look and raised an eyebrow- but failed to keep a straight face, and cracked a smile.

"I thought I told you two to wait?"

"You did?"

She sighed, and shook her head. When April bent down to grab the item she dropped, Mikey quickly reached over her to grab a loaf too. Happily putting it next to him in the cart.

"What are those?" Meanwhile, Raph's attention had been taken by the oven. April hummed.

"The bakery. That's where they put the fresh croissaints and stuff." She stopped before she could say anythint else in favor of grabbing her phone, looking pleased when seeing the time. "Want some? They should be warm still."

"Can we get some for Lee and Dee too?" Mikey was already reaching for them, but April gently shooed his hand away. Instead, she grabbed a plastic bag from a rack as well as a... fork-thing? That was attached to the compartment the bakers put the baked goods in.

"Sure." She shrugged, putting five in the bag. After a bit of thought, she added. "They have a chocolate version if you want that instead?"

Obviously, Mikey had been about to say yes. But then Raph pushed him down to sit and shook his head.

While the youngest was grumbling April dropped the bag into the cart, the plastic radiating a pleasant heat onto Mikey's knee. So they were warm! That made him feel strangely happy, for whatever reason.

"That actually reminds me..." Aprjl started, grabbing the end of the cart to drag them bot along, back to the cheese. "How are you guys going to pay for everything?"

"With money? Duh."

"...You have money?"

"You thought we were poor?"

April panicked at the offended looks the two gave- but froze when the two snickered. Mikey was the first to break, unable to hold onto the serious expression for long.

"Tiktok."

"...Tiktok?"

"Tiktok." Raph confirmed, quickly pulling up the app- wow those were a lot of followers. "Apparently humans pay to see us?"

"Isn't that cool!?"

"...That just sounds like a zoo."

"I'm going to ignore you just said that."

-------------------------------

Vegetables done, got dad's ramen, so that left... sweets!

Leo was happily humming to himself while browsing- he loved how organized everything was here! It was always so messy and chaotic during the night- it was nice to be able to take his time.

"Leo." A tap on his shoulder made him turn around, squinting his eyes when a camera flashed. The turtle blinked, trying to get rid of the stars. Donnie paid him no mind, focused on his phone again.

"Dad wanted a picture."

"I know you know how to turn the flash off, Tello."

An innocent grin was the only response he got. After sending the image, Donnie focused on his older brother again. "So... now what?"

"If Mikey and Raph got what I told them to... sweets is all that's left." Leo hummed, looking around. Sweets would be close to the sodas, right? It made sense in his mind, both were sugar-based items. And he saw a sign that said soda was the very last isle... so sweets should be near. "Follow me." He said, focused on the board. The basket the two had found on the floor had a broken wheel, but that didn't stop Leo from dragging it around. "I know Dad wanted Doritos... do you want anything?"

"Gum?" Donnie wondered out- more a question than a true statement. He wasn't sure if the gum would be there, but it made sense. Maybe he would crave something when he saw the options, who know-

He stopped.

As someone who's favorite color was purple, as soon as Donnie saw purple, he just had to look at it. That's just how it worked. Not his fault it was absolutely the best color ever and dominated everything else.

What he'd spotted seemed to be a stand. It stood out of place, right between two isles, lonely and its items fitting neither of the categories of food that the other isles presented. Donnie held the edge of his glasses to gently lift them.

Stepping forward revealed that perhaps it didn't fit because the stand didn't hold food at all. Instead, it held-

Donnie's eyes widened with awe, mouth forming a little 'o' when his mind finally processed all the space-themed items presented to him. Plastic astronaut figures, cheap glow-in-the-dark star stickers, was that a planet squishy-?

The genius was walking forward before even being aware of it, grabbing the first thing he saw slowly- a small star-plush.

He knew some stores ended up selling some small toys, especially around the holidays- but space?!

"Donnie?" He snapped out of it at the sound of his name, immediately hiding the little plush behind him in an attempt to make it look like he hadn't been looking at a toy- but much to his horror, when he squeezed, a horrible peep sound seemed to echo throughout the entire section.

"I wasn't looking at toys." He said too quickly, cringing at himself- seriously? Ugh. Well, at least it was Leo who saw him- the oldest wouldn’t be too mean about it. Probably. Hopefully.

But to his surprise... Leo's confusion soon turned into amazement when he saw the pictures decorating the stand.

"Space?" He breathed, a smile growing on his face. Donnie was surprised... but pleasantly so. Allowing himself to relax as he nodded.

Relaxing made him release the pressure in his hands, fingers brushing against the pleasant-feeling fabric of the toy in his hands. Donnie looked down at it, letting his thumb brush over the fabric again. It felt... really nice actually.

"...Can I... uhm." He looked away, suddenly shy- and held up the star. Leo's expression softened as he nodded, bushing the basket forward so Donnie could put it in. His little brother quickly smiled again, albeit softer than before as he bent down.

The stand had many cool things actually- the glow-in-the-dark stars caught Leo's eye. Without thinking about it, he reached for them. "Wouldn't these look cool in your tent?" He asked, throwing them into his basket without waiting for an answer.

"..." His little brother only responded by taking a hold of his arm today. Good.

Smiling, they started walking again- pleased when seeing that yes, the sweets were very close to the sodas. He thought right!

Small victories.

So first was Doritos... which. Although Leo found them quickly... they were way too high for him to reach. He cringed. There was no way he was climbing the isle, the shelf seemed unstable. So that left-

Asking someone.

Uh oh.

His body went rigid, nervous all over again- oh well. Living without his constant paranoia had been nice while it lasted. Now what? Did he just. Ask someone?

No, no, that's what workers are for. You ask someone. Who works.

But there was no one who works, so how else could he ask?

"I could get on your shoulders?" Donnie offered once he saw the problem, but the oldest shook his head.

"Leo!! Donnie!!!" A flash of green, orange and red zipped right past them- coming to a halt not even a second later, further away. Raph was struggling to catch his breath while Mikey grinned, sitting in the middle of a... cart? Where did they even get that? Surrounded by groceries.

So they'd gotten what Leo asked. Good.

"We found a cart!"

"I told you two to-" They heard April gasp from further away, her head poking out when she leaned forward to catch her breath. "-to stop running!"

"But it's fun!" The hothead wheezed, managing to wink. That... was odd. Running around with a cart shouldn't tire him out that much.

Immediately worried, Leo reached out to touch his forehead. If anything, Raph felt cold. But why- ooohhh.

His eyes fell on the air conditioning in the ceiling. Then, he touched his own forehead.

Ah.

Nevermind, Leo could keep his worry to himself for just a bit longer.

He didn't notice that while he was busy fretting over Raph, Mikey had gotten out of the cart to help their genius brother. So, when he finally zoned back into the present-

"Oh my shell."

He flopped out before he could stop it.

Much to his dismay, the youngest had climbed on top of Donnie's shoulders instead- which. Really? Couldn't they at least have gone with Raph? Donnie was too skinny for such things, Raph at least had the bulk to stay stable-

"We got this!" Mikey cheered, moving around way too much for Leo's liking. Donnie looked unstable, as if he could fall over any minute. The only reason he hadn't yet was because the one in orange was now holding onto the edge of the isle. "Which one again."

"Sweet Chili this time."

"Be careful!"

Leo's warning was ignored when Mikey pushed himself forward as much as possible- cheering and letting go when he managed to grab a bag that was far in the back.

Unfortunately, this action finally caused Donatello to lose his balance. He tried to stay upright, taking multiple steps back and doing his best to not fall- but in the end, he ended up falling backwards anyway.

Leo lunged for Mikey before he could even think.

The three yelled, ending up as a tangle of limbs on the floor with Leo at the bottom, Mikey in the middle and Donnie on the top. The three groaned, unmoving for a moment.

"Ohmigosh-" April gasped, running over to help Donnie up first. "Why- I could have found a worker!" She scolded- but really, you would need to be deaf to miss the worry in her voice.

"What are you staring at?!" That was undoubtedly Raph shooing someone away, which Leo was greatful for. The oldest was too stunned to move for a moment... until Mikey finally broke the silence.

"The chips are still in one piece?"

Leo made no comment as he rolled his eyes, sat up, and gently tried to get the youngest off. "No one hurt?"

"Nope!"

"Me neither." Donnie confirmed. Pleased, Leo got up properly.

Mikey very delicately put the chips in his and Raph's probably stolen cart, then immediately reached out for some chocolate chip cookies. "Was that everything?"

"I think so." Leo mentally listed up everything they needed. "Did you get the cheese and-"

"Everything is in there." Raph pointed at their cart. After a moment, he made up his mind. "I want soda."

"That's the next aisle- right?" He quickly turned to April to confirm, who nodded. "I could show you?"

"Great!" Oh- aand he was being dragged again. Great. Wonderful. Why did he keep being dragged? "I can walk on my own, you know."

"I rather you not freeze seven more times, Fearless." Raph pushed himself against the older one, snickering when he was shoved away. Thankfully, finding Raph's favorite drink didn't take as long as everything else had- they managed to return quickly to the three left behind.

The cart was much fuller than it had been before they left- piled to the brim with all kinds of chips, chocolate, cookies and sweets. Raising an eyebrow, Leo just looked at the two youngest. The duo attempted to look innocent- and failed so badly even Leo could tell what they were actually feeling.

...Oh what the heck. He sighed again. "Do you need anything else, April?"

"I only needed the bread." The human's eyes seemed to be glued to the cart, clearly waiting for Leo to say something- but when he didn't, she seemed to let it go. "Would you guys rather self-checkout or-"

"Yes please." Leo answered before she could offer the other. Don't get him wrong, he was having fun, but his social battery was done.

"Then we go left." This time, it was Mikey who took a hold of the cart before Raph could, giggling as he ran forward with it. Donnie snapped a picture when Mikey looked away, snickering.

"Do you guys have any bags with you?" April asked. Raph nodded, pulling out one from his pouch. A plastic one, much to her dismay.

"...That's going to rip- Mikey slow down!"

"But it's fun!" Still, the turtle stopped running, waiting for his family to catch up. "It's all fun."

It had been fun, Leo had to agree. Even the checkout, where he got to scan every item one by one while the others bagged everything. Sure, they got some odd looks, and yeah, Leo panicked when he couldn't shove the paper money into the machine- but all good!

Today had been good.

"Mikey- the croissants."

"Oh! Right!" Ths turtle perked up, quickly digging through his bag to find the packaging.

They all ended up carrying one bag each- it would have been double the amount if Raph hadn't shoved everything with force. The vegetables and fruits were probably crushed now- but that wasn't Leo's problem.

A now-flat croissant was handed to him- and although Leo could tell that wasn't how it was supposed to look, he smiled, thanked his brother, and took a bite.

He could deal with getting lost, making grocery lists and shopping- happily, even. He was not dealing with the sticky fingers he was sure to get from the crushed oranges.n

#tmnt #tales of the tmnt #tales of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt leo #tmnt leonardo #tmnt raph #tmnt raphael #tmnt donnie #tmnt Donatello #tmnt mikey #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt April'O Neil

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