#and Splinter gets a wake-up call to be a better rat-dad

[nights-flying-fox]

SLEEPY CAT FOR YOU MY FRIEND!!

SLEEPY CAT AAAAA SMOLL BABY KITTY IN MY INBOX

THANK YOU BANJO AAAA HERE HAVE THIS FIC :D

.♥♥♥.

 Mikey always loved cats. Since the day they had gotten to the surface and he had seen one, he fell in love with them. That was why he always begged for a cat to his dad. Too bad that Splinter was a rat, and therefore he hated cats. (Or at least that was what Mikey thought for years, until he found out one day that Splinter had allergies against cat fur.) There was also the fact that the sewers weren’t the best place to take care of a cat. Mikey couldn’t understand why when he was younger, after all he and his family lived in them just fine, right? But eventually he had understood why. He still wished he would have a pet cat.

 He never expected his wish finding him one day in the lair. None of them did.

 “Mikey, did you bring him here?” Asked Raph.

 “No, you know how it turned out last time!” Mikey said. Poor Splinter had a sneeze fit.

 “How did he even end up here?” Leo wondered.

 “I am sure I can track him to figure it out.” Donnie informed. “But he can’t stay here.”

 “Yeah, not without a name.” Leo grinned as he began petting the cat.

 “Leo! You know Pops doesn’t allow cats!” Raph said.

 Leo dramatically gasped, “Raph! Where are your manners, be nice to our guest!”

 Raph groaned.

 Mikey looked at the cat. A little brown tabby. It looked very sleepy too… “How about the name… George?”

 They all turned to Mikey. “What.” Leo asked confusedly.

 “I think he looks like a George!” Mikey grinned.

 “He definitely does not.”

 “Wrong, he is George.” Mikey declared.

 “No! He is uh um… Cocoa?” Leo tried. Mikey snickered at the name.

 “Cocoa? Really?” Donnie raised one of his drawn brows.

 Leo glared, “Well, you find a better name then mr-I-know-everything.”

 Donnie rolled his eyes. “I recommend something much better and smarter, like—”

 “WAITWAITWAITWAIT WE CAN NAME HIM JUPITER! OR JIM! LIKE JUPITER JIM!” Leo exclaimed.

 “I like the idea!” Mikey grinned, joining Leo and petting the cat as well.

 “That. Is not what I was thinking but works too.” Donnie commented. “We could call him JJ for short.” He patted the cat’s head. The cat meowed happily. “I like him, he is smart enough to agree with me. Unlike some…”

 “Hey!” Leo shouted. And so, the twins started their banter again.

 “Ignore them, kitty.” Mikey said to kitty. “That’s how they always are.” Then he turned to Raph, “Aren’t you joining?”

 Raph silently walked towards JJ. As he came closer, JJ left Mikey’s side and walked to him, meowing happily. Raph began petting it, his expression softening. Mikey could see the sparkles in Raph’s eyes. Then JJ yawned sleepily, “Aww he sleepy kitty…” Raph cooed. As JJ leaned to him, Raph opened his hands. To his surprise JJ jumped into his hands, and then tucked his paws under himself, ready to sleep.

 “He is a little loaf…” Mikey gasped.

 “Shh! You’ll wake him! You two too, be quiet!” Raph warned his brothers.

 The twins stopped whatever they were doing (Donnie was biting Leo’s arm, Leo shoving Donnie with his foot, frozen in the middle of their fight). Mikey looked at JJ, “Now what? We keep him, right?”

 Raph took a sigh, “Yes, but if anyone tells Pops or let’s JJ near him…” He gave them a dangerous glare.

 “Got it boss.” Leo nodded, getting up. “But where do we keep him?”

 For a short while they all brainstormed, trying to find the right place. Mikey wondered if he could keep JJ in his room, but probably not since Splinter sometimes visited their rooms. Also, it would be easy for JJ to get out and find Splinter’s room, which would be terrible. Where else… where else…

 “He can stay in my lab.” Donnie broke the silence. “Splinter rarely gets in, and it’s a big space. I can manage making it a safe place too. Both for JJ and for my tech against his possible mischief.”

 “Sounds good to me!” Raph smiled. “Good job Donnie!”

 Mikey saw Donnie smile confidently, his tail wagging happily.

 “Then what are we waiting? Let’s get the necessary stuff for our sleepy friend!” Leo declared.

 Mikey grinned, “Let’s go!”

 As they walked towards the lab, Leo turned to Mikey, “You finally got your wish, Mike!”

 He grinned, “Do you think more cats will follow the same path?”

 “Is one cat enough?” Donnie asked.

 Mikey shook his head, “Nope! Never!”

 “Michael, that cat most likely got lost. There is almost no chance something similar happening again any time soon.” Donnie said.

 Except he didn’t know how wrong he was.

[kudosmyhero]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #8: Enemies Old, Enemies New - part 3

Read Date: September 19, 2022 Cover Date: March 2012 ● Writer: Kevin Eastman ◦ Tom Waltz ● Art: Dan Duncan ● Colorist: Ronda Pattison ● Letterer: Shawn Lee ● Editor: Bobby Curnow ●

Synopsis: Leonardo urges Michelangelo and Raphael to help him fend off the M.O.U.S.E.R.S.. Raphael aids Leonardo and Michelangelo rouses Donatello and then tries to get the unconscious Splinter to safety. Before he is able to, Old Hob commands the M.O.U.S.E.R.S. to go after Michelangelo.

In his penthouse suite, Baxter Stockman is explaining to General Krang that everything is under control; Splinter is about to be captured and the psychotropic compound will be retrieved. Krang asks why they couldn't just get a sample from Hob's blood, but Stockman explains that the compound within Hob's blood is too impure. The Turtles, too, would not be able to provide samples of the psychotropic for the same reason. Stockman tells Krang that there is one other specimen who seems to have had a controlled injection of the compound, the mutant ninja snow fox created by Krang's competitors. Krang tells Stockman three things he needs to know: one, that this "competitor" is merely a nuisance and will be dealt with when the time is right; two, the success of his mission is of utmost importance; and three, his mission calls for intelligent mutant super-soldiers, and if Stockman cannot provide them, he will be eliminated.

Down below, the Turtles continue fighting off the robots controlled by Hob. While they're busy fighting, Hob causes the robots to emit a smoke screen and departs with Splinter. In the process however, he drops the remote control for the M.O.U.S.E.R.S.

April and Casey are getting to know each other over coffee at a doughnut shop. Casey tells her that ever since his mom died, he and his dad haven't gotten along very well. April tells him about her dad's bad stroke and how she almost quit school to go home and help her mom take care of him. Casey asks her what caused her interest in self-defense, and April tells him about the break-in that occurred while she was working in the StockGen laboratories and the ninja who tried to kill her. Casey asks how she got away and she tells him that the lab rat named Splinter pulled the fire alarm and scared them away.

In the sewers, the Turtles have realized that Master Splinter is missing and Hob is nowhere to be seen. Donatello tells his brothers the robots must be on autopilot now and comes up with a plan. He has the other Turtles line up behind him, tricking the robots into thinking there is only one target.

Casey has something important to show April. They drive to a mostly abandoned part of town and park her van. She asks him where they're going and he tells her: the sewers.

The robots approach Donatello and the Turtles leap out from behind him, destroying the remainder of the robots. Donatello finds the remote control Hob dropped. The Turtles know they have a better chance of finding Splinter if they act fast, so they decide to split up and being combing the area. In the midst of making their plans they hear voices approaching, and a moment later Casey arrives with April in tow. At the sight of four teenage mutant ninja turtles, April faints. Casey explains to the Turtles that April knew them before their mutation and escape from StockGen. The Turtles leave to begin searching for Splinter, and Casey laments that he shouldn't have taught April how to punch, as she'll likely punch him for surprising her when she wakes up.

(https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Enemies_Old,_Enemies_New,_part_3)

Fan Art: Casey Jones by Kenpudiosaki

[katielynn526]

B-Team Support Group AU

Okay hear me out...

Donnie and Mikey getting sick of how their family treats them and doing something about it. 

Something happens. The final peg on this jenga tower of awful gives way and shit comes a tumbling down. Mikey gets hit by Raph a little too hard and is seriously hurt, Donnie just pulled his fifth all-nighter in a row and Mikey finds him passed out in the lab, Leo and Raph leave their little brothers in the lurch to prove their A-team bullshit superiority, etc. Whatever it is, it’s the last straw.

Donnie packs up his laptop and a few essentials from his lab, Mikey puts Ice Cream Kitty in her cooler and stuffs some comics and his teddy bear into a backpack. They leave the lair in the middle of the night, no clue where they’re even going. They just need to get out.

Donnie calls April and they crash at her place for the night. Mikey can’t sleep, his stomach is in knots. He stays up with April, watching Donnie snore away on the couch where he’s passed out. He tells her this is the most sleep Don’s probably had in weeks. They stay up talking until dawn and April holds Mikey when he finally breaks down and cries.  

Pretty soon it becomes clear that Donnie and Mikey staying with April is a temporary solution at best. It’s a small apartment and the brother’s can tell Mr. O’Neil, still suffering from his own PTSD, isn’t exactly comfortable with having his home invaded by mutant teenagers. Donnie can be quiet (until he blows something up), but Mikey’s hyperactive energy is too much.Plus the risk of being seen by the neighbors is too great.

April still insists they’re welcome to stay, but the brothers are gone before she comes home from school.     

Karai originally planned to stake out one of the Shredder’s former hideouts with Shinigami, but the plans change when she comes across Donnie and Mikey on the rooftops, looking lost and tired as they try and figure out what to do next. They can’t go back yet, but they can’t survive on their own topside, not without help. Karai knows that hopelessness, knows what it like to feel like you can’t go home.   

She and Shini bring them back to the Shredder’s old lair. telling Donnie and Mikey they can stay as long as they need to. 

Donnie’s still a bit wary of Karai but he agrees, knowing it’s their best option right now. He texts April and tells her that yes, he and Mikey are safe and please tell the family they aren’t dead or kidnapped. They just need some space.

Mikey is just glad he doesn’t have to go home yet and psyched he gets to spend time with his new big sister and her awesome witch-friend.

Karai texts Leo to let him know that his brothers are safe and with her, but also makes it clear that he, Raph, and Splinter fucked up badly and they need to get their shit together. Don and Mike will come home when they’re ready and if Leo or Raph tries to come over and force them to come back she will personally cleave their shells from their bodies.  

CUE MONTAGE OF CUTE B-TEAM AND BIG SISTER BONDING:

-Mikey hanging out with Shini, coming up with countless contests to test their mad skillz™: Who can do the most impressive flips, who’s more flexible, best dancer, most rad yo-yo trick, etc.

-Karai and Mikey playing a Japanese trading card game (like Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh) becuase he found one of her old decks and pulled out his own. 

-Karai being super nervous about being a big sister because she’s never had siblings before and Oroku Saki wasn’t a really affectionate parent, but Mikey putting her at ease and telling her she’s doing a great job.

-Donnie being a little uncomfortable around Karai because she used to be their enemy and tried to hurt April. But she’s also helping them and he sees how hard she’s trying. 

-Karai listening to Donnie vent and commiserating with him about how toxic and demanding family can be. Cause let’s face it, Shredder and Splinter are both super harsh Japanese dads so Karai gets what it’s like. 

-Shini showing Mikey her collection of shojo manga (in Japanese of course)

-Mikey showing Shini how to make awesome shadow puppets.

-Mikey showing Karai and Shini Ice Cream Kitty. Shini thinks she’s adorable and loves taking cute videos of ICK with her phone and sending them to Mikey! 

-Shini telling Mikey all about growing up in Japan and showing him pictures of her and Karai when they were kids, pictures of her life in Tokyo, and one pic of her and her ex-girlfriend, Don’t ask. It didn’t end well... ;)

-Shini calling Mikey, “Mikey-chan.”

-All four of them hanging out in what used to be Oroku Saki’s private quarters, watching poorly dubbed samurai movies on the huge flat screen TV and laughing as they get popcorn everywhere.

-Mikey cooking a big meal for everyone in what used to the the foot clan break room, all of them talking in Japanese while Karai and Shini tease the boys about their terrible accents. 

-Sparring sessions where Mikey isn’t constantly underestimated and Karai and Shini try to teach him techniques to focus his mental energy.    

-Donnie fixing up Stockman’s old lab, overjoyed to see all the awesome high-tech equipment left behind when the Foot Clan fled. Once he clears away all the groady candy wrappers and acid fly spit it starts feeling like home. 

-Karai and Mikey tag-teaming Donnie to make sure he gets a good night’s sleep and doesn’t spend all his time in the lab. 

-Donnie and Karai bonding over blowing shit up and the construction of badass ninja weaponry.

-Shini helping Donnie develop cool new ninja smoke bombs and helping him devise ninja tech for hypnosis and illusions.  

-Karai teasing Donnie about his crush on April but actually giving him solid relationship advice. 

-Mikey, Karai, and Donnie all getting to complain about Leo and his self-sacrificing, lone ranger BS. 

-Donnie building a heat lamp for his snake mutant sis. Snake!Karai curling up and basking with her mutant bros. 

-Leo not heeding Karai’s warning and blowing up Donnie’s T-phone with angry messages. Karai finally going to the lair to bitch out her mutant family and call out her father on what a negligent dick he’s been.

-April and Casey visiting the Girl Gang lair (that’s what I’m calling it) to see Mikey and Don. 

-Casey flirting non-stop with Karai while she kicks his ass multiple times. Soon it becomes a friendly contest between the two on who can come up with the dirtiest pick up line. (Donnie has had to cover Mikey’s ears multiple times).

-April being really nervous around Karai b/c of their history. But they bond over wanting what’s best for the b-team bros and become reluctant friends. Cue Shini insisting that April needs a makeover (because seriously how can she not wear armor?) and lots of badass ninja girl talk. Mikey helps while Donnie and Casey just watch the awesome craziness unfold.

-Karai embarrassing Donnie in front of April but also totally setting them up!

-Mikey and Donnie getting to just chill and be bros without the pressure and constant criticism of their big brothers.       

-Raph and Leo dealing with the fact that their little brothers left, realizing how much they were needed.  

-Leo burning everything he cooks and desperately wishing Mikey were there to take over. (Splinter, Raph and Leo end up living off of takeout, rice, and instant ramen over the next few weeks)

-The hot water heater in the lair breaks and guess who’s not around to fix it? Raph grumbling as he looks up how to fix a hot water heater online, thinking about how fast Donnie would’ve solved the problem. Then Leo breaks the toaster and there’s more shit Raph has to try and fix.

-Realizing how empty the lair feels with out Mikey’s laughter and the occasional explosion from Don’s lab. 

-Leo missing being able to bounce his plans and strategies off his calm, fact-checking genius brother.

-Raph missing Mikey’s easy affection and regretting every single time he hit his baby bro just because he was goofing around. 

-Raph and Leo being too proud to apologize and paying for it dearly as things in the lair continue to break and they try not to give each other food poisoning with their terrible cooking skills. The older brother’s getting angry at themselves and angry at their father for not demanding his younger son’s return. 

-Splinter taking a long look at his actions and questioning his abilities as a father. Wondering how he can repent and heal his family when his youngest sons’ return.

-Splinter staring at a picture of his sons and realizing how much of a burden he’s placed on their shoulders by demanding they fight his war with Oroku Saki. He wonders when was the last time he’d asked Donatello and Michelangelo if they were alright. 

-Casey finding a sulking Raph and using his own experiences as a big brother to call him out and talk some sense into him (And you know it’s bad when CASEY JONES is the voice of reason here). 

-Mikey calling Karai “Nee-san” without even thinking about it and Karai trying and failing to hide how happy she is.

-Karai calling Mikey Otouto and watching his face light up in joy as he hugs her.

-Donnie calling Karai Nee-san quietly when it’s just to two other them after a long tear-filled talk. Karai trying hard not to cry when she realizes she’s earned his trust. 

I’M SORRY I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS AND IDEAS ABOUT THIS AU OKAY! 

The health and well-being of the B-team is super important to me, and if I need to make an AU where they get taken in and cared for by a badass ninja girl gang I will! 

[tmntgirlie]

Saviors in a Half Shell 4

Ah, the plan. The plan to help Y/N, the plan specifically created and constructed to assist Y/N. The Y/N Plan.

Splinter was, as usual, the first to wake up.

He loved his sons dearly, but he also loved the quiet he had when he woke up before them. Once at least one was awake, he knew he would be forced to socialize, step into his fatherly role (not that he didn’t love it, but everybody needs a break from time to time), give advice that only a rat father could. Especially right now, he knew that all four of his sons were nervous about their roles. It was warranted.

It was the ripe time of almost noon. He decided it was about time to make his first cup of tea for the day. Tea was always a pleasant beginning.

As the kettle began to head up, he heard a rustling near the doorway. “Leonardo, you’re awake early-” he began to say, but stopped when he saw who it really was.

Y/N stood, rubbing her eyes. Her hair was a little bit all over the place, something dark shaded under her eyes. “I’m so sorry, what was your name again?”

“You may call me Splinter, my dear. What are you doing up so early?” he asked warily.

“I don’t usually sleep this late,” the girl said, covering her mouth when she yawned. “I’ll take it that last night wasn’t really a dream.”

Splinter quietly added a little more water and tea leaves to the kettle. “You would be correct. Did you sleep well?”

“For someone that doesn’t like sleeping anywhere but my own bed, I’d say so.” She gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”

“What for?”

“Welcoming me into your home,” Y/N said with a shrug. “A stranger, giving me a safe place to sleep.”

“We help those who are in need of help,” he told her, leaning against the makeshift countertop. “You were not in a good place last night. Would you agree?”

Y/N nodded silently.

“I won’t pry into your personal health,” he said. “But I’d like you to know that we can be here for you if you want us. My sons aren’t like anybody else. They may be rough around the edges, but they have good hearts. They want to help you just like I do.”

He poured two cups of tea and gestured for them to continue their conversation elsewhere. She followed him down a few more narrow hallways, carefully holding her cup to keep it from spilling. He pushed back a few curtains to reveal a greenhouse of sorts. It was warm, the air was moist, and the room was filled with potted plants, flowers, and what she thought were herbs of sorts.

“It’s amazing,” she said quietly. “I never thought these kinds of things were even possible down here. You live down here. It’s amazing.”

“We made do with what is available to us,” Splinter said with a small smile. “This is all we have ever known.”

“How did you- you know, come to be?” Y/N asked.

The question he was waiting for.

“As you probably could have guessed,” he chuckled. “We aren’t your typical rat and turtles. Years ago, we were subjects in an experiment to create a substance that could withstand a harsh environment.” He spared her the nitty gritty details, it was likely too early for that.

“One night, a fire erupted in the lab. We managed to escape, though at the time we were still seen as the ordinary rat and four turtles. As years went by, we grew into what we are. It has been twenty-two long years. I took the role as both father and master of the turtles. It wasn’t easy, but it needed to be done.”

“That’s amazing,” she repeated, a little more enthusiastic this time. “You could write a book about this.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I’m afraid not. You see, we aren’t accepted by the general population of this city. A select few humans have actually had the pleasure of seeing us for who we are and not what we look like. You are now one of them.” Splinter carefully sat his cup of tea down on a bare crate. He picked up a watering can and began to get to work.

“Need any help?”

“I enjoy doing this myself, but the company is appreciated. If you have any more questions, I’m sure my sons would be happy to explain their life stories to you.”

Y/N searched her mind for their names. It had been so late, the events of the night prior were blurry. She remembered their faces. Each wore a different colored mask. They were all so different, so unique- what were their names?

“Dad, I can’t find-” A voice rang through the greenhouse-room. She instantly recognized it, the first voice she heard. The first one she remembered.

Y/N turned to see who she instantly recognized as Leonardo, Leo. It had just dawned on her that their names were in reference to Renaissance painters. She’d have to ask about that later.

The turtle stopped. “Oh. There you are.”

She waved awkwardly. “Here I am.” She gave him a small smile.

Yeah, okay. These guys were freakishly huge turtles. Who were extremely muscular, bore weapons draped over their shells and at their sides. Sure. But they were her rescuers. She was comfortable with using that word now.

Leonardo noticeably relaxed. “You’re up early.”

“It’s almost noon. I usually wake up before eight,” she said. “...Thank you.”

He tilted his head. “What?”

“Thank you. For last night. I know it was… Not the greatest way to meet you guys, or for you to meet me.” Her gaze shifted down to her feet. “I just have some… Issues. That I need to work through.”

Leonardo turned to his father, who only nodded before going back to watering his plants. He wondered what all was said before he got there.

This wasn’t technically part of the plan, but this was a good start nonetheless.

“The other’s won’t be up for a while still. I’m heading to the dojo for my morning meditations.”

“You even have a dojo?” She couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice if she tried. Mutant turtles that meditate. That live in the sewers, that drink tea (at least one of them), that like Thai food, video games, and who knows what else.

Leonardo held back a chuckle as he gestured back towards the doorway. “You can join me, if you’d like.”

Y/N quickly shook her head. “I don’t even know how to meditate.”

“We all start somewhere. Are you coming?”

It was hard to say no.

Leonardo positioned her at the opposite end of the dojo as him. He gave her a few quick pointers to get her started before he sat down and shut his eyes.

Y/N watched him for a moment before she did the same. His words echoed in her head, so few instructions but so many at the same time.

Count your breaths.

In one, out two, all the way to ten and start again.

Let your mind feel what it needs to feel. Don’t let it engulf you, but allow yourself to feel.

When your mind wanders too far, start at one again. In. Out.

To think that she thought she was good at taking instruction.

In, one.

Two, out.

As she counted up, she could feel a metaphorical weight lift from her shoulders. She could hear Leonardo’s breathing in the corner, though it was soft. She felt his presence.

Shit, did I leave the tea in the greenhouse?

Back to one. Out, two.

Y/N could feel the darkness in her mind. She allowed herself to feel it, welcoming it as a friend as opposed to an intruder. It was part of her, her own way of feeling.

Out, six.

Meditation wasn’t something she thought of to do. Her life was too busy for something like that, she thought. Those minutes could be better spent elsewhere.

Maybe it was time to slow down.

Alright, back to one now.

Time became an afterthought. When she finally opened her eyes, Leonardo was beginning to stand. He reached his arms up, then held them behind his back in a stretch. She swore she could hear some joints popping.

Y/N slowly got to her feet, reaching her arms up towards the ceiling. Where she could see Leo could easily touch the ceiling, her arms were feet away from it. At least she knew she would never bump her head here.

Not that that was a general worry of hers. Not many walls were only five-foot something.

“That was nice,” she said, breaking the silence. “Do you do this every morning?” She recalled when he had said ‘morning meditations’.

“Every morning when I wake up. It helps clear my head and get me ready for the day,” Leonardo told her with a nod. “I’ll do it before nightfall if I need to as well.”

“A healthy habit,” she mused. “The others don’t join you?”

Leonardo gave her a shrug in response. “Sometimes. They’d prefer the extra sleep. Honestly, they could do with a little more meditation.”

“I definitely feel more ready for the day. Or breakfast at least.” As if on cue, her stomach began to growl.

He laughed. “Come on, let’s get you some breakfast.

“How long did we go, anyway?”

“Thirty minutes. You beat Mikey’s record.”

A small feat, she told herself. Mikey did not seem like one to keep still for that long.

Y/N should have referred to their meal as ‘lunch’, especially considering the time. She thought this as they passed through another corridor, one that was a little smellier than the rest. She did applaud them for keeping the place smelling less like sewer than it actually was. Did turtles have a sense of smell?

“So, you meditate. Do your brothers have any habits or hobbies?”

“Raphael does the most physical training,” Leo said, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway. “Weight training, boxing, you name it. Donnie keeps to his science-y stuff. He’s good with technology and chemistry, that pretty much covers most of his free time. Mikey… He has trouble focusing on one thing.”

“Shocking.”

He laughed. “He’s gotten better, more tolerable to live with. He’s not allowed near Donnie’s things anymore, though.”

Y/N stopped walking and crossed her arms over her chest. “Now you have to tell me this story.”

Leo was amazed. She had a completely different presence to her now than the night before. She was sarcastic, she was witty. He could tell she chose her words carefully, but when she looked at him, it wasn’t with the usual disgust or fear. It was with amazement, intrigue.

Strange human.

The tale began of how Mikey had accidentally caused a bad chemical reaction in Donatello’s lab area. It wasn’t a small sort of reaction- in fact, it ended up ruining most of Donnie’s equipment. He refused to speak to him for days as he tried to both fix and replace what had been lost. Y/N made a mental note to ask how they got equipment like that in the first place.

By the time Leo had no more to say, they were settled at the table in the kitchen with some food. He had made up a couple dozen sandwiches with various meats and toppings, all with cheese. When he set the platters down at the table, he paused. “I didn’t ask you what you wanted, did I?”

“I’m not that picky,” she assured him. “You probably need to explain what all these are, though.”

She picked a simple turkey sandwich after an entire speech ensued about each sandwich. They liked variety. As she took a bite, she smirked. “I had no idea turtles ate meat. Good to know.”

“Not sure if you’ve picked up on this yet, but we’re not your run-of-the-mill turtles.”

Oh, she definitely had.

[violetnuisance]

Wake Up

pairing: Sal Fisher/Larry Johnson

rating: T

words: 3,224

summary: Sal rambles to Larry while the brunet’s in a coma.

a/n: Hi, my Sally Face discord server has monthly art/writing challenges. July’s theme was “Hospital,” so this is my submission. Here’s the link to the server: https://discord.gg/kYtz72e

Sal stood awkward, one hand clasped around the bouquet of peonies he had spray painted black while the other hand tightly gripped a “Get Well Soon!” card, no doubt creasing it. His mind felt numb as he stood and stared at his best friend who laid unconscious in the hospital bed that dominated the tiny room. Larry had definitely seen his better days. His hair was unkempt, sticking up every which way, and the dark circles underneath his eyes only seemed to worsen as his stay at the hospital progressed, having lasted two weeks already. Despite the doctors and nurses reassuring a stressed Lisa and Sal that Larry was in stable condition and would most likely make a swell recovery, the bluenet was still worried. Every day that passed that Johnson didn’t wake up, his stress only skyrocketed.

 What if Larry had severe brain damage that the doctors didn't notice? What if he woke up in a vegetative state? What if he didn’t wake up?

Sal tried to shake the thoughts and padded over to the small nightstand beside Larry’s bed. An array of wilted flowers and still-enveloped cards littered the desk. Sal tried not to think about how most of the bouquets would be dead by the time Larry woke up as he set his own down. The falsely black flowers stood out against the pink ones everyone else had left, and Sal felt a sort of sick satisfaction. Larry had told him about how someone needed to genetically engineer a solid black flower. He couldn’t remember the context of the conversation, but he remembered how much they had laughed about it. A smile threatened to tug at his lips from beneath his prosthetic, but the urge was quickly destroyed. He shouldn’t have left Larry alone that night.

Sal laid on his stomach on the treehouse’s splintered floor, a lit cigarette between his lips and his prosthetic at his side. Larry laid on his back beside him, shirt pushed up, exposing his stomach, as he stretched. The sun outside was quickly setting, but that didn’t mean Sal couldn’t still make out a trail of soft brown hair that disappeared beneath the waistband of the other’s jeans in the treehouse’s dimness. The sight made him itch, curiosity lighting him ablaze. He smushed the notion quickly forming in his head down and took the cigarette from his lips, blowing a trail of smoke. Larry looked at him, a dopey grin on his face. Something had piqued the brunet’s interest, and he rolled onto his side, facing Sal.

“We should shotgun, baby blue,” Larry laughed, voice airy and light. Sal rolled his good eye at him. 

“No one shotguns cigarette smoke,” Sal stated. His fingers brought the stick back up to his mouth. Over the years, he had become a master at hiding his reactions from Larry’s random quips. The brunet had the worst habit of cracking jokes that made Sal’s heart pitter-patter pathetically in his chest. Still, at the thought of Larry’s lips on his, he could feel the tips of his ears growing warm. Before the brunet could notice the pink tint, Sal turned his head and blew smoke into the other’s face. The bluenet let out a snort as Larry wrinkled his nose in slight disgust. “You act like you don’t smoke a pack a day.”

“Doesn’t mean the smell has grown on me,” Larry rebuffed, rubbing the back of his hand across his nose. Sal shook his head, bangs bouncing against his forehead.

“Are you trying to tell me I stink?” Larry laughed again, and the sound rumbled through Sal’s chest. He had always been especially fond of his friend’s voice, and Larry’s laughter always caused a weird sense of nostalgia to fall over him, like he was returning home after exploring the world for years. The brunet took the cigarette from Sal while he was lost in thought.

 “Don’t worry, we can stink together,” Larry assured, a wolfish grin on his face. Sal watched silently as Larry placed the cigarette between his lips before sucking gently. The bluenet should’ve seen the next action coming, but he really hadn’t.

“Oh, c’mon dude,” Sal groaned as Larry blew the smoke into his face. He waved a hand around dramatically, trying to clear the vapor. “You’re such a… such a rat!”

“Your vernacular never ceases to astound me, bluebird,” Larry mocked, passing the cigarette back to Sal. Sal took it in hand, watching in slight interest as Larry sat up before standing and walked over to the mini fridge he had hooked up. The shorter male’s interest turned to dread as his lanky friend pulled out a bottle, caramel liquid sloshing inside of it. 

“I thought you were stopping that,” Sal complained, the words pushing out automatically. His eyes narrowed as Larry used the end of his shirt to help pop the cap off the bottle. Immediately, the sickening cat-pee smell of beer assaulted Sal’s senses.

“I said I’d try to stop, and I did try,” Larry corrected before bringing the bottle to his lips. Sal cringed as he watched the other’s adam’s apple bob, swallowing the drink down. The shorter male grimaced and reached for his prosthetic. The brunet watched as Sal stubbed the cigarette out against the floor, leaving a burn mark. Larry had chastised him about it multiple times before, but Sal didn’t care at the moment. “Where are you going?”

Sal stared at Larry as he clasped his straps into place at the back of his head. “You know how I feel about your drinking problem,” he chastised, moving to his feet.

The bluenet had never been a fan of alcohol. Before his mom had passed, both of his grandparents on his dad’s side had been raging alcoholics. His mom wouldn’t let them see their grandkid unless they tried to recover. They chose the bottle. And then, after his mom’s death, his father had fallen into the same state. He drank his days away until Sal found him passed out on the floor from alcohol poisoning. After a few days in the hospital, his dad sobered up. As soon as they got back home, they both equipped themselves with plastic trash bags and threw out all the alcohol. Sal thought that would be the last he’d ever have to see of alcoholism, but now Larry was running down the same reckless path. The bluenet didn’t know why, and the other refused to open up to him.

“It’s not a problem-”

“Yes it is, Larry! How do you not see that?” Sal was fuming, his hands balled into fists at his sides. The brunet stood stiff, surprised by the emotional outburst. “There’s a difference between responsible drinking and alcoholism. And you, my friend, crossed that boundary months ago.” Sal’s voice came out quieter now, a tremble in his tone. He didn’t know if he was angry or despairful, but he knew the tears would start flowing either way if he didn’t leave. 

By god, he had hoped Larry would stop him on the way out, but the brunet hadn’t, and the next morning Sal got a phone call from Lisa, explaining that her son had gone into an alcohol poisoning induced coma.

Larry’s chest rose and fell with his breaths, and Sal wished the brunet would crack his eyes open and offer a coy smile, saying this was some prank all along. Of course, nothing of the sort happened. Sal’s gaze traveled to the plastic chair sitting at the bed’s side. Lisa had been sitting there before Sal came in, talking to the unresponsive male. Apparently the nurses had told her that stimulating Larry’s main senses could help rouse him, so the woman had done everything in the book. She rambled to him about her day every time she visited after work, constantly held his hand and kissed his cheek every time she left, and she had even brought and lit candles in the room from their apartment. Before she had given Sal privacy with Larry, she urged him to talk to the brunet. Sal had denied the notion, saying he wouldn’t stay that long, but now he felt himself sitting down in the uncomfortable chair.

For a moment, he just sat, not knowing what to say. But soon enough, the words flowed smoothly. “You’re such an idiot,” Sal whispered, feeling uncomfortable breaking the silence. He glanced around, half expecting a nurse to come in and chastise him for being loud. When that didn’t happen, he continued. “I hate to say ‘I told you so,’ but I told you so. I read you an online article of this exact thing happening. My dad’s binge drinking wasn't even this bad. God, I can’t believe you cut off the oxygen flow to your brain, and still, somehow, survived getting severe brain damage. Lisa thought you were dead when she found you!”

Sal felt his cheeks wetten as he continued to rant, everything surging up at once. His eyes glanced warily around the room. The only window was a small one in the door. Taking a chance, Sal took off his prosthetic and set it in his lap. He hated how the material would cling to his skin when he was sweating or crying. “I don’t know what happened to you. You were obviously using it as some sort of coping mechanism, but I have no idea what for. You became so closed off, and you scared me. I thought you would eventually discard me. I guess you’re still going to disappear from my life for at least a month or two. You’re going to a rehabilitation center after you wake up,” Sal paused, voice growing meek, “God, please wake up.”

Once more, silence invaded the room. Sal blinked, trying to clear his vision from where it had grown blurry from tears. He could still feel a few wet trails rolling down his face, but he felt better. Most of the torrent had been released. 

When he could see again, his gaze trailed to Larry’s hand. It laid at the brunet’s side, black nail polish mostly chipped off. Sal took in into his hand without thinking. He guided Larry’s fingers to interlock with his own. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll tell you a secret right now, and you'll wake up and tell me why you were so committed to destroying your life.” Sal paused. Despite Larry not being able to hear him, he still felt like he was putting his heart on the line. Both of his hands clasped at Larry’s hand, grounding himself.

 “I really, really like you Johnson. Don’t let that inflate your already bursting ego because you absolutely don't deserve the compliment right now. But everytime you laugh and show off that stupid ass toothgap, I want to punch you because in those moments I just want to lean over and kiss you, and I know I can’t. Maybe if you wake up, we can try shotgunning cigarette smoke before you leave even though that’s the most idiotic idea you’ve ever come up with,” Sal laughed before bringing Larry’s hand up to his mouth and pressing a kiss to the back of the brunet’s hand. “If you can’t wake up for yourself, please wake up for me and Lisa.”

It was the next day when Larry came to. Sal had been getting ready to shower when Lisa called him. He had been ready to come right away, grime and all, but Lisa stopped him. Apparently Larry was in a minimally conscious state. He’d wake up for a few minutes, confused as to where he was, and then pass out again. The grogginess would most likely wear off after a few days, and Lisa promised to call him again when her son was alert enough to carry out a conversation with someone.

The two day wait between the initial phone call and the second were absolute Hell to Sal. Even his father had picked up on his nervous energy, ordering a pizza and renting a movie the first night to help Sal calm down. The second night was when Lisa called again, and Sal made it to the hospital in record time.

When he arrived, he was delighted to find out that Larry was still in tact. There would be no outstanding injuries except for a headache. However, he couldn't barge in and tackle Larry right away because Lisa was still visiting him, so Sal sat in the waiting room, legs bouncing. He could’ve cried in relief when Lisa walked into the room, twenty minutes later. He made himself wait and speak to the woman before making a break for it.

“Sorry for taking so long, but I have the Mom Privilege to get to see my son first,” Lisa joked, a warm smile on her face. Sal stood upon the greeting, his body swaying from side to side in anticipation. “But I can assure you he’s excited to see you. Yesterday, every time he woke up, he always mentioned your name. Just try not to over excite him.”

“Yes ma’am, I’ll try my best.” Lisa’s smile broadened before she pulled Sal into a hug.

“I’ve told you, just call me Lisa,” she chastised before breaking the embrace. However, her hands still gripped Sal’s shoulders. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! Larry remembers what was said to him during his coma. He doesn’t remember every conversation explicitly, but he definitely remembers the gist of everything. I hope you didn’t insult him while you visited him the other day.”

Sal was too excited for Lisa’s words to sink in. He just mumbled out a quick, “oh, okay,” before taking off to Larry’s room. Lisa had left the door open upon her exit, so the blunet could just slip right in and close it behind him. As soon as the door shut, Larry perked, sitting up. 

“Fisher!” Larry’s hair was an absolute bird’s nest, hair enveloping his head like a lion’s mane. His eyes were also red, an indicator that he had been crying recently. Sal supposed Lisa’s talk with him couldn't have been entirely sunshine and rainbows. He, too, was sure that he’d berate Larry later, but he was too happy to see that his friend was alive and well to do it right away.

“Larry!” Sal ignored Lisa’s desire to not over excite Larry for the time being and barreled halfway over the bed’s railing, enveloping the other in a hug. The brunet let out a surprised chuckle before wrapping his arms around Sal.

“If you pushed yourself any further onto here, you’d practically be laying on the bed with me,” Larry teased, his grip around Sal tightening.

“Shut up, I missed you, you oaf,” Sal mumbled, voice muffled by his prosthetic, and the fact that his face was pressed into Larry’s shoulder. “Don’t you ever scare us like that again!”

Larry didn’t say anything at the remark, and Sal didn't press. He was content to just hug the other for awhile. However, the cramped position wasn’t allowing him to breathe all that great through his prosthetic, so he pulled away. Larry stared hard at him as he dug his fingers beneath the prosthetic’s surface, pulling it away from his skin a little to get some fresh air. “You should just take it off,” Larry advised.

Sal looked from him and then back to the door’s window. “But someone could see,” he opposed. He had already risked it once, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to do that again.

“I highly doubt it. Your back’s to the window, and I could tell you if someone was coming in,” Larry countered, a sudden fierceness to his voice. Sal hesitated. “I mean, only if you want to. You obviously don't have to.”

There was a second more of hesitance before Sal decided it'd be okay to shed the prosthetic. Larry looked at him like a giddy puppy as he undid the straps and set the device down on the table. The brunet held his arms out for a hug again, and Sal couldn't help the small smile that graced his features. “You’re such an idiot,” Sal quipped, holding his own arms out.

“I know,” Larry smirked as Sal leaned over the bed again. Instead of the hug the blunet was expecting, the other grabbed his forearms and pulled him down closer, planting their lips together. Sal jerked back as if electrocuted. 

“What-”

“Did Mom not tell you?” Larry’s gaze was searching, hands still clasping onto Sal’s arms. Sal shook his head, confusion etched onto his face. “That I could hear you when you talked to me?”

“Oh,” Sal simply responded. Lisa had told him that, but he had been too dense to realize what exactly that entailed. As it dawned on him, he could feel a blush travelling up his neck.

“Oh,” Larry mocked, over exaggerating his facial features. Sal glared at him, and the idiot had the audacity to grin, tip of his tongue poking out from between his teeth. “I can’t believe baby blue has a crush on me! When were you going to tell me?”

“Oh, shut up,” Sal complained, the tips of his ears a vibrant red. He felt like he was back in high school, blushing every time Ash happened to look in his direction. He didn’t appreciate it.

“Make me,” Larry teased back, bushy eyebrows wagging. He looked from Larry’s eyes to his lips and then back up again. He still needed two things confirmed.

“You like me?” Larry rolled his eyes at the first inquiry, and Sal swallowed the urge to throttle him.

“I wouldn’t be offering to kiss you if I didn’t,” he answered, tone matter-of-fact. Sal couldn’t help but smile before dampening the mood with the next question.

“You’re going to actually try this time, right? You’re going to try in rehab, right? I can’t have you having another episode and actually lose you,” Sal whispered. Larry faltered, tongue dampening his chapped lips. The bluenet could see the other’s eyes dampen again, not quite shedding tears, but he needed to know. 

“Yes, I promise,” Larry replied. His hands tightened around Sal’s arms, trying to prove his earnesty. “Now can I have my kiss?”

Sal nodded, leaning down again. Larry met him in the middle and gently pressed their lips together. It was just a quick peck before they pulled away, but then the brunet had Sal by the collar of his shirt, dragging him in for another kiss. The bluenet let him, his own hands coming to rest against the sides of Larry’s face. Sal had always thought that if the chance of Larry touching him- kissing him -ever came up, the sensation would be overbearing and set him alight. However, the action just sent a welcome warmth through his body, much like the same feeling he got when listening to Larry laugh.

“We have to do that more often,” Larry murmured as they pulled away, eyelashes fluttering and cheeks red. Sal thought it was cruel someone could be so beautiful. “But when are we going to shotgun cigarette smoke? You did say we could do that if I woke up.”

The mood was effectively broken. “Oh god, I hate you,” Sal whined, causing Larry to chuckle.

“I love you too, Sally Face.”

[crazyfreckledginger]

TMNT x Reader - “Mystery Girl”

When the turtles find an unconscious girl in the sewers, they can only take her back to the lair to see her condition. Questions arose quickly on how this girl got here, what had happened to her and most importantly, why does she look vaguely familiar. 

Based of this imagine, requested by @lunatora-enero @waterstar2016 @brightlotusmoon​

Warnings: Mention of abuse, alcohol, torture

A/N: Hope y’all like it!

Dizzyness flooded my mind. My hands were shaking as I held on the counter for dear life. This is not happening to me! I told myself. The pain was horrifying, I could feel my eyes on the verge of popping out. I tried suppressing a cough as I took deep breaths, but it just wasn't working. Until my eyes shut closed and a painful shock blew through my head as my legs gave in. This is the end...

********

"How could you lose it?" Donnie exclaimed.

"Well I was petting it and then April came in and brought pizza. In my defence, I looked away from it for three seconds!"

"And yet it escaped." He groaned. "I'm going to find it before it's wound get's infected." The turtle exclaimed, standing up from the single stool in his lab.

"Why are you guys fussing so much? It's just a cat." Raph asked.

"Just a cat? It was so small and defenceless an-" 

"I wasn't asking for an answer," he snapped.

The tallest turtle shook his head before strolling into the sewers. Turning on his flashlight, he started his quest in the sombre sewers, watching his every step to not slip into the grey water.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," He soothed, rolling his eyes at how cheesy he sounded.

He followed the water systems, hoping to hear or see the small cat. As he turned behind a crate, he saw two legs and a tail. He raised an eyebrow before walking towards the unknown figure that was laying in the sewers. He gasped once his light scanned over an unconscious girl with the cat he had stitched up earlier in the day on her stomach.

"Oh, this can't be good," He mumbled to himself as he ran towards the lair.

"Guys, guys!" he called out, leaning into the living room.

"Sup D?" Mikey asked, "Oh, did you find the cat?"  

"Yeah, but-" he cut himself off as he ran to the dojo.

"Leo?" he called out to his brother. The eldest opened his eyes.

"What?"

"I think you might want to see this!"

********

"How did she get here?" Leo asked as he gazed at Donnie, who was checking the girl for any wounds.

"I don't know, I was looking for that cat Mikey brought back and I found it on her, she was passed out." He explained.

"She looks familiar," He stated, narrowing his eyes at the girl.

"You think so too? " His brother nodded in agreement.

"Who's the cute chick?" Mikey barged in, the little cat in his hand as he scurried up to the table.

"Hold up, I've seen this girl before," He informed, touching her cheek.

"MIKEY!!" Donatello yelled, shoving his brother away to give him some space and her some air if she were to wake up.

"Jeez, calm down, just taking a look."    

"Yikes, it looks like she's swallowed something bad, the monitor suggests that there is damaged tissue in her throat and stomach."

"Is it very bad?" 

"I hope not, I can do something about it but I'll only be 100% sure when she wakes up!" 

"Try your best then Donnie," He nodded before pulling Mikey out of the room to limit distractions.

*****

I gasped, sitting up quickly as I breathed heavily.

"Hey, take it easy," A voice soothed. My head snapped towards the voice, a tall curvy figure in the shadows.

"Who-who are you? And where am I?" I stuttered, scanning the place to try and figure out where I was.

"I-I can't really tell you right now, but I have to tell you to take it easy, you've received a big blow to the head and some damage at your internal tissue." He explained, never showing himself.

"Wha- WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!?" I sneered, cowering to the edge of the table. My head snapped to the door as footsteps grew before three shadows barged into it. I gasped as my eyes landed on three at least 6 feet tall turtles?

"Wha- what do you want with me?" I whispered now, terrified of still not having answers to my question.

"Nothing, we find you wounded and we wanted to help you!" The one with the blue bandana explained calmly.

"What is going on in here?" Another older voice asked as another shape entered the room. This one was much shorter than the others, I would even say he was hunched-back. And it was a rat?

"Master Splinter," The blue one spoke again.

"Who is she? And what is she doing here?" He asked. My eyes filled with fear at his authority. His eyes softened once he saw my scared expression.

"I apologise for my behaviour little girl, who are you?" He asked. I looked at the turtles before looking back at him.

"(Y/N)" I responded, clearing my throat before doing so.

"Well, (Y/N), what are you doing here?"

"We found her passed out in the sewers Sensei," The purple one answered for me. The mamal hummed in response before looking back over at me.

"And do you know how you became like this?" He asked me again. My jaw clenched and I hugged myself tighter before answering.

"I think my father has something to do with it," I whispered, looking down at the ground in shame.

"And why would you think that?" 

"Well, he's an alcoholic, and he's abusive. And he'll do anything to get some extra money." I explained, never glancing up at them. A short silence took over us before it was broken again by the rat.

"You mean, he would use you for money?"

"It's more like if someone wants to use me for money he will gladly sell me for it."  

"You mean you..."

"No, not exactly, this gang leader bought me recently after he had a meeting for his constant debt with my dad. Since he couldn't pay back, he made a deal with him to take me. I work at a strip club as a waiter..." I stopped there, not wanting to show how painful the way my dad was treating me affected me.

"And before then?"

"This man, a businessman bought me for a high price, stating he would 'upgrade' me, make me better than I used to be. But he experimented on me, used me as a guinea pig." 

"What like a mutant?" The yellow one squeaked out. I nodded in response, finally looking at something other than my feet.

"What can you do?" The red one asked.

"I can become a ghost," I stated, not knowing how else to put it.

"A ghost?" The yellow one asked, slightly worried.

"Can you show us?" The blue one asked. I slowly nodded before hesitantly standing up. Focusing my mind, I soon felt lighter and floated above the ground before shifting through the sewer wall and back again. I then solidified again and landed on the floor gracefully.

"That's so cool sweet cheeks!!" The yellow one exclaimed before getting hit in the back of the head by the red one.

"You can control your particles, wow," the purple one muttered before blushing madly, not noticing how loud he had been. 

"Do you have somewhere safe to stay?" The rat asked. I opened my mouth to answer but realised that it was no point in going back home, my father was probably behind this anyway. I shook my head and looked at the ground.

"You can stay here with us!!" The yellow one exclaimed. 

"I agree with Michaelangelo." The rat nodded.

"For once," the red one grumbled.

"Michaelangelo? Like the Italian painter?" I asked. They nodded in agreement.

"I'm Donatello," The purple one interjected, realising that I had never known their names.

"Leonardo, and that's Raphaël," The blue one pointed to the red one. 

"You want some pizza cupcake?" Michaelangelo asked, rushing to my side.

"Yes please," I chuckled at his enthusiasm. "I never had much food when I was in Japan," 

"Why were you in Japan? And here now?" Leonardo asked as he tagged along behind us.

"Because Mr Sacks had to so they took me with them," I explained.

"Mr Sacks?" 

"Eric Sacks".

[moreofus-story]

Chapter 2

Cleo looked around the sewer pipe, following Raphael’s lead. He couldn’t help but find himself a bit surprised – when Casey and April were down here for the first time, they were grossed out. But Cleo was more…observant.

Well, if what she described earlier was any indication, she’d lived through worse.

Now that he wasn’t in his suit, he was only as tall as her shoulder, which made him a bit flustered, but at the same time, it wasn’t her fault. He decided to just leave it there, in his thoughts.

Eventually, he stopped. “Here,” he told her. His sudden voice made her stop, but she stepped to his side and watched curiously as he grabbed a pipe. In a row of four, he grabbed the third one from the left and pulled it down like a lever. Two brick walls opened, revealing a living room of sorts.

Cleo gasped and ran in. “Woah! Y’all got some sorta underground lair in here! Rad!!”

She dashed to one of the arcade machines, laughing like a child. Raphael chuckled, rolling his eyes slightly. He followed her, watching as she messed with the joystick. “How’d y’all get this down here? Any of it?”

“With a lotta pain an’ sufferin’.”

They shared a look then both started laughing in their own way.

Raphael sighed and glanced around the lair while Cleo was focused on the game. “…I don’ think anyone else’s awake yet.”

He paused, but turned to Cleo again. “Rememba’ what I told ya earlia’? That they don’ know I’m Nightwatcha’?” His tone was but a whisper.

Cleo nodded. “You wanna keep it that way?” She whispered back.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

She nodded again as he straightened up. “You can go chill on th’ couch if you want. We got tv, but no cable. I’m gonna go lay down for a bit…least, ‘til everyone wakes up.”

Cleo peeked over the game machine, and over at the couch. “Ok. Ah’ll call fer you if ah’ need it.”

With that, he went off to his room and she went to the couch. After setting her bag on the ground and curling up in a ball on the most-right cushion, she eventually dozed off.

Footsteps sounded, and Cleo’s head shot up, adrenaline shooting through her system. It calmed relatively, however, when she saw two turtles, slightly shorter than her friend, walking down the stairs. One had an orange mask on, the other had a purple mask.

She blinked, and as soon as they looked over at her, everyone froze in their spots. The orange-banded turtle blinked once, Cleo blinked twice. The purple-banded turtle blinked three times.

When the two turtles yelled and dashed over, pulling out weapons, Cleo made a noise of surprise and tucked into her shell. She poked her head out of her shell, but squeaked when she saw a bo staff pointed at her face.

“Ehh…Raaaaphaelllll!!” She cried.

The two masked turtles shared a glance as their brother came dashing down the stairs, almost toppling over at the bottom. “Mikey, Don, she’s with me!”

Mikey and Don shared another glance, but the purple one spun his staff around and tucked it back into its hold. The orange one followed his lead and tucked his nunchucks away.

Raphael sighed in relief and looked back over at Cleo, who was slowly coming out of her shell – quite literally. She popped her arms out before crawling to the side of the couch, resting her hands on one of his shoulders and peeking over. “Guh…howdy?”

“Raphael.” Came a new voice from the shadows. Out stepped a giant rat wearing a red robe. He stopped and stared at the newcomer. She lifted a hand and shyly waved at him.

“Howdy-do.”

The rat’s eyes shot to Raphael. “You brought a stranger into our home?!”

“She’s fine, Sensei, I promise – she’s on our side.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Cleo’s gaze darted from Raphael to Sensei, back to Raphael, back to Sensei.

“’Cause – she stopped th’ Kraang.”

All eyes in the room fell on her, and in turn, she nodded. “Yep, ah’ did.”

“Can you prove it?”

“…ah’m a giant talkin’ mutant turtle covered in scars from it. Not…not too sure how else t’, y’know, prove. ‘Less y’all want me t’ tell ya th’ whole story.”

Mikey, Donnie, and Sensei all leaned forward in interest. Cleo blinked at Raphael, who gave her a nod and sat on the arm of the couch. She shuffled back and cleared her throat.

“Daaang! You led a whole rebellion?!” The orange-masked turtle wiggled excitedly in his spot on the floor.

“Yup! Funny ‘nuff, ah’ was one a’ the only gals. An’ th’ third-youngest. Funny how it all works, ah’ reckon.” She passively shrugged, knees pulled up to her chest. Raphael sat next to her, legs crossed, one bouncing.

“So, the Kraang are all dead?” The purple one asked. “They’ll never bother us again?”

“Ah’ sure hope so. We made sure every one we killed was, y’know, dead.”

Raphael’s brothers looked at each other before laughing, beaming and high-fiving…well…high-three-ing.

“Yeah, dude!!”

“We never have to deal with those bozos again!!”

Cleo couldn’t help the gentle laugh of her own. “Golly, ah’ didn’ think ah’d meet anyone else who hated them as much as we did.”

Raphael shrugged, ceasing the bounce of his leg. Beside him, the rat watched the two curiously.

“May we ask your name?”

“Oh!! Ah’ totally forgot.” She laughed again. “Name’s Cleo Patra Rui! Though, y’all can jus’ call me Cleo. Ev’ryone does.”

“I’m Michelangelo! Everyone just calls me Mikey.” The one in orange pointed to his purple-wearing brother. “That’s Donatello, or Donnie. You already know Raph.”

Raph pointed to the rat with his thumb. “An’ this is our dad, Splinta’. We all call him Sensei, though, since he teaches us how t’ fight.”

“That explains the masks!” Cleo’s gaze moved to his red mask. “Ah’ thought it was some bad attempt t’ conceal yer identities or somethin’. But yer ninjas, ain’t’cha?”

“Yeppers!!” Mikey beamed. “The best ninjas you’ll ever meet, sis!”

Donnie rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure we’re the only ninjas she’ll ever meet.”

“You neva’ know,” chimed Raph. “If she managed t’ find me, she coul’ find anyone.”

Cleo chuckled until Splinter placed a hand on Raph’s shoulder and pushed his back to the couch so he could better see her. “How did you meet my son?”

A brief look of panic flashed on Raph’s face for a split second, but Cleo’s wave of hand centered him. “Eh. We bumped on a roof top. Ah’ve been inta’ parkour fer a few years. That’s all.” She shrugged. “We started chattin’ fer…obvious reasons.”

“Huh,” Donnie mumbled. “Strange how two of the only mutated turtles in New York found each other on a roof…”

“Oh, we ain’ th’ only ones.” Cleo shrugged. “There were a couple from th’ rebellion – ah’ dunno where they are, though. Slash, Spike, Tokka, Jon…an’ me! Ah’m sure there were a couple more ah’m forgettin’, but that’s jus’ off th’ top a’ ma’ head.”

Raph’s brow rose. “Oh?”

Cleo nodded. “Yeppers. They were big helps, ‘specially fer me. They helped me figure out ma’ body. Like how ah’ can do this!” Then, she tucked her limbs and head fully into her shell. It plopped onto the couch, earning laughs from the other mutants.

The female popped back out with her own laugh. “Thank ya, thank ya, ah’ll be here ‘til Friday!”

Mikey, in between giggles, managed to let out a “you should stay forever!!”

Cleo, Raph, and Splinter all froze, sharing confused glances.

“F-for…”

“…ever?”

Cleo and Raph both just stared at each other. Mikey, meanwhile, wiped his eye. “Yeah!! You’re funny, Cleo. I like you!!”

Donnie eased himself back down to reality. “Mikey, I don’t really think-”

“Aw, c’mon, Donnie! Cleo!! How old are ya?”

“Uh – 20, now…if ma’ math is right. Ah’ was with the Kraang fer a while…”

“Where d’ya live normally?”

“Wit’ ma’ momma an’ lil’ brother. Well, kinda. Ah’m never home, really. Ma’ sorta-kinda-adopted sister’s in ma’ room. She moved in when durin’ th’ rebellion. Why d-“

“You gotta job?”

“Not a solid one.” She paused again. “It’s hard fer, uh, someone wit’ a…condition like mine t’ get a full-time job – an’ ah’ don’ jus’ mean th’ mutation.”

She laughed aloud, but it slowly turned into more of an awkward chuckle. Mikey and Donnie shared a glint.

“I mean,” Donnie muttered, “it’s more than Raph.”

“HEY!”

Cleo blinked over at him then laughed again. “Pfft, you ain’t gotta job, looooserr!!”

Raph nudged her in the side, making her just laugh harder. After a moment of glaring, he surrendered and started to laugh himself.

Donnie and Mikey shared yet another perplexed look. “Raph can laugh?!”

Cleo lifted a faux-brow in their direction, sparing them a peek. “’Course he can! Anyone can!”

“Not Raph.”

Donnie shook his head before standing up, Mikey following his lead. “Well, it was fantastic meeting you, Cleo. We gotta head to work now.”

Mikey pouted, but Donnie elbowed him in the side before tugging him away from the couch, but not before getting a last word in; “don’t leave ‘til we get home!! I wanna talk mor-“

Donnie pulled him off.

Raph shook his head, kicking his feet up on the table in front of them. “Dorks. Seriously, it’s a wonda’ I didn’t smack ‘em both upside th’ head t’day.”

Cleo giggled to herself. “Yeah – ah’ have a lil’ brother ma’self, ah’ know how it can be. They ain’ done nobody no harm, though.”

Splinter reached over for the remote, but couldn’t reach. Cleo noticed his frustration, so she used her foot to grab the remote and drop it in her hand. Then she handed it to him. “There ya go, sir.”

He blinked, somewhat impressed. “…thank you,” he mumbled, flipping through the tv channels.

A snore brought their attention to Raph, who was out like a light. Cleo froze before snickering a bit. “Oh. Reckon he’s tired after all that parkour we was doin’. Y’all think he’d freak out if ah’ brought him t’ his room?”

Splinter shook his head. “It’s upstairs – the second room on the left.”

“Coolio.”

She stood up, stretched a bit, then scooped the smaller turtle up. His head quickly moved to the crook of her neck, making both Splinter and Cleo chuckle to themselves.

[turtle-inserts]

2. You Awaken

The reader is a master of  mixed martial arts, traveling around the world to train and learn different forms of martial arts with her father all while battling a severe illness in their lungs.

FIRST

NEXT

PREVIOUS

I was woken up the next day by someone violently shaking me.

"Hey, hey, wake upppp!" The voice whined. I mumbled some incoherent nonsense before rolling over and pulling the covers closer to me, only for them to be ripped away! I opened my eyes to glare at whoever dared to disturb my rest. Wait... where am I? The events of the night before came back slowly. I found April, then I was stabbed, then I was brought to meet some ninja turtles and their rat dad/ ninja master. Nothing too crazy. The turtle I was glaring at was the one with the orange bandanna, my blanket being held captive by the red one. What were their names? Oh yeah, Mikey and stabby- I mean Raph.

"Scoot." I stared at him still half asleep. He groaned and picked me up to move me to the end of the couch. "There you go Mikey, you can watch your dumb show now."

I lazily looked at the T.V, I'm not sure what show this was, but good god the dub was terrible! I watched with Mikey, who was trying to fill me in on the entire first season until a cup of something hot was put in front of my face along with my meds.

"Here, it's black tea. I hope you don't mind caffeinated, it's all they have. Oh, and your allergy pills," April sat next to me as I gratefully sipped the warm beverage. Caffeine was the only way to wake me up from a deep sleep like that and April knew it. God bless her. She leaned over and whispered, "They haven't been torturing you with this show have they?"

"HEY! This is a great show about teamwork, friendship, and kicking butt!" Mikey defended his show while Raph looked less amused with it.

"What do you usually watch Raph." He turned to me, with a look of surprise. "What? Is something wrong?"  

"Nah, nothing's wrong. I don't usually watch crud like this-"

"Liar!" Mikey turned to look at me, "He watches this when I do, he just doesn't like to admit it is all." Raph rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I like to watch MMA fights usually, like the tournaments you compete in." Leo walked in, "Actually, I change my answer, anything but Space  Heroes." Leo whipped his head around so quick I thought it might snap off.

"Space heroes-" Raph cut him off.

"Is the best show and blah blah blah, you're gay for Captain Ryan." He smirked at Leo, "Is that what you were about to say?"

Leo looked extremely unamused, "Yep. That's it Raph you guessed it. If you need me I'll be meditating in the dojo."

I adjusted myself on the couch, "So uh, I know at night you guys are outside patrolling the streets or whatever, but what you do all day?"

"Normally Splinter will train us, or have us fight each other, but since you're here we're taking a break. So I guess I should say thanks dudette!"Mikey would be grinning ear to ear if he had any. Speaking of lack of ears, how do they hear? Are they like dolphins where they just have little holes for ears? I decided to ask Donatello later, he would probably know, right?

"Wait, if you guys are always outside at night and training during the day, when do you sleep?" With the busy schedule they had, I couldn't imagine when they'd be able to. Raph answered me.

"We don't." WHAT!!

I guess my expression gave away my disbelief because he continued, "Heh, I'm kidding ya dingus."

Mikey chimed in, "We sleep after patrol or after practice."

"Not enough though," Raph mumbled.

"You're right there bro." Mikey patted his brother's shoulder and April nodded along.

" I don't remember the last time you guys slept more than five hours, and I've lived with you guys for a while!" Five hours! Good lord!

"I need at least twelve to function properly..." They stared at me, "What?"

"We can tell. Mikey had to shake you to wake you up and you were sleeping for two days when I found you yesterday."

"Why do you gotta call me out like that, Raph? A girl needs her beauty sleep okay? It's not my fault that I need a little more than, let's say, April here."

"Oh, (y/n) stop! You're very pretty." The face I made can only be described as, not believing a word of bullshit spewing out of her mouth.

"Yea yea O'Neil. You only say that because you signed a contract requiring you to." She looked at me in confusion.

"What contract?"

"The friendship contract you signed legally requiring you to be nice to me." She just laughed and stood up to stretch.

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk around the sewers to stretch my legs. Anyone want to come with?"

"I will!" Mikey stood, "I'll grab my board!" He raced off to what I assume was his room to grab his things.

Raph leaned further back into the couch, "I'll pass." I wanted to go! I started to stand up when Donnie came out from behind some giant metal doors.

"(Y/n), I'm gonna take your stitches soon. Mind coming in my lab?" Oh, that's where it was then. April gave me an apologetic glance as she and Mikey headed out.

"Sure thing." I went to stand and almost fell forward. Whoops! Raph scrambled to grab me.

"Jeez! You're gonna give me a heart attack!" He scooped me up bridal style and carried me towards the lab.

"Hey, I can walk!"

He snorted. "Apparently not." I felt my face heat up, he's such an asshole! We reached the door to the lab, how was he gonna open it he doesn't have any free hands- holy shit. He moved from holding me with both arms to only holding me in one. Holy shit this guy's strong. I sneaked a peak at his upper arms. Sweet Jesus, maybe it's because they're mutants but damn his arms were nice and toned. Maybe from all the workouts they do too? I felt cold metal underneath me. Oh! We're in the lab now, whoops. I got a little distracted.

"Thanks," I muttered to Raph. He took a few steps back to get out of his brother's way.

"Alright, I need you to lift your shirt up so I can take out your stitches." I was wearing a sports bra so it was no big deal. I took it off and laid on my side so Donnie could get to them. I looked up and caught Raph staring.

"Admiring your handiwork?" It was a joke but his face turned all red. Hah! I'd finally embarrassed him! Taking out the stitches was a quick and relatively painless process. All Donnie had to was cut them then pull them out! It was over in an instant.

"Okay, no sparring for a little while until the wound is almost healed okay? It was a pretty deep cut so it should take a week or so."

"So I'll be able to fight for my tournament right??"

"Hopefully yeah. As long as your wound stays closed."

"Good enough for me!"

And so a week later we were in the dojo. My wound was starting to scab over and the marks from the stitches were completely gone! No swelling, no reopening, nothing. As a result, Splinter asked if I could spar with his sons and teach them some techniques and of course I agreed. I needed to be ready for the tournament and what better way was there than training with four mutant ninja turtles! I stretched myself out, doing the basic stretches like toe touches, the butterfly, etc. I stood up with a sigh. Hands on my hips I asked, "Alright who's first!"

Mikey's hand shot up, "Oh! Oh! Me, me me!" He was waving his arms all around, nearly smacking Raph and Donnie in the face. Grinning at his eagerness I nodded and gestured for him to come to the mat.

"Good luck," I told him. We faced each other waiting for Splinter's signal to begin.

"Hajime!" And with that  Mikey raced at me screaming. I sidestepped his first few blows, they were pretty quick but he left openings everywhere! I let him continue his attack for a few more seconds before fighting back. Blocking a final hit, I threw a left hook at him, he screamed as he ducked, causing me to snort. He tried to sweep my legs out from under me but I moved out of the way before he could. While he was still crouched I did a straight kick. I tried to slow it down so I didn't dislocate or break his jaw, but he still went down kind of hard, meaning I won the match. I ran over to make sure he was okay.

"Mikey?" I reached out to help him up. Why wasn't he responding!? I leaned down close as his brothers started to get worried.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" His brothers and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jeez, Mikey! I was worried you were really injured!"

"Huh?" He stood up, "Oh no, I'm fine. But can you teach me how to do that!" I laughed and promised to show him as Leo got on the mat next.

"Don't go too easy on me." He joked, getting into his fighting stance.

"Oh, I won't."

"Hajime!" Leo's style was completely different from Mikey's. Mikey moved quicker, but Leo left no openings. He blocked every punch and ducked every kick. Honestly, it was starting to get frustrating so I picked up the intensity, switching to using my elbows and knees instead of just my fists and shins. He maneuvered around me no problem! There was one point he almost had me, he had managed to get behind me and kick my knees out and I almost fell! Instead, I used the momentum to summersault away, getting myself back up to standing in time to deliver a spinning back elbow to his torso. He staggered backward! Using a spinning kick I knocked him onto his butt. YES! I was breathing hard as I helped him up.

"Good match, Leo! You almost had me at one point which is actually kind of impressive." His face tinted red.

"Thanks (y/n)." I needed a breather so I sat down off of the mat, next to Donnie and Raph who handed me a bottle of water.

"God bless you Raph."

"Uh, (y/n)?" Donnie spoke up.

"What's up Donnie?"

"Please remember I stitched you up," He replied nervously. Were the matches I just had with his brothers really that scary?

"Don't worry Donnie, I won't break any bones."

"That's not very reassuring, (Y/n)..." He muttered.

"Donnie, if I were you I'd confess to April before your fight with her." I snorted at Raph's comment. I wouldn't kill his brother, just brutally maim him.

"SHH!" He covered his brother's mouth, but after one look at his older brothers expression, he removed his hand pretty quick.

"Dude, she isn't even here, she's in the bathroom." I had seen her get up right after my fight with Leo ended, there's no way she was back. Donnie quickly stood up.

"Then let's get started before she gets back." Wait, did April watching him make him nervous? Aww, how cute!

"I'm back!" The red head came through the sliding doors and sat closest to the mat, and Donnie let out a quiet groan. There goes his plan.We stood facing each other and I was tempted to let him win, he would look good for April-

"Hajime!" Turns out I actually had to try very hard to not get hit. Donnie's hits were precise and calculated, exactly what one would expect from a genius He found every opening I had, especially when I was blocking my face from his hits and he almost knocked my feet out from under me! Dammit! I forgot to check my feet! I took a step back and steadied myself by getting into my starting stance again.

"Nice one bro!" Mikey cheered from the side.

As we sparred I noticed he seemed to have to think about what he was about to do before he did it, there was always a pause before he tried to land a hit. Just like the first time we fought! He went to punch me, but I ducked. As he was thinking I pushed him back and kicked his feet out, he fell instantly! Yes! Three down one to go. I looked at Raph. b\Before I fought him I needed to take my pill, I was definitely cutting it close to the time limit.

I was only gone a minute but I felt the energy coming back to me. I was excited for my match with Raph, I'd been watching them all train the past week and from what I could tell, he packed the most punch. I'd have to make sure I dodged his hits really well. I went back to the mat.

"Hajime!"

I was surprised at how quick he moved for someone with his strength. Normally if you had one you didn't get the other but when his fist nearly got me square in the face I knew I'd have to be a little more careful.

"Watch the money maker Raph!" I joked. He smirked, sweet an actual reaction! Uh oh. I ducked as another fist came my way followed by a spinning kick I didn't have the time to dodge! I didn't fall but damn that hurt! Right in the spot he had stabbed me too! I scowled and ignored the pain. I stood up just in time to knock away another kick. Jeez, could he give me a break! This kept going until I realized being on the defense was getting me nowhere real quick. Time for some offense! I jumped back to the edge of the mat and gestured for him to come at me with a smirk on my face. He paused, narrowing his eyes at me before charging while letting out a war cry. He got close enough that I was able to fake a punch, which he blocked, and with my left side I brought my elbow down on his clavicle and my knee into his femur. He didn't fall but had to stop for a second. I backed up before advancing a final time. He tried to throw another punch but I sidestepped, grabbed his arm and body flipped him onto the mat. There was silence in the dojo before a round of applause. How long had that taken? I  looked at the clock on the wall. FIFTEEN MINUTES! Not the longest match I'd been in but it was up there. I looked down at Raph, there was an odd look on his face. I think it was respect, but I couldn't be too sure. I offered my hand, "Great match!" he took my hand and after he stood up I decided to give him shit. "Did you have to get me right where the stitches were though?"

"Hey, you almost broke my collarbone so I think we're even." Nodding my head in agreement, I realized I still had a hold of his hand. I let go of it and drank some water.

"Thanks for the great fights guys! It'll really help me out at the tournament in two weeks! We should do this again sometime." And we did. Whenever they trained with Splinter I went with them. I remember each match fondly as I stood holding my final junior championship's first place trophy. The people here were nowhere near the same level as the guys so the win was an easy one! The only other person who would have given me any trouble was a kid my age named Oliver. He was disqualified for trying to use an illegal move on a kid two years younger than him! Next year wouldn't be so easy though. That was the grown up faction and there were a lot less restrictions. I would probably have to face that Oliver guy at some point.  I celebrated that night with my dad and April but after he went to bed, April and I snuck down to the lair. It was a miracle he hadn't noticed I was gone the first half of the month but it was because he was still traveling around for his business and to make his videos.

When April and I made it to the lair, all the lights were off. What the heck?

"CONGRATULATIONS!" The lights turned on there were the guys! They had gotten a cake, chips, soda, and movies for a fun filled night!

Mikey came over and hugged me, "Great job today, (y/n)!"

Donnie chimed in, "You really did a number on them that's for sure."

"Aww, thanks guys! Couldn't have done it without all of you!" We all sat in the living room talking and watching movies. They let me pick out the last one but by the time we got to my choice April, Donnie, Leo, and Mikey were all sound asleep. Donnie was on the other couch out cold, while the others slept on the floor. Good thing I guess since my choice was a horror movie, and the only other person who even remotely liked them was Raph. Speaking of Raph, I was sitting next to him sharing popcorn. Out of all the turtles, I would have to say I felt the closest to him. Between the first time we had sparred and the tournament it felt like I was always hanging out with him.Of course, I hung out with the others whenever I had a chance, but with Raph, it just felt different. If we weren't training in the dojo, we were hanging at my place or here in the lair. I didn't mind at all though, considering he isn't bad to look at. In my opinion, he's really good looking; not that I'd ever tell him. It'd go straight to his head! I turned my attention to the screaming on the T.V. Someone had just gotten sawed in half!

"Hah, gross," snuggling under my blanket more. His brothers had stolen all the others so I had to share with Raph. No big deal though.

"You think this is bad? Give it a minute." He had seen the movie before. I shoved popcorn in my mouth but nearly spat it out at the image on the T.V.

"Ewwww. Okay yea, that's ten times worse." He chuckled. As the movie went on I felt my eyelids beginning to droop. I had spent all day at the tournament, then all evening at the after party, and now I'm here. It's been an exhausting day. I leaned against Raph, he wouldn't mind, right? It's not like I was gonna fall asleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                                                                       Raph's P.O.V.

She was asleep. Jesus Christ, she fell asleep on me! Was I supposed to wake her up? She has to be home before her dad wakes up, right? I stiffened as she snuggled closer to me. This is because we're friends. Friends fall asleep on friends. So what if I have a huge crush on her, it totally doesn't matter right? Nah, not at all. She's snoring. Okay, she's really out.

I sighed and tried to calm down, reminding myself we're just friends. I'd finish the movie by myself and then take her home. Normally she could take herself home, who would be stupid enough to try and mug her? But tonight she's so tired she'd probably just pay the mugger to leave her alone. The movie didn't have long left anyway so I could just relax and enjoy the moment. Oh shit wait, there's the credits now! God dammit. I didn't want to get up from the warm blanket, now that it's the middle of December it was freezing out! I'd have to pray she remembered to leave a window unlocked for me to get her inside.

I scooped her up off the couch, keeping her wrapped in the blanket, and started for the surface. I made it topside no problem, but (y/n) was hard to hold onto as a blanket burrito. I almost dropped her as I hopped from roof to roof. I really didn't want to try and wake her up but I needed her arms to be around me for support.

"Psst, hey. Cas, wake up." I had started using the nickname after she scared the crap out of me in the bathroom. I had just walked in the bathroom when she burst out of the shower screaming. I don't think y heart has ever pounded that hard. I'd gotten her back a few days later by hiding in the cereal cabinet and when she opened it I jumped out. Pranks were usually Mikey's thing, but I liked to help out from time to time.

"Shh." She pulled a finger out of her blanket and pushed it against my lips. "I need like, 10 more minutes."

"I'm gonna drop you in a dumpster if you don't hold on." She mumbled some obscenities at me before both her arms snaked around my neck. "Thanks." We made it to her house shortly after. I stood on the fire escape and opened the window. Good thing her dad didn't lock it. Speaking of him I was gonna have to be extra stealthy, (y/n) had said he was a better fighter than her and had won a few championships himself. I wouldn't want to face him. I carried her to her room as quietly as possible until I stubbed my toe. "FUCK" I whispered. Her hands whipped up and covered my mouth.

"Are you trying to get found out!?" She whisper-yelled.

"Can it, I just carried your sleepy ass all the way here."

"Fair point." She muttered. "You can put me down now. Thanks for bringing me home though." She yawned and rubbed her eyes. She looked so tired, I almost felt bad for her.

"No problem." I'd do it whenever she needed me to, not that I'd tell her that though. She gave me a hug.

"Night Raph."

"Night (y/n)." I went out the living room window and into the night with thoughts of her on my mind.

[necktaetae]

Commitment? Fuck..

*trigger warning, reference to domestic violence

-Hoshi x reader, Fluff/Slight angst- 

Word Count: 2,278

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

“This isn’t you, I shouldn’t have stayed, I should’ve left and raised her on my own” a voice cried from behind the locked door. 

You heard a loud smacking noise and a low hostile voice said, “You were too weak, and you’ll always be too weak to leave” your dad came storming out of the bedroom, the overwhelming smell of liquor that always followed him filling up the living room, “It’s seeing you every day, that’s made me like this” he yelled back over his shoulder at your mother, slamming the front door so hard that you heard the wood splinter around the hinges. 

You were four years old sitting on the floor by the couch with your Legos. You spent your days trying to block out the screams from your parents as they stomped around the house, throwing things at each other. Your mom poked her head out of their bedroom, to see if he was gone, and you looked with round eyes at the blood pooling out of a cut next to her eye. 

“Shouldn’t have gotten married, shouldn’t have stayed, I should leave, I should pack up our things and leave, we should go, we need to go. He didn’t know what he was doing, he was drunk. We should still go. He’ll die without us, he’ll die and it will be my fault because we left..” she kept muttering under her breath, tears in her eyes as she walked almost in a trance to the sink, wetting a paper towel to dab at the spot next to her eye. She took a deep breath closing her eyes, and when they opened again they rested on you. Sitting on the living room floor, you stared wide-eyed at the Legos sprawled in front of you, glancing up at your mother’s eye again, and then looked back at the Legos. She threw away the paper towel and came to sit by you on the rug. 

“It’s okay baby,” she said, holding you close. Your small hand went up to touch her eye, 

“He hurt you?” you asked 

“No, it’s just a scratch,” she said kissing your forehead 

“He’s bad,” you said poking at her cut. She flinched away from your hand, 

“No, he’s not, he doesn’t mean it, he’s just sick right now, but he needs us, and when he realizes that he’ll get better,” she said, although it was mostly to herself, she said it every time, and it was never true. 

“But he did that.” you said pointing to her eye 

“It was my fault,” she said sadly 

“No,” you said angrily, crossing your arms, “He can’t hit, hitting is bad. No hitting” 

“That’s right,” she said hugging you, “don’t hit.” 

“But he hits…” 

“Only when he’s sick” 

“Why are we here? he hits!” 

“Because he and I are married.” She said, “and you don’t give up on that.” You stared at her, taking in her ratted hair, the bags under her eyes, the bloody cut that now had a giant bruise forming around it, and her clothes that were ripped from where your father had grabbed her. 

“I’m never getting married,” you said frowning at your mother 

“You’ll change your mind when you fall in love,” she said, smiling at you, “Just choose a nice boy okay” 

“No. Never getting married,” you said again, “I don’t want to be like you”. 

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

“What should we do today?” Hoshi asked, walking back from the bathroom in his boxers, He flopped back into the bed beside you, “we should get up is what we should do” he said, clapping your face between his hands, smushing your cheeks to wake you up. 

“I don’t want to get up” you groaned, eyes still shut, “It’s summer, let me sleep” he stood up again and opened the bedroom curtains to pop open a window, you couldn’t see the sun, but the light of it was bouncing blindingly off the fog that hung in the air. 

“I guess we could stay inside…” Hoshi said, poking his head out the window, “It’s very humid and foggy out here.” 

“Close the window,” you said, a waft of hot and sticky air hitting your arm that wasn’t covered by the blanket, “I can feel it, it’s too warm” 

“Since when do you mind heat?” he asked, closing the window 

“Since I pay a shit load a month for this god damn air conditioning,” you retorted, turning your face away from the light in the room, and shoving it into your pillow. 

“You don’t dislike all forms of heat though, do you?” he said, much closer now, trailing his lip up your neck. You shivered from the contact, “Are you cold?” he asked, smiling, “Should we warm you up?” you squealed as grabbed your hips through the covers and flipped you onto your back, his abs flexed as he crawled on top of you, and whispered softly, “Is that a yes?” he teased, keeping his lips millimeters from yours, pulling back when you tried to kiss him. 

“Yes,” you said, and he brought his waist down on top of yours, rubbing himself against you as he kissed you, playfully biting your lips. He kissed down your neck, until he reached your bra, and pulling the covers down more he slide one off your bra straps, kissing you on the crease it had made in your skin. He worked his way back towards your neck, sucking your skin into his mouth, nipping slightly when he reached right above your collarbone, causing you to breathe in sharply with pleasure, 

“We should get these covers out of the way,” you said, starting to pull them off of you 

“No need,” he said, “ I think you’re awake now” and flashing you a devious smile he ran out of the bedroom. 

“SOONYOUNG!” you yelled after him, “That was not nice!” 

“Come sit with me on the couch and maybe I’ll continue” he yelled teasingly back at you. You took your time getting out of bed, knowing full well that Hoshi wouldn’t be able to control himself once you got into the living area. You walked slowly down the hall to the living area and immediately went into the kitchen, on the right side of the divide in the room, instead of to the couch where Hoshi was laying down, waiting.

“What are you doing?” he asked surprised 

“Oh, you know, I’m hungry,” you said smiling into the cupboard pretending to search for a bowl, two could play this game. 

“What?” Hoshi sat up on the couch confused. You looked through the window in the divider, to see him stand up and walk over to the kitchen.

“I thought you could have a nice case of blue balls for the morning,” you said, winking at him 

“That’s not funny…” he said, genuine concern on his face, “Are you serious?” “This is going to hurt” he whined, motioning to his crotch. 

“I don’t know, I’m not completely set on it..” you said, tapping his bulge as you walked past him to get the milk out of the fridge, he bent over at your touch. You reached to open the fridge door but Hoshi’s hand shot out to stop you from opening it. 

“Well then, maybe I can persuade you to see it from my point of view,” he said slowly, pinning you between him and the fridge, his arm resting above your head, his face close. “We are young, are we not?” he asked, and you nodded, a smile faintly playing across your lips, “And we’re pretty hot” he said, pulling at the skin on your neck softly with his teeth, causing you to bite your lip, “so we owe it to ourselves to take advantage of that” he said finished, kissing up your neck, holding his face centimeters from yours. 

“Well,” you said still biting your lip, “can’t argue with that logic” 

The two of you ended up on the couch, sticky and out of breathe. You set fans up on either side of the TV to face you, the AC seemed to have stopped working awhile ago, but you hadn’t noticed until you laid there, panting, wishing you were surrounded by cold air. 

“I have an idea,” you said, taking off your shirt from the sheer heat in the room 

“Babe I can’t go again, it’s too hot,” he said 

“No, not that,” you said, throwing your shirt at him and walking to the kitchen. You opened the freezer and simply stood there, letting the cold air wash over your sticky body. 

“You’re going to have a bitch of an electric bill if you want to cool down your apartment with that” Hoshi called from the couch, seeing you through the window in the divider. 

“I know,” you said, sadly closing the freezer, and walking to grab a spoon as you brought a bucket of ice-cream you had been keeping back to the couch. You sat back down beside Hoshi and grabbed the remote to turned on the TV, 

“Oh!” Hoshi exclaimed at once, as you saw the familiar title of Step Up appear. He looked at you, pleading 

“Fine” you huffed and clicked to the channel it was playing on. 

You both sat, watching Step Up, and playfully fighting over the spoon for the ice cream, until you fell into a rhythm. You would comment every once in a while on what was happening on the screen or to tell an antidote some line reminded you of, but for the most part, drained from the heat, the two of you watched in silence, content to just be around each other. 

“I could just stay here forever,” Hoshi said 

“Ya I know” you chuckled, handing him the now almost empty ice-cream bucket 

“No, I mean it,” he said, scooping his mouth full of cookies and cream again 

“Ya me too,” you said again, only half paying attention as New Girl was playing on the TV, Step Up had ended about half a bucket of ice-cream ago. 

“But… I’m really serious,” he said slowly, 

“About what?” 

“I wanna stay here,” he said, his eyes on you now, as you continued to watch the screen, not paying him any mind. 

“You are staying here. You’ve been staying here most of the summer” 

“I mean.. I want to live here.” He said again, turning his body towards yours. 

“But… I live here” you said watching Jess on the screen singing a song for her class. Then your eyes widened in comprehension as you looked at him, “Oh..” you said, pausing, “You want to move in together.” 

“Is that too crazy?” he asked, watching you closely 

“I mean,” you said, looking at the concerned lines on his forehead, “Jesus, you don’t have to look so worried,” you said defensively, “Why would we move in together…” you added 

“Why wouldn’t we?” he asked, “ I mean think about it, I already practically live here, I spend all my time here, and stay over most nights, almost all of my clothes are already here, I’d just bring a few more things over, and then I won’t have to pay for room and board next year at school, and I could help you with the rent,” he said, his hand resting on your leg as he talked, “the AC would never go out again” he added, gesturing to the fans in the room. 

The proposal of moving in together made your stomach knot up, but it made sense. He did already almost live at your apartment, he would make living here a lot more affordable too, and you loved him, you loved having him here. So what was the problem? Why was your mind racing so much to find an answer that should have been simple? Would it really be that big of a deal to live with him? It made sense, but all you could think about was your mother, about the stories she used to tell you about how your father was before she got pregnant, before they spent every waking minute together. 

“Never mind, it was just a thought,” he said sadly after the long silence you had created, and he shifted back to watch the TV. You saw the way his face fell into a blank mask, clearly sad that you hadn’t said anything, and you remembered what Bee had said, “you need to figure this out if you don’t wanna break that poor boy’s heart”. He wasn’t anything like your father. He was nice and thoughtful, and he loved you. He really loved you. And you loved him, you wanted him to be happy, and more than anything you wanted him to know that. 

“Okay,” you said 

“Okay?” he asked, his face lighting up immediately, causing you to smile. 

“Ya, let’s try it,” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Ya,” you said firmly, you’d made up your mind, he laughed tackling you in a hug and kissed you passionately, his smile radiant. Happiness was coming off of him in waves, although that might have just been the heat. 

There was a knot in your stomach still, even though you had said yes, you continued with a sinking feeling as if this was how the end began, but you pushed it away, thinking about what Bee would say if you told her. 

You laid on the couch with Hoshi still hugging you, a little hum escaping his lips now. You didn’t know if you would ever truly be fine with things like this, but if it was with him, and it made him this happy, then maybe it was okay.

Chapter 3

[remmushound]

Part 11 of my bay/rise crossover! @errorfreak88 @brightlotusmoon

Now that the lair was empty, Donatello felt much more at home. He thought it strange that they give so much trust to a complete stranger, however; it had taken years for his April to be left alone in the lair, and even then it was with all the doors locked and constant calls to make sure she wasn’t up to no good. Yet here Donatello was, in an open lair with open doors and no one to keep him in check. And he was a little gremlin who wanted to get up to no good.

At first, he tried to be discreet about it. Just walking around the main room, casually glancing around at any odds and ends that caught his eye. He gave an unsettled grunt at the state of the couch, looking hardly big enough to fit three of the massive mutants shell-to-shell. It was covered in graffiti and blankets and pillows, and the couch itself was made up of pizza boxes— actual pizza boxes! He certainly wouldn’t want to sit on it with its structural integrity. He looked for any alternate arrangements and only found a dirty bean bag chair, and instead of any tables they just had the same assortment pizza boxes stacked up high. It seemed they never got rid of any of their boxes!

Donatello stopped in his tracks as he beheld the Wall of Boomboxes. Such an outdated tech, nonetheless he admired the style and dedication it would take to collect so many. A quick equation told him there were exactly a hundred and twenty five of them in various states of grime and decay. He stared a moment as he worked through the scene completely in his mind before nodding pointedly.

“Nice.”

The rest of his search brought him a concerning amount of TV’s— forty of them to be exact. And on a separate wall he was drawn particularly to the art he recognized to be from the painters of his and his brothers namesake. So these turtles had least had some type of class. The skateboard chair, made of nine skateboards connected with industrial glue into the shape of a throne, caught his attention almost as long as the Wall of Boomboxes. He looked around to make sure he wasn’t being watched by camera or mutant before he hummed and took a seat in the marvelous chair.

“I feel like a king.” He smiled and snickered to himself.

“Well, one would in such a wonderful throne.”

Donatello screamed and launched himself off of the skateboard throne, crawling away and grabbing the first thing he saw— a racket ball— and tossing it at whoever had spoken.

“OH MY BANANA PANCAKES!”

The other mutant caught the racket ball with ease, and then knelt down to roll it back to the frightened softshell. “Be still, young one. I am not here to harm you.”

The mutant was slightly smaller than Donatello, covered in a fine layer of brown fur intermittently speckled with patches of white. His face was outlined in white on his cheeks and around beady black eyes, and on his muzzle was white fur so long it had the appearance of a goatee. Black hair on his head was pulled back in a tight ponytail, and a giant, brownish tail whipped behind him with a mind of its own.

Splinter. Of course there was a Splinter— how could there not be? Splinter laughed and held out his paw to Donatello in an offering of friendship, and Donatello accepted the help without hesitation. Splinter yanked Donatello to his feet with ease and gave the softshell a careful pat on the shoulder, ears flicking as he made a mental note of the soft, leathery skin.

“I am sorry if I frightened you, young one. I am glad you are doing better. When you and your brother arrived here, I was concerned for your wellbeing. Seeing you up and walking is a great relief to me, my child. How are you enjoying our home?”

Donatello churred nervously. “I don’t know, it’s kinda dirty.”

Splinter laughed a low, raspy laugh. “It is a storm drain, young shinobi. Were you expecting the Ritz?”

“If my dork of a brother saw this, he’d go on a cleaning hyperfixation for days!”

“Well I should hope to meet him properly once he wakes.”

“Oh— no, not that brother. Raph’s room looks like a freight train goes through it every morning. Of course, it’s a six foot four hundred pound freight train, but still.”

Splinter’s eyes glistened. “Ah. Yes. My Raphael is much the same way.” He nodded his head pointedly. “Are the rest of your brothers here in the city?”

“I… I don’t know. The Shredder separated us.”

“Ah… Shredder has separated me from my sons once as well…” Splinter lowered his head, his paws going to clutch at his stomach as the memory renewed the pain in his scars. He tried not to make it too obvious. “Your father must be so worried.”

“Eh, I don’t know. He’s never really been worried about us before.”

“I’m sure he has.” Splinter stepped aside and offered the skateboard seat to Donatello, to which Donatello promptly sat. Splinter came up to hover over the ninja’s shoulder, almost like a guardian looking over him. “Maybe he just doesn’t want to worry you in turn.”

“You haven’t met my Splinter. He doesn’t care about anything.”

“I am willing to listen if you are willing to talk.”

Donatello didn't know why he was being so open about his world. Even when his other-him was asking questions, Donatello had made sure to keep his answers vague for personal safety, but just the presence of this mutant rat so much like his father seemed to force out every secret, private thought Donatello had.

“Our dad was human before, the last descendant of an ancient clan of Ninja. He was trained all his life in ninjutsu before he ended up mutating and took me and my brothers as his sons…”

Splinter listened to the story and nodded along, smiling and flicking his ears to encourage the mutant.

“I mean— I’m technically only mentally fourteen, but physically I’m fifteen— it’s just really complicated.”

“Too complicated for an old rat to understand?” Splinter smirked.

“Yes.” Donatello didn't hesitate to answer quite bluntly. He just stared back at Splinter a moment before returning to the story. “He did his best for his situation, but he was… distant at best. Most of our childhood was spent sat in front of the TV watching soap operas and old action movies. That’s where I got my gloriously consequential personality!” Donatello fell dramatically with his hand to his forehead, “Alas, tis the life of a poor, young mutant forsook by the world he was brought into. Shunned by society, forced to live in the sewers with the RATS— sorry, getting off track.” He cleared his throat, “Our favorite show was this action series following a Shinobi master named Lou Jitsu beating bad guys with ladders and hot soup.”

Splinter couldn’t help but laugh, both at the fluctuating dramatics of the younger mutant and the image in his mind of such a funny series. “My Michelangelo and Leonardo would love that. Was the jiu jitsu accurate?”

“Oh yeah, for sure.” Donatello nodded, “The actor was an actual shinobi master, so he did all his stunts himself.”

Splinter was in a thought a moment, humming to himself. “Your father was the actor?”

“Yeah.” Donatello laughed, “My brothers and I first got into ninjitsu from watching his movies over and over and over. We just started to memorize the moves and copy them. Our… dad didn't actually teach us anything in person.”

“No?” Splinter tilted his head curiously.

“No. In fact, he tried to ban all forms of it in the lair until we turned ten. Then he just accepted that it was gonna happen anyway, and it was better he knew about it than us try to sneak it. I mean, it literally ran in our blood! And we were impressionable little hatchlings, so of course we were gonna copy the moves! We watched the movies on loop every day!”

“My sons lived and breathed all things martial arts when they were such an age. I started training myself when they were only six, and then I started training them when they were eight. Ten years of practice did them well to prepare for the Shredder. I could always give you a similar training session if you are feeling up to it.”

“OMIGOSH REALLY?!” Donatello practically tossed himself over the arms of the throne and fell at Splinter’s feet. “I WOULD BE SO—~JAZZED!~”Donatello scrambled back to his feet quickly, taking the rat’s hands in his and holding them tightly.

The pure joy in the young mutant made Splinter’s heart soar. “Well I am always happy to accept such an eager young student. But first, perhaps some Chamomile tea to calm your nerves while you tell me more of your father.”

“OH YES PLEASE!”