#and then she turned around and said that her hear me outs were Donnie from TMNT and the entire Ninja team

[penofwildfire]

Genuinely so sick of people acting like being attracted to a Lego person is weird and embarrassing and a "hear me out" kinda thing like no. No it really isn't. Lego animated characters are really not different from any other animated crush. And this isn't me defending my crushes this is me saying I have WAY WEIRDER CRUSHES and those Lego people are hot on purpose. They are designed to be attractive. Intentionally.

[niphredil-14]

The platonic Leo request got me thinking…

What if, in a romantic scenario of Donnie x reader where they’re Leo’s best friend? Donnie falling for the idiot and reader is the idiot, wingman Leo let’s go.

OOH I LOVE THIS IDEA! Sorry it took me so long, life's been hectic. Warnings: fem reader, she/her pronouns used. Word Count: 1.3k

BAD DIRECTIONS (Rise! Donnie/Reader)

She was convinced that Leo did not in fact live in the sewers, but instead, that his home was a labyrinth that had her completely turned around and lost. Leonardo had given her what had sounded like clear directions to the bathroom, but evidently were not clear enough. She was just about to cave and call Leonardo, when a voice made her pause.

“Hello?” Came from behind her. She turned, to find a turtle standing in the hallway a few feet away from her. She didn’t know Leonardo’s brothers very well, only having spoken to them shortly and infrequently, and not seeing much of them as most of the time she spent with Leo was at her place. Despite the unfamiliarity, if the amount of purple he wore wasn’t a dead giveaway, the various tech he carried on his person definitely was.

“Oh, hi!” She said, slightly startled. “Uhh… Donnie, right?” He nodded in response.

“You’re Leo’s friend, right?” He said their name. She nodded, just the same as he did. “What are you doing just hanging out in the hallway? Did Leo ditch you? That ass.” Donnie said, falling into a slight ramble.

“Oh, no, no, no! He didn’t ditch me.” She said. “I just, um, well, it’s kind of embarrassing, but I got a little lost on my way to the bathroom.” She explained. “I was just about to call him.” Don let out a slight snort, and turned around, starting to walk away.

“Follow me.” Was all he said, not waiting for her to hurry to catch up to him. He led her through twisting, confusing hallways that she did her best to memorize, so as to not get lost again. His strides were long, and she somewhat struggled to keep up. Finally he stopped beside a door, and turned to her. “Here it is.”

“Oh! Thank you!” She said. Don made a soft affirmative hum and began to take a few steps, so she entered the bathroom. When she emerged, she found Donnie standing a few feet away, leaning against the wall scrolling on his phone. At hearing the door swing open, he looked up, and tucked his phone into his pocket. She was evidently confused by the fact that he was still there, and quirked an eyebrow up. Before she could question him, he spoke up.

“Go back in and wash your hands again.” He said, deadpanned and serious.

“I- What? I just did.” She responded.

“Yes, for thirteen seconds, which is insufficient. You should wash for at least twenty seconds to prevent illness. Sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice.” Flabbergasted, she reentered the bathroom, and rewashed her hands, taking care to intentionally sing obnoxiously loud.

“Happy Birthday to you.

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday,

Dear Donnie~

Happy Birthday to you!”

With the door being open, there was no resistance for the sound to reach his ears, and he let out a small snort, musing to himself what perfect sense her and Leo’s friendship made. It was endearing to him, in a strange way, her act. And it was slightly frustrating that he knew the same amusement would not be present if it were his brother doing the very same act, instead of the cute girl he was always talking about. From how often Leo spoke about her, Donnie felt like he had already known her well, for quite some time, even though they had not spoken to each other more than four separate times. And deep down, in a part of him that he shoved every thought that he didn’t feel fully prepared to acknowledge or process, there was stored a feeling of slight jealousy surrounding Leo and his best friend. She was clearly quite the character, and Donnie had found himself drawn to her, wishing that perhaps he could grow close to her as well. She had begun to sing the song for a second time.

“Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday-“

“My birthday isn’t for another four months.” Donnie interjected, correcting her.

“Dear Donnie~

Happy – four month early- Birthday to you!”

She had dragged out the last syllable of his name in her song, and had switched from singing to speaking when she said “four month early,” before switching back to singing for the rest of the song. He smiled slightly, and breathed out a silent laugh as he shook his head, which she, luckily for him, did not witness as she was preoccupied drying off her hands. Walking out, she held her hands out to him, palms up.

“Do they meet your standards, oh Lord of Proper Hygiene?” He glanced down at her hands for a moment, and gave a curt nod.

“Yes, they do, Oh Lady of Unnecessary Sass.” She gave a small giggle, that he generously returned. As their laughs quieted, a short silence fell over the two of them as they looked at one another. It did not turn awkward until after a few seconds, after which Donnie coughed to clear his throat, and turned away. “Do you know the way back to Leo’s room?” Her eyes widened, and her cheeks slightly flushed in embarrassment.

“Oh, um, no.” He laughed lightly, genially, and motioned with his head for her to follow him.

“I’ll walk you back.”

The journey to Leo’s room didn’t take more than two and a half minutes, but it was filled with conversation that flowed smoothly and naturally. The pair found themselves standing outside of Leo’s door far too soon for either of their liking, but reluctantly, they pulled their conversation to an end, regardless.

“Thanks again for helping me, I know it was a pretty stupid situation on my part.” She giggled to try to mask just how deep her embarrassment ran. He offered her a smile softer than he willingly would to most others he didn’t know all that well, and reassured her.

“The lair was specifically designed to be labyrinthian and confusing, in case any of our enemies were to find it, the odds were against you from the start.” Just as they were about to say their goodbyes, the door swung open, and Leo stood in the entryway with a ridiculously smug look on his face.

“God!” Leo gasped, as if in pain. “That took you ages!” His words were directed at her. “You have got to cut down on the Starbucks.” Her mouth dropped, and fire filled her eyes as she jumped at Leo, swatting at his head.

“Leo, I’m gonna fucking kill you!!” His laughter resounded throughout the room and hallway as they play-fought. When the fight had finished, with Leo yelling,

“Uncle! Uncle!” As she sat atop his shell, beating his head with a pillow, she had turned to the doorway, only to find Donnie had disappeared. It was then, almost as if on cue, that her phone pinged in her pocket. She dropped the pillow, and pulled out her phone. She had received a text from an unsaved number. Opening it up, she found several images had been sent to her, all maps and schematics of varying complexities. After staring for a moment, she put the pieces together and realized that they all depicted the lair. Three bouncing dots appeared at the bottom of the screen, android then she received another text.

Unknown: If the maps are insufficient, and you find yourself lost again, feel free to contact me. -Donatello.

A small smile graced her face as she stared typed a response.

YN: Considering my serious lack of direction and spatial awareness, I’ll probably take you up on that. Thanks, Donnie c:

She was broken out of the spell by Leo’s voice from beneath her.

“So,” He began, dragging out the word. “You and Donnie, huh?” He teased, winking at her, and it hit her.

“Oh my god! You gave me bad directions on purpose!” She screeched, and reached for the pillow again, resuming her assault.

[aealzx]

After Leo took Leon to where the sink was, Don turned his attention fully to Raph and April. “Hey, Raphie. How are you feeling?” he asked, resting his hands on Raph’s knees and ignoring the way Raphael’s nose wrinkled and head pulled back at the nickname.

“Uhhh… okay,” Raph responded, nervous and semi distracted from looking around the room. Leon had said Donnie and Lil Mikey would be in the same room they were going to, so he wanted to see them for himself. They were a little distance away, but not far. Two of the beds on the opposite side of the room cradled their sleeping forms, and while they looked a little banged up their slumber still looked peaceful. Glancing down he saw that April had noticed them too, but still chose to stay by his side. Having scooted up onto the table next to Raph, April protectively wrapped her arms around his forearm to offer comfort for both of them.

“Considering your leg is broken and you look like you have a fever, that’s a really nice answer to hear,” Don chuckled, not minding April’s presence at all. “Aside from your leg hurting, can you tell me how you feel? Does anything else hurt? Are you cold? Was that a shiver?”

The questions came quickly, and Raph felt his brain break off into clouded static as they continued to be thrown at him. Watching Raph’s expression blank out, Raphael had to chuckle before resting a hand on Don’s shoulder to remind him to slow down. Thankfully Don obediently snapped his mouth shut to give Raph a chance to respond. “Yeah… a little cold. Head hurts a little too, but not bad. Mostly just my leg.”

“Okay, that’s not too bad then. It sounds like you probably have an infection, so if Leo doesn’t already have you on antibiotics we’ll add some to the saline IV once we get that started on you,” Don spoke gently, keeping his hands on Raph’s knees and rubbing slightly. “I’ll also have Raph - my brother- fetch a heated blanket for when we’re done. It shouldn’t take too long, but unfortunately it’ll still be longer than taking care of Mikey’s shoulder. About three to four hours. Are you going to be okay to lay still for that long? My brothers and father can keep you company.”

It was a little disorienting, hearing what Leon usually told him coming from someone else. And the mention of Lil Mikey having needed surgery before too was alarming. But Raph tried to keep that in the back for now. His job was to behave, and let people take care of him. He had to remind himself of that as he nodded at the question. “Yeah, I can do that…. Can April stay with me?” He didn’t want to be alone. Leon would be there, but he would be busy, and Raph wanted someone he could hug if he needed to.

“You bet I’m staying, big guy. They couldn’t force me to leave even if they wanted to,” April spoke up, her tone leaving no room for discussion.

Raphael had to snicker as one side of his suspicions for who April was were confirmed. He couldn’t figure out if she were the other dimension’s April, or Angel, her mannerisms being so fiery compared to Mom April. And being a kid herself, she obviously didn’t have kids of her own, so that was another difference from their dimension’s April. He hadn’t been expecting their version of April to be close to the same age as the brothers, but he was glad to see that she seemed just as emotionally close to them. If not more. He didn’t think Mom April had ever called them brothers. She was usually joking with Master Splinter about them being her kids.

Don could only snicker at the response too, and nod in agreement. “Sure, April can stay. And if either of your other brothers wake up and want to come over before we’re done they can stay too.”

It was calming to hear that, and Raph’s nerve stilled slightly at the reassurance.

When Don saw that Raph didn’t have additional questions, he continued to explain what would happen. “Your brother Leo will be helping fix you up, so you can ask him anything you want during the surgery. We’ll just be behind a curtain so you don’t have to see anything scary, and your whole leg below your knee will be numbed up. We’ll get your bones straightened back out, and secured in place with some titanium plates that we can remove later if you want. Then we’ll get the wound all cleaned and stitched up, and move you to the other beds to get some rest. Does that sound okay?”

It sounded simple enough, and Raph was grateful Don didn’t give him any more details than that. He didn’t need to know how they were going to set his bones back into place. Just that they were. “Yeah, I’ll be okay,” Raph nodded, trying not to be too nervous. Four hours was a long time to have someone messing with the inside of his leg, but with the others there he tried to be confident it would pass quickly.

“Great!” Don chimed, giving Raph another pat. “I’m going to follow Leo to get washed up then. We’ll be back soon. And Raph will stay here with you.” he informed, waiting for another nod from Raph and April before he headed to the sinks.

Once Don was away, April looked directly at Raphael. “What happened to my other brothers?” she demanded, keeping her voice level but firm.

Raphael had his brows raise in brief surprise, but then gave a slight grin folding his arms slightly. “...How old are you?” he asked instead, aiming to cater his answer based on how well he thought she could handle the information.

“Eighteen,” April answered quickly.

“A highschooler?” Raphael asked for clarification.

“College,” April corrected.

“Oh, congrats,” Raphael responded easily, taking a seat on the nearby stool once more and resting his hands on his knees. “They’re doing alright, just worn out. We had a little run in with a crazy scientist that roughed them up and poisoned them, but they’ve already been given the antidote several hours ago. Lil Mike also got caught in some crossfire, so Don and Leatherhead took the bullet out of his arm when we got back. And Lil Donnie is recovering from a bit of blood loss, but Lil Leo seems to think he’ll be fine after his ‘reboot nap’,” he explained, repeating the term Leon had used.

“Mikey got shot?!” Raph blurted, his level of concern immediately maxing out as he shifted anxiously. If he hadn’t already resigned himself to stay put before now he would have been on his feet and off to check on his littlest brother.

But Raphael was quick to raise his hands to reinforce keeping him where he was. “Yes, but it’s already taken care of. Other than keeping the bandages clean and letting him sleep there’s nothing more any of us can do,” he assured.

“Want me to go check on them?” April asked, a little quieter as she looked up to Raph. She personally wanted to check on them, but she also didn’t want to leave Raph alone if that ended up making him feel worse. He did ask for her to stay there earlier, but at her question he gave a worried nod. “Okay, I’ll be right back,” April assured, giving Raph’s arm a pat before wiggling off the table to head towards Lil Mikey. Leon had laid Lil Mikey on his back when he’d tucked him in, but Lil Mikey had already rolled over on his belly, face squished into the pillow he was hugging with one arm. His injured arm was limp next to him, and when April reached over to slowly rub his back a few times he drew a deep sigh of content as he smiled softly in his sleep.

Grinning slightly, April huffed a quiet laugh before she reluctantly pulled her hand away and quietly headed over to Donnie. She didn’t want to wake them, but it was hard not to touch them after everything. When she reached Donnie she noticed he seemed only slightly less peaceful than Lil Mikey, but also wasn’t a fitful rest. Resting a hand on his cheek earned a tiny noise from him as he wiggled his fingers barely far enough out of the blanket to grab onto her arm, and rolled into her hand. April chuckled again, grateful that the stress seemed to smooth a little more from Donnie’s features from the contact. She stayed where she was just a little longer so she didn’t wake him by moving too much in too short of time, but then reluctantly pulled away to be able to report back to Raph.

Clambering back up to Raph’s side, April confidently hugged his arm again. “They’re okay. But I’m sure they’ll love a snuggle buddy once you and Leo are done,” she assured once she was comfortable again. She didn’t have to say much more than that for Raph to know how his brother’s were doing. They were safe, but they probably still had some emotional distress they needed to get rid of.

They weren’t able to get any more conversation off before the other three returned, Leon and Don having sterile gowns on and gloves, and Leo keeping his distance from them. “Eyyyy Raphie, I heard Donasaurus gave you the rundown. You up for laying down and getting fixed up now? We’re ready when you are,” Leon chimed, his light steps and finger guns towards Raph betraying his bubbling excitement.

The new nickname for Don from Leon caused Raphael to snort and choke on his breath, letting out a mix between a laugh and a short series of coughs. “W-what?” he laughed, looking over to Don, who could only give a soft sigh.

“He found out I really like dinosaurs,” Don offered as an explanation, both embarrassed and mildly amused, letting Raphael suffer in his smothered laughter.

Raph gave a small chuckle at Leon’s enthusiasm, and tried to keep his anxiety from bubbling up again. “You seem excited,” he commented, trying to divert the attention away from himself.

“Course I’m excited. This has got to be the coolest thing I’ve done in my life so far. I’m sure something will top it eventually, but for now I’m going to revel in the experience,” Leon admitted lightly, coming to stand in front of Raph. “Plus I get to help my big brother feel better. How could I not be excited?”

The comment earned varying types of chuckles from the others, and Raph’s shoulders relaxed a little more once again. “Okay. Raph’s ready,” he agreed with a nod.

With some shuffling around they were able to get Raph laying on his back on the surgery table, having to adjust it to fit him better. April scooted to sit at his head, her lap acting as an extra pillow for now, until she got tired from sitting in one place and needed to move. And as the curtain was pinned up to obscure Raph’s lower half, Raphael scooted the stool over and leaned on his elbows, finally asking the question that had been in his mind for a while now. “So kid… you like wrestling?”

The way Raph’s eyes lit up at the mention of the performance sport, a deep gasp pausing his answer, caused Raphael’s mouth to spread into a huge smile. Oh yeah. Finally someone with taste. “Have you heard of Ghostbear?” Raph asked, almost in awe having someone ask him about wrestling.

“Nope. But tell me aaaaall about him,” Raphael admitted with a chuckle, making himself comfortable for the retellings Raph would get into. April could only give a grateful laugh, mildly surprised that it would be that easy to keep Raph distracted and watching him babble on with fondness. What started as enthusiastic retellings of their favorite wrestling matches ended up becoming show and tell as Raph remembered he had a few videos downloaded to his phone. They couldn’t look up anything he didn’t have, but it was still enough to get Raphael cheering along with him, wincing at some of the moves, and laughing at the hype. The videos from Raph just motivated them looking up more videos online, which made the hours pass easily. Eventually April had to wiggle out from under the pillow, but she still remained next to Raph as he and Raphael continued to gush about their favorite sport.

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Previous Next

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Still on vacation, but I wiggled another one out amidst working on OC stuff =7= Enjoy~

[msbarrybeeson]

Like You | Donnie X Reader (Part I)

A/N: Aha, confession imagine with Donnie? This is a part one, because I wanted to make a dramatic scene with you and Donnie during homecoming. Actually, this is the first time I’m applying two parts. Anyway, remember that constructive criticism is appreciated, and enjoy!

Summary: You were avoiding Donnie, so he pleaded April to talk to you, hoping he’d understand what happened. But low and behold, he found his own brother there.

Pairing: Rise!Donnie X Reader

Reader: Gender-neutral pronouns used. Mostly mentions. Few actual appearances.

Genre: Dramatic Fluff & Humor

Warning: Not proofread? I was in a hurry to get the argument part in.

Word Count: ~1430

Part: One / Two

~

“They’ve been avoiding me April!” Donatello complained, falling back on his chair while covering his face in dread. “I don’t understand. What went wrong— what is it did I do wrong?”

“Are you for real? That’s what you called me in for?” April crossed her arms. “(Name)’s probably just a bit shy around you.” 

“Oh the naïveté, it is never that simple.” He shook his head. “I hadn’t detected any signs of discomfort a couple of weeks ago. Then, suddenly, they don’t even respond to my texts until 48 hours 20 minutes later!

In fact,” the soft-shelled turtle slouched over, grumbling, “they decided to see another guy for calculus tutoring.”

April raised her eyebrow. “How did you even know—?” “And he’s not close to having the brains like I do!” As per usual during his rambling, Donnie ignored the question. 

She rolled her eyes.

“Don, you gotta calm down.” April placed her hand on his shoulder. “Maybe they’ve got a crush on you too, and they don’t know how to tell you that. They do owe you an explanation though….”

“Hah, sure, give me false hope that they’ll return—.”

“Oh no. Don’t you dare switch up on that cocky attitude of yours from just a second ago.” April hushed him. “Look, Donnie, if it bothers you so much, I—.”

Donnie slammed his hands on his armrests and sat upright. 

“—can secretly get (Name) to reveal their thoughts to you, while wearing a camera I can attach to you?”

“Wait what, I never said—!”

“I thought you’d never say so!”

April’s eyes widened. “Hold up, I’m not about to put (Name) on the spot like that! What if they say something that they don’t want you to hear?”

“Ignorance is bliss, April, they won’t have to know.”

“Well, for one, Don, I’m not that close to them. We don’t have any classes together. Also, I don’t wanna creep them out by asking personal stuff out of nowhere!” she said. “Are you trying to embarrass me!?” 

He groaned. “All right, I give in! Just at least ask them how’re they’re doing before I start chewing on my tech-bo.”

—

“At least I got something to entertain myself in school for once,” April muttered to herself, hiding behind one of the beams. “But I don’t see (Name) around, not with so many kids in the hall.” The camera on her glasses blinked. “Seriously, how much money does this school want?”

“April, over there by the lockers—. Who the hell is that?” 

April glanced to where Donnie mentioned. You were talking with a guy in a basketball uniform and cap. Oh boy, she could hear the bitterness through her earpiece.

“So, this must be her new, pathetic calculus tutor. Really, a guy in gym shorts?”

“Don, I can hear your muttering. And quit trash-talking about (Name)’s choice in tutors.”

“Whatever,” he scoffed, burning holes into the guy’s head when you started to smile with him. “Let me activate the human identification program based on your school’s database, so I— I mean— we could get a name.” 

Donnie paused for a moment. “Although, he does seem oddly familiar—.”

April’s eyes widened. “Hold up, is that Leo?”

Donnie monotonously replied, “Ha, that’s funny, April. Leonardo would never go to a school willingly—.” The student turned around, revealing the red markings on his green face. Not just that, his own program flashed a message in red. 

[ ERROR! NOT HUMAN ] 

“...”

Donnie fell off his chair, choking. 

April immediately touched her earpiece. “Don! You good back there?!”

“Of course not! Why the hell is Leo in your school!?”

He grimaced even more at the sight of you laughing (more like chuckling) alongside his oh-so opposite brother. “April, quick, get closer to them without being noticed!” Donnie commanded. “I demand answers!”

“I thought our plan is to talk to them, not eavsdrop!” 

“Hey, plans change when it is necessary…. It-is-necessary, and I’m paying you twenty bucks for this!” 

April facepalmed in embarrassment. She snuck closer in, turning her head away so you and Leo wouldn’t recognize her. There, while the camera couldn’t catch your faces, its microphone did pick up on your conversation better. 

“I’m thankful I can count on you, Leon.” They could hear you sigh. “Calculus is taking up so much time, and my tutor isn’t being helpful..”

“Anything for mi amigue.” The red-earred slider grinned, leaning on the lockers. 

Donnie frowned. He didn’t want to question it, but.. were you feeling more comfortable with his brother than him..?

Then, Leo coughing brought Donnie back from his thoughts. “I do got something to ask you, though, (Name).” The soft-shelled turtle narrowed his eyes at how Leo rubbed his neck nervously. Worry was bubbling inside. 

“You said homecoming’s coming up soon, right?”

It piqued everyone’s interest. “In a week, I mean, there are posters everywhere for it. Why.. do you ask?”

“…You don’t have a date yet, do you?”

April gasped, covering her mouth.

That was it. Donnie’s heart dropped.

Suddenly, the microphone lost focus on you two. Instead, the host’s heavy breathing was heard. Donnie’s camera was shaking up a lot, making him panic. 

“Hey hey hey! They’re not done talking yet, April! I need to know what their answer is!”

“Dale’s coming my way!” she exclaimed, shuffling between other students. “And I’m not about to get asked out to homecoming by him again!” 

Not long after, Donnie’s camera disconnected. He sat there in shock… until he clutched his head. “No, no, no! This shouldn’t be happening!” 

Questions ran through his brain. It wasn’t adding up: how could Leonardo like you too? You and he had no common interests! Why did it have to be him out of everyone else!? 

“AHRGH!” Donnie groaned, slamming his head against his desk. Then, he stood up from his chair, storming out while punching numbers into his phone. “That’s it! I’m going to have a civil discussion with this traitor!”

—

A tennis racket flew across the room.

“Don, Donnie, I know what you’re going to say, but I promise— OOMPH!” Leo was knocked hard in the face by a thrown tennis ball.

“You!” Donnie snapped, picking up another one. “You traitor! You knew I like (Name), yet you proceeded to ask them to this homecoming dance anyway!” The red-eared slider dodged the second throw. 

“Is that why you randomly asked me, last week, to do your calculus problems for you! Taking my notes and answers only to give to them and take credit for my calculations!”

“Don.”

“I knew it was too good to be true: Leonardo, who’s never read any novels or understood mathematics beyond basic algebra, wanted to learn calculus!”

“Hey! I know more than you think, okay!” Blue took offense. “Donnie, listen to me—.”

“It just had to be another cliché, doesn’t it! The ridiculous ‘love interest picks the jock over the nerd’ scenario! Oh, I’ve had enough of your stupid stunts ruining everything, Leo!” Donnie tried to throw a punch, but he fell over onto the ground when his brother jumped to the side.

“Listen to me for once, Donnie— I never asked them to homecoming with me!”

“Oh, but Leonardo, why in the name of logic would you ever ask them whether or not they have a date to homecoming— while looking soo nervous back there— without any intention of asking them out?” Distaste dripping from his words.

“Bro.. I was asking for you!”

Donnie shook his head, tsking. “Excuses, excuses....” When his brother’s words loaded, he froze. “Excuse me, did you just say you asked them out for me? Why would you ever—!?”

“Hey, you had an opportunity waiting, and I took it for you.” Leon nudged him. “Don’t act like I didn’t just do you a favor.”

“I could’ve done that myself! There were posters everywhere; I would’ve known, therefore, I would’ve asked them!”

“Hah, mi hermano, you’re saying you’d actually have the confidence to tell them?”

Donnie scrunched his face and stared down at the floor. His smug brother wasn’t wrong on that; he used to be more sure, but with your distance, he had a hard time confronting you with his feelings. He didn’t want to make things any more awkward.

“Hey.” Leon grabbed Donnie’s shoulders. “Just be yourself, Don. Knowing them, they’ll love you no matter how weird and science-y you get.” 

Purple deadpanned. “Wow, you sure know how to reassure someone.” He touched Leon’s hand, gazing up to meet his eyes. A small smile formed on his face. “…Thanks.”

"Espera un minuto, repeat that again? I, uh, I didn’t catch that.” 

Donnie shoved him away.

[goblin-mask]

TMNT x Bimbo Reader Head Cannons

This is my first headcannon ever I hope you enjoy and that I did it correctly! Request:  

 HELLO!! Can I request bimbo reader who has a crush on the turtles??(individually if that ok?) She’s a total airhead and always striving to pls them. It’s super obvious that she’s crushing because she’s follows after them like a puppy and practically grows wings whenever they praise or give her positive reinforcement. They 100% know she wants them but won’t do anything about it till she does. Out of spite or for entertainment… who knows😭 The boys basically forcing reader admit she has a crush on them. 🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️ (Ps: Mikey’s my fave!🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

All Of Them:

They could tell you had a crush on them the moment you walked into the layer the second time

You brought Leo sharpening stones for his katanas

He had mentioned it only once before and you some how remembered

You memorized the periodic table for Donnie

Even making a stupid song to go with it

You memorized Mikey’s order for his favorite Pizza

You had gotten it wrong so many time you wrote it down and kept it in your wallet

You tried your best to work out with Raph

Lifting weights weren’t your forte 

You were also terrible at hiding it

You went out of your way to touch them

You tripped or choked on air whenever one of them would walk by

You would try to understand the ninja lingo that the brothers shared

Even tried to get on Splinters good side

which he found amusing

Leonardo:

Leo knew you were going to confess to him after he had a bad day

You must have gotten a heads up from April because you bright skincare, and other things he has seen you do when he would visit

You attempted to make it as relaxing as possible but some things weren’t meant to be on Turtles skin

When Leo broke out into a rash you freaked out

You thought he was dying and ran to Donnie for immediate assistance 

Leo had never seen you  cry to this extent before

And yes you cried a lot

Leo had to spend an hour trying to console you and make you realize that he knew you didn’t do it on purpose

Through your sobs he could hear you say

“I just want to do nice things for you *Hic* Because I really like you!”

When you said that he smiled

“Don’t worry baby girl I like you as well.”

He has never seen you flip emotions like you did

One moment you were crying on the floor and the next moment you were in his lap and hugging him like your life depended on it

He made sure to hug you back just as tight to reassure you

“Thank you Leo!”

Leo only places a kiss in your hair

Raphael:

When you confessed to Raph it was completely out of the blue

He was lifting dumbbells when you jumped out and surprised him.

He ended up dropping it on his foot

You immediately tried to help only to hurt him further which he hid to the best of his ability

You just ended up handing him some wrist wrapping tape and a note with his name and a heart on it before bolting out in tears

Raph felt his heart warm when he read it

His favorite part of it was the baby pink lipstick kiss that you put over his name at the beginning

When it was safe to go out he made sure to wear the wraps around his wrists and carry the note with him

“Doll~” He says as he enters your room

He sees you curled on your side under the blankets

He sees you shuffle as if you are trying to sleep

“I know you you are still awake~” 

You turn over and meet his eye

He sits on your bed and pats your back

“Now I need those pretty lips to tell me, can you do that Doll?”

He smirks at your flustered expression

“I like you...”

“I like ya too.”

He then brings you into his lap. 

“Can I get an actual kiss now?”

Donatello:

Donatello could tell you liked him he just didn’t know why

The memorization of the periodic table gave him an unusual feeling

Then you started giving him periodic table pick up lines

He didn’t get it until his brothers pointed it out

Then you started wearing his lab coat to an insane extent

It now had your scent there permanently 

Which he didn’t mind

What happened to make you confess was that he was working on some intense chemicals

He should have known better and told you to waft the smell towards you, but he ultimately forgot

This caused your eyes to water and burn to which he quickly rushed you to the fountain to rinse your eyes out

“For the last time Sweetheart, you aren’t going to go blind.”

“I might as well since I am so blindly in love with you!” you say through blubbers of tears

Donnie sighs as he takes you away from the fountain and looks into your eyes

“I love you too Sweetheart, but you have to believe me when I say the chemical will only cause irritation”

He could have sworn your pupils turned to heart eyes as you jumped in his arms for a hug

Michelangelo - Your Fav

Mikey is a bit of an air head to which is why you both clicked so well in the first place

He was skateboarding in the sewers when he sees you right in front of him

He decided it was high time to teach you how to skate

while skating however he neglected to give you any arm or knee pads

which was his plan so he had an excuse to hold your hands the entire time

which worked until you tripped and fell

You definitely got the princess treatment as he scooped you up in his arms and took you to the layer, leaving his skateboard behind

“I am so sorry Angelcakes I should have held onto you better”

He says as he makes a mess of Donnie’s Lab trying to find some bandages and hydroxide

By the time you are bandaged up you are tired and are just leaning against Mikey

To your surprise he confesses first!

“I know I am always the one to jump the gun on this but I gotta tell ya...”

He pauses for a moment

“You’re a sweet girl and I want to make sure you are okay so maybe if you’d like, you can be my Angelcake permanently?”

You let out a giggle before placing a kiss on his cheek “Of course Mikey!”

[normal-internet-user]

Hello my dear!

May I request a 2012 Donnie x reader, but reader is Casey's twin sister? Like reader and Donnie are together and Casey's super protective

Have a lovely day/night

-🌻

Of course I can my darling 🌻! 💕

OVERPROTECTIVE

♡~~♡~~♡~~♡~~

Summary: After discovering that you're dating Donnie, Casey makes it his mission to 'scare' the purple masked terrapin.

Warnings: None!

Requested: 🌻

Female Reader!

.........................................

You winced as your younger sister yanked the comb through your hair once again. After finding out you were going on a date, the price for her silence was her getting to style your hair and pick your outfit.

"Are you done yet?" you whined, yelping when she roughly pulled on your hair.

"Nope!" She said. You could just hear her little gap toothed grin.

You sighed and slumped in your seat. You would like to be gone before Casey got home, mostly because you didn't want hin asking questions. He's always had a bit of a- uhm- protective streak.

And what with his already rival like relashonship with your boyfriend, you would really like to avoid any new conflict between the two. So it was best if he didn't know for now, and to your credit, you and Donnie were really good at keeping the whole 'We're dating.' thing a secret.

No one else knew with the exception of Master Splinter, but he was literally a ninja master, not much gets by him.

"Done!" Ella said proudly, handing you a mirror over your shoulder. You had to admit, it was better than you had expected, it actually looked kinda amazing.

"Thanks, now get out so I can change, I wanna leave before Casey gets home."

Ella nodded and skipped out of your room giggling about god knows what. After she left, you closed and locked the door, changing into the outfit she had left out for you.

You opened the door and Ella squealed in excitment, "You look so pretty, (Name)!"

You laughed, "Thanks, Ella. Alright, I'm out, if Dad or Casey ask where I went tell 'em I went to April's or somthing. Capeesh?"

"Capeesh!"

Ella gave you a big hug, then ran off to do something else, read probably. You knew she'd be fine on her own for a while since your dad would be home in about fifteen minutes and she was ten years old after all.

You made your way out of your apartment complex, walking down the ever darkening New York streets. You sent Donnie a quick text to let him know you were on your way to your arranged meeting place, and he replied with a thumbs up and a heart emoji.

You smiled, shaking your head at the simple reply.

You turned down a familar alley, using the worn fire escape to climb up to the rooftops, "Hey there handsome, you waitin' for somebody?" you say with a giggle once you reach the top, startling your boyfriend who was waiting for you.

Donnie spun to face you, relaxing when he saw it was you, "You scared me, (Name)!"

You laughed loudly, "You aren't very good at flirting, huh, Honey?"

Donnie chuckled, muttering, "You'd think you'd know that by now."

You walked over to him, placing a quick kiss on his cheek, further darkening his blush, "It's ok, I'm a big enough flirt for both of us pretty boy." you smiled at him teasingly.

Donnie rolled his eyes half-heartedly, clearing his throat, "So, uhm- I was thinking we could-" He was cut off by your ringing phone.

You pulled the device from your pocket, groaning when you saw the caller ID. It was Casey.

"Crap." you muttered.

Donnie snorted at your reaction, and you sent him a half-hearted glare before answering the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey there, (Nickname), where are you currently, like, at this exact moment?"

You gulped, "Uh, with, April."

"Try again, (Name)!" April's voice sounded from the phone

Double crap.

"Uhm-"

Casey cut you off, "Would you happen to be standing on a rooftop across from Mr. Murakami's shop with Donnie's arm wrapped around your waist? Or am I seeing dopple gangers."

Triple crap.

You and Donnie began to frantically scan the area, before you could even find your twin and April, a loud shout sounded from the building across the street, "That's my sister you brainiac punk!"

"Case', what the hell are you doing over there?" You shouted.

"Looking for you!" he replied,

"How did you even know I wasn't at home?"

"Ella told me!"

You gasped, "That little snitch." you muttered.

"I'm comin' over there!" Casey shouted, and you frantically waved your hands, "No you stay right there, Casey Jones!" you shouted.

"Well lugnuts." Donnie sighed.

You debated taking Donnie and booking it before Casey could get up there, but before you could tell Donnie your plan, Casey emerged from the fire escape.

"Alright, what's goin' on here?" He demanded, storming over to the pair of you and removing Donnie's arm from your waist.

You groaned in annoyance, "This is exactly why I didn't tell you, Casey. I knew you'd act like this."

"If it helps-"

"You shut up." Casey said, cutting Donnie off, "(Name), I don't care who you date, I really don't, but as your twin brother it's my job to make sure you don't get hurt!"

"Casey-"

"Hold on, I'm not done." Casey turned to face Donnie, "So, you listen up nerd, and you listen good. If you hurt my little sister in anyway-"

"Little?!"

"You are younger than me."

"Yeah, by like, 2 minutes!"

"Still younger."

You huffed, crossing your arms, "Whatever."

"Ahem, as I was saying. If you hurt her in anyway shape or form, you better expect Casey Jones to show up outside that nerd den of yours." Casey finished his little speech by poking Donnie's plastron, he then began to walk backwards towards the fire escape, where April was waiting and snickering at the interaction.

The whole time he was backing up, Casey was making an, "I'm watching you." gesture. He then proceded to trip over the edge of the building, and fall backwards onto the fire escape. He jumped up, made one last warning gesture, then he and April left.

You and Donnie looked at each other dumbfounded, "That's... not how I expected that to go..." you said, taking Donnie's hand.

"Me neither," He replied, pulling you closer "I genuinly thought he'd try to fight me. I would have won, obviously, but I digress."

The two of you began to lean in for a kiss, and you hummed, "I'd give him an a for effort, he was trying to intimidate a ninja afterall."

Donnie chuckled in response, and the two of you grew closer, faces only inches apart.

"Hey! No kissing!"

"Dang it, Casey!"

.........................................

There you go 🌻 Anon! I really had fun writing this, like, alot of fun! Tysm for the beautiful request and I hope you all have an amazing rest of your day/night!💕💕

[therand0mwriter]

Different

2014/16 TMNT X Female!reader

Chapter 1 - New Roommate

With moving to New York, you expected weird things to happen. But not mutant turtle ninja weird.

[Unedited]

*3rd Person POV*

It was just like any night in New York, the constant yelling, honking, bright lights, dark alleyways, and four brother vigilantes jumping from rooftop to rooftop. These were no normal beings, they were mutant turtles, which also happened to be ninjas. There was the level-headed leader in blue, Leonardo. Then there was the hot head in red, Raphael. The intelligent one in purple, Donatello. Finally, the playful one in orange, Michaelangelo.

The four brothers were making their way to their only friends place, April O'Neil. It's been a while since they've seen their friend in person, with her getting used to her new job and trying to find a roommate after her previous one left.

They got to the roof of her building, looking around to make sure no one saw them. When seeing no one, Leo gestured down, "Let's go and be quiet!" He had whisper shouted, getting an eye roll from Raph and Mikey. They all started to climb down, stopping at Aprils window. Mikey knocked on the window to get the ravenettes attention, and when she looked up, she saw Mikey and Leo grinning/smiling at her.

She ran to the window and opened it, ushering them in in order to not be seen. One by one, they jumped through the window, Mikey, Leo, Donnie and Raph. "What are you guys doing here?" April smiled. "We wanted to check up on you," Leo said. "Yeah, baby cakes, we haven't seen you in so long!" Mikey added, making April roll her eyes in amusement, "It's only been a week, Mikey." "A week too long," The orange masked turtle wistfully said.

April opened her mouth to speak but instantly shut it when her phone started ringing. She looked at the number and turned her back to the turtles. "Who is it?" Raph questioned, getting an index finger in return, telling them to wait a minute. April answered the phone, "Hello? ... Yes, this is her. ... Oh, hi (Y/N), it's nice to be hearing from you again! ... Really? That's great! ... Yep, that sounds good! I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!"

April hung up and turned back to the turtles in waiting. "Guess who just found a roommate?!" She screamed in excitement, the turtles cheering with her. Mikey paused in his celebration, "Wait, that means we can't come over anymore..." "You'll be fine," Raph gave his brother a noogie, then leaving him to go tell April congratulations.

*Time Skip, 1 Week*

*(Y/N)'s POV*

'Whew... all done!' You happily thought as you looked around your room, having just finished unpacking. April gently knocked on your open door, "How about a celebratory dinner? For officially moving in." "Sounds good! Just let me take a shower," You said, grabbing some clothes and heading to the bathroom.

You turned up your music on your speaker and jumped in the shower.  You started to think about your past week with April. It was... interesting to say the least. You noticed very quickly that something was up with her. Lots of whispers and private/sneaky calls (more than a normal amount a person would have), especially at night. There was one time you came out around two in the morning to get a bottle of water and April had immediately slammed the window shut and closed the curtains, seeming extremely nervous. 'What was she doing and why was she up so late?'

You liked April, don't get it wrong, she was just... weird at times. You shut off the water to the shower and got out, drying yourself off. You then lotioned up, got dressed, dried your hair and styled it and added some light makeup. You exited the bathroom and turned to go to into your room, but quickly turned around to head back into the bathroom to retrieve your, still playing, speaker.

But before you could enter the bathroom, you heard a shout then shushing. 'Does April have someone over?' The curiosity got the better of you and you left your speaker in the bathroom, dirty clothes in hand. You turned the corner to the living room and called out to your new roommate,  "April? Who do you ha-" You froze, breath catching in your throat.

Four tall beings stood in your living room. Skin green and what almost looked to be scales, 3 fingered hands and feet, shells covering their torsos, Japanese weapons adorning their hips or backs, and colored masks covering the top half of their faces.

They also froze, seeing you. "Uh oh..." The one with the orange mask and nunchucks said under his breath.

*Previously*

*3rd Person POV*

(Y/N) had just entered the bathroom, turning on the shower then her speaker. April decided to wait in the living room, scrolling through her phone. About fifteen minutes later, she heard a knock on her window. Her stomach dropped, 'Please let it not be them, please let it not be them!' She chanted through her head as she opened the curtains.

Sure enough, Mikey and Donnie waved at her. She opened the window and planned on staying there to not let them in, but Mikey unintentionally pushed her out of the way, letting himself in, his brothers following. "What are you guys doing here?!" April whisper shouted, constantly looking towards the hallway to make sure (Y/N) wouldn't walk in on them.

"We missed you and wanted to see how you were doing! And to maybe see your new roommate," Mikey shrugged. April pinched the bridge of her nose, "Oh my god... It's been one week! One week! You guys couldn't wait?!" "Sorry April, I tried to talk them out of it." Leo apologized, a sheepish look on his face.

"You haven't told us anything about your roommate! How old is she? What does she look like? Is she hot?" Mikey started shooting off questions, but the last one got him a slap to the back of the head by Raph. Mikey yelped in pain and was immediately shushed by April, Leo and Donnie.

"April? Who do you ha-" A new voice chimed in. Everyone turned to the source and froze. There stood Aprils new roommate, (Y/N), at the entrance of the living room. She also froze at the sight of them, holding onto some clothes. It was silent until Mikey spoke, "Uh oh..."

*(Y/N)'s POV*

"(Y/N)! I didn't hear you get out of the shower... your music is still... playing," April slowly trailed off, watching your expression. You were still silent as you stared at the four green beings in front of you, and they stared at you, most likely waiting to see your reaction.

"She's super hot!" Mikey had 'whispered' to his brothers, causing all three of them to shout his name in a scolding tone. This had snapped you out of your silent trance, "W-What... wha... what?!" Was all you could say. "Okay, I know you're confused and probably scared but I can explain everything!" April started and went to place her hand on your shoulder but you flinched back and held up your hand to her, "Do not touch me. I am not in the mental state to be touched right now." You then pointed to the four beings, "Explain!"

And that she did. She explained how the four beings, the four turtles, were part of her fathers and his former employers experiment, including a rat. She also explained how the lab went up in flames and she let the turtles and rat into the sewers to save them. Ever since then, they've been living in the sewers, learning how to fight, how to become ninjas. A couple months ago, they stopped a man named 'The Shredder' from releasing a dangerous chemical into New York.

"Wait, that was you guys? I read about that," You said, surprised at the information. "Yeah girl! We saved the world!" The orange masked one started, "I'm Mikey by the way, but you can call me anytime!" He winked at you. 'What?' You were genuinely confused, and it must have shown on your face because the red masked one slapped Mikey upside the head. "Quit it, you're making her uncomfortable!" He grumbled.

Then the one in the blue mask stepped forward, "Allow me to introduce ourselves. I'm Leonardo or Leo, whichever you prefer. Michaelangelo already introduced himself," At his name, Mikey turned to you and once again winked at you. "The one next to him in red is Raphael," Said turtle grunted in acknowledgment. "And finally Donatello in purple," You got a meek 'hello' and wave from the turtle in glasses.

Since they introduced themselves your training from a kid kicked in and you introduced yourself also, "My names (Y/N)." The one in blue, Leo, spoke up, "(Y/N)... that's a beautiful name." "Oh," You started, surprised at the sudden compliment, "Thank you." "Hey Leo, back off man," Mikey said, a slight warning to his tone. Leo's response was rolling his eyes.

"(Y/N)," April called out to you, gaining your attention. "You can't tell anyone about them. You have to keep them a secret at all costs. There's dangerous people out there that can and will hurt you to get to them. You have to promise us that you're not going to tell anyone." All five of them, April, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, they all gave you intense stares, waiting for your response.

You were quiet, thinking about all the new information you learned tonight. And finally, "Okay." All five of them let out sighs of relief. "Alright! Welcome to the club, cutie!" Mikey cheered. "Oh! We have to take her to go see sensei!" He quickly added. "Let's give her time to adjust to us first, Mikey." Donnie said, Leo nodding along with him.

"Well, it gotten late and me and (Y/N) were supposed to go to dinner." April clapped her hands together. "Oh! Why don't we order pizza! As a celebration to new friendship!" Mikey proposed. "C'mon, they don't want to eat with us." Raph grunted, turning to the window. "Actually, pizza sounds great, why don't you stay?" You said, making Raph pause and turn back to you. "What do you guys want?" You gave a small smile.

You got all the turtles orders, including yours and Aprils, and put in a mobile order. "Okay, the order is in. It should be here in less than 30 minutes." You informed, making the boys either cheer or thank you. You went and sat on the couch next to April, prompting Mikey to quickly take the spot next to you on the floor.

"So, (Y/N)," He started with an almost sultry voice, "How old are you?" "Um, I'm eighteen." You answered, slightly surprised at the sudden question. But at the same time you should have expected it by Mikeys eager look towards you. "Really? No way! We're eighteen too!" Said turtle excitedly cheered.

"Wow! You're so young and already moved out, what's the occasion?" Donnie asked, surprise on his face and in his voice. "Oh, I'm going to New York University." You answered. "New York University?! Oh my gosh, that's my favorite school! If I could, I would go!" Donnie gushed. "Well, why don't you do online classes?" You asked, making Donnie pout. "What I want to go there for isn't available for online classes, you have to be there in person. What are you going there for?" He questioned, changing the subject off of him.

"Computer and information science and engineering technology." You replied, making Donnie groan. "I'm so jealous! That's what I want to do!" "Ooo! Cute and smart!" Mikey commented. "Donnie," April started, "You're already way smarter than most, why would you want to go to school?"

"You could always learn something new," You and Donnie said simultaneously, instantly looking at each other with wide eyes. "I guess nerds think alike." Raph grumbled. Donnie rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Raph."

"Donatello," You called out, "If you would like, I can send you the material I'm learning, that way it'll almost be like an online class." Donnie's eyes went wide again, "Really? You'd do that for me?" You nodded and shrugged, "Yeah, I don't mind." The purple masked turtle squealed and shook in excitement, "Yes!"

*Time Skip*

The pizza arrived not long after and while waiting for it, you and the turtles took turns questioning each other. You all ate and laughed as you continued chatting. You were very uneasy at the beginning of the night, unsure of how good natured these four brothers were. But as the night went on and you got to know them, you knew they were pure at heart and that you had nothing to worry about.

Around 1:30 in the morning, April kicked them out. Before they left, all of the brothers, except for Raph, gave you their phone numbers (Leo slipped you Raphs phone number when he wasn't looking though).

Donnie, "So you can send me the material from your classes."

Leo, "In case you're ever in trouble and need help."

Mikey, "Text me so we can schedule a date."

The last one made you scoff in amusement.

[tangledinink]

Chapter Eighteen of I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? is now up! The Hamato Family finally goes back home. And now everything is okay and back to normal... right? Read it on ao3 or below the cut.

[ prev ]

The world wasn’t spinning anymore.

Damn, did that mean he was dead? Cowabummer.

As he looked around, however, Leo slowly realized (for the second time over a very short period) that, no, he was not dead. Or, at least, he didn’t think he was dead-- despite the fact that he was absolutely surrounded by a warm, comforting light, enveloping him and holding him close. 

He could hear the roars of the crowd in the distance. And though he was no longer flailing through the air, his head was still reeling, having not quite realized that they weren’t falling anymore. And as he slowly gathered his bearings, he realized he could see his siblings, all gathered together close; held behind the protective fold of a bright red light, shielded from the debris and dust that had been sent flying through the ring.

Vaguely, he came to the conclusion that the Ikuchi had fallen.

And he hadn’t.

It wasn’t until the red light faded and was replaced by his eldest brother’s tight embrace that he came back to reality properly, stumbling a bit, his eyes wide and his brain still buzzing a little; held up only by his brother’s grip rather than his own strength.

“... Did you catch me?” He finally managed to get his tongue to move.

“Never do that again,” Raph hissed in reply, and about half a second later, Mikey, April, and even Donnie had joined them, all stumbling into him and clinging to him all at once.

“What is wrong with you!? You idiot!” April cried, burying her face into his shoulder.

“Why did you do that?!” Mikey wailed through sobs. “I told you guys! I told you not to protect me! Why would you do that!? D-don’t-- don’t do that! Don’t e-ever do that again! Why don’t any of you-- e-ever listen to me? I would have-- I--! Leo!”

“Sorry!” Leo found it in himself to laugh, though even he could admit that he sounded just a little bit deranged. Eugh boy, were things still spinning? “It’s fine!... I knew Raph would save me.” 

“No you didn’t!” Raph snapped. “Raph didn’t even know Raph was gonna save ya!”

“How did you do that?” April gaped.

“I don’t know!” Raph laughed, his voice stumbling slightly with the threat of oncoming tears. “I just knew that if I didn’t save him, I’d never hear the end of it…!”

“I told you all not to,” Mikey wept, clinging to him. “I told you…”

“Aw, I knew you had magic powers,” Leo slurred. Okay, maybe he was still a little out of it. “You just needed… the right motivation…! All part of the plan…”

“Liar,” Raph hissed, tightening his hold on him, bundling his brother up close to his chest and burying his face against his shoulder. “If you ever pull some bullshit like that ever again, I swear to god, I’m gonna murder you--”

His next words were cut off by yet another shuddering crash of impact, nearly tossing the gang from their feet. And Leo was still not exactly feeling steady, per se, but turning to face the glowering form of an angry spider did wonders for sobering a person up.

“Well then,” Big Mama hissed, her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared down at them. “Wasn’t that an impressive performance.”

“I told you we’d give you a big hurrah. Was that cool or what?” Leo laughed, pulling away from Raph so that he could stand on his own-- stumbling a bit, but then finding his balance again, summoning up whatever he had left in his body to face her alongside his siblings. He could practically see Big Mama grit her jaw.

“Isn’t that just… splendifirous,” she hissed. “Well! Big Mama never breaks a deal! She does, however, alt--”

“Okay, hang on. Hold that thought. Sorry. Just. One second,” Leo said quickly, moving to shove his hand into his jean pockets, digging around for a moment as he approached the other.

“Oh! Okay. Here. Here you go,” he hummed, pulling a tiny black coin, etched with sigils that he couldn’t even begin to comprehend, from his pocket, where it had lived ever since it was retrieved from Big Mama’s own vault by Mayhem. He pressed it firmly into her insectile palm. “This is for you.”

Big Mama paused.

She stared.

She bristled.

Every hair on her body stood on end as she snarled, puffing up twice the size that she had been a second ago. She bared her fangs, digging her claws into the ground as she loomed over the group, a furious hiss escaping her as she leaned in close to Leo. Beyond a slightly dizzy rock on one foot, he stood his ground, keeping his gaze even and trained on her.

“Go collect your father and get out of my Nexus,” she spat, turning sharply away. 

Inwardly, Leo let out a massive breath of relief, his entire body sagging ever-so-slightly. He nearly fell over as he turned on his heel to try to re-join his slack-jawed siblings. 

“You heard the spider lady--” he said, wobbling dangerously. Luckily, Raph and Donnie were quick to react, each grabbing an arm on either side to keep him upright. Oh thank god. He was still thinking he might just throw up. Or pass out. Maybe both.

“What the hell was that!?” Raph hissed, his eyes wide and his voice hushed. “Leo! What did you give her!?”

“Honestly,” Leo said, chuckling the tiniest bit beneath his breath. “I have no fucking clue.”

---

The rest of the day was a blur. 

Mikey had never seen their father cry so much, nor heard him scream so loud, informing Leo at least eleven times that he was grounded for the rest of his life for scaring his family like that. And though he didn’t necessarily disagree, Mikey felt guilty the entire time. He kept wondering if anyone was going to yell at him for needing to be saved in the first place, but no one did.

They collected their dad. They collected Mayhem. They collected all their things.

They walked out of the Battle Nexus, back out the same way they had entered four days earlier. Mikey dimly noted the alleyway where they had huddled together and plotted just days ago. People repeatedly stopped and begged for their father’s autograph, seeming unsurprised to see him out and about, and he politely declined each and every request.

Their father clearly knew his way around the Hidden City. He knew the way home, too, and soon, they were back up on the surface-- in New York City.

They were in New York City again. And it looked the same. 

From there, they called 911.

Mikey barely remembered the ambulance ride, though he remembered thinking, wow, I’ve never been in an ambulance before. He wanted to tell someone that he was okay, he wasn’t hurt, that it was their dad and Leo that they had to worry about, but he couldn’t quite get his tongue to work. Every time he tried to open his mouth to talk, he’d just start crying again. Every time someone asked him a question, tried to ask what happened, if he was okay, where it hurt, he’d try to reply and instead tears would just bubble up again and spill over, painting streaks down his face over and over again until his head hurt.

Maybe that was a blessing, because he had no idea what he would have said. Their dad, however, did. Mikey was silently shocked by how easily he lied. By how effortlessly he weaved together a tapestry of tales to explain their absence-- wearily and emotionally describing the crazed fan who had kidnapped him and held him hostage in their apartment. He tearfully explained how his children had been contacted by the culprit and foolishly attempted to take matters into their own hands after being warned not to contact the police, only to be captured themselves until they were able to make their escape. 

It sounded dramatic. It sounded implausible, if Mikey was being honest, like the plot of a soap opera. But the way his Dad said it, it sounded… so believable. 

And everyone seemed to eat it up without question in a way that made Mikey squint, but in a way that he didn’t question, either.

They got to the hospital. They patched up all of Dad’s injuries-- the cracked ribs, the bruises, the cuts and scrapes, the bloody knuckles and torn muscles and swollen joints. Mikey could tell he was anxious, but he somehow didn’t panic even half as much as he did going in for a physical. He kept a brave face throughout, recounting the story as many times as he needed to, firmly declining any opioids, and keeping his focus squarely on Mikey and his siblings the entire time, even as doctors actively treated his wounds.

After some fluids and a long nap, Leo bounced right back, seemingly no worse for the wear. They wrapped Raph’s hands. Treated Donnie’s concussion and his back. Even April had managed to sprain her wrist in the fight, a mild and easily treatable injury, but an injury nonetheless.

But he was fine. Even after tripping and falling in the Nexus; he wasn’t hurt at all.

He felt fine. 

They gave him fluids, anyway, for how much he had bailed out in quiet sobs and sniffles. 

April’s mom and dad met them at the hospital, getting there almost as soon as they did, and were in absolute pieces. Mikey had never seen April’s dad cry before, but he had been experiencing a lot of firsts of that ilk recently, so he supposed he wasn’t that surprised. They hugged April and didn’t let her go until she insisted that they were crushing her and she couldn’t breathe. She, much like Leo, was informed that she was grounded for the rest of her life for doing something so reckless and stupid. Their dad apologized at least eighty times for putting her in harm’s way, for getting her involved in such danger, but April’s parents insisted that they were just relieved that everyone was okay, and Mikey could tell that they really meant it.

Their dad and April’s parents were really good friends, actually. He had almost boundless memories of the three of them hanging out and chatting while he and his siblings played. They’d often sit out on the front stoop together when it was nice outside. April’s mom came over regularly for tea. Her dad and his dad played baseball together, even, on the weekends sometimes.

He supposed they had probably been scared for him, too.

And then eventually, they were just…

Home.

Before Mikey knew it, he was back in his own room, staring at the wall and wondering how the hell he got here.

Was this real? He kept waiting to wake up, and it didn’t happen. Did all that actually happen? When he reached back through his memories and touched them, they wiggled like Jell-O, and he wasn’t quite sure if he could trust them or not.

He shifted in place, hearing the springs of the mattress creak beneath him. He smoothed his hands over the cotton of his bedspread, feeling the soft, knitted texture beneath the pads of his fingers. 

He stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that his dad had put there for him when he was four.

He was certain he was here now. They had… made it back home. His brothers were home, too. They had all retreated back to their own rooms for the night when they all finally got home, at nearly four in the morning, all exhausted from the experience. Even their dad was home. He knew he was. He watched him get here with them.

Very slowly, Mikey sank down in bed, laying flat on his back.

And even though he had been crying all day, it felt like he was finally letting the dam burst when he reached deep down into his chest and pulled out an aching, shuddering, genuine sob.

---

Raph didn’t think he could ever miss his own bed so much. He spread himself out, splaying out his limbs like a starfish, before eventually rolling over onto his side, curling up and finding the closest stuffed animal to grab and hang onto.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he had been starting to wonder if they would ever see their home again.

But now they were here. All of them, safe and sound. Their dad included. Their dad was home.

They got their dad home.

He got everyone back home.

But somehow, he didn’t feel better yet.

That wasn’t really true. He did! Mostly. He kind of felt better. He-- he was relieved, certainly. He was so grateful that everyone was home, safe and sound-- that everyone was safe, that Dad was okay, that Leo was okay, he just…

He hadn’t expected to feel so…

Angry. 

But now, laying here in his bed, staring off at the wall and listening to their quiet house, all filled up to the brim with his family, that was all he could feel. It felt sour in his stomach, poking and prodding at the edges of his muscles and ribs like a horned creature, snorting hot and pawing at his gut and stamping its hooves, jabbing at him over and over until his face felt ugly and awful and warm.

He was angry that they were lied to. That they were tricked. That their lives weren’t what they thought they were all this time.

He was angry at the pain that had been inflicted on their family. For all the tears that his siblings had cried over the past two-and-a-half weeks. He was angry at the suffering that their father had endured for the entertainment of others in a glorified fight pit. He was angry that there were people who would do that to them-- who thought that that was okay. He was angry for every drop of blood that he had lost.

He was angry at himself for believing something untrue; for how naive and silly it made him feel, even if he recognized that the circumstances were complicated to say the least. He was angry for how close he had come to letting his family slip through his fingers.

But mostly, he was angry that their father had ever agreed to go away from them.

He and his siblings had been prepared to go to the ends of the earth to find him and bring him home and reunite their family. Raph would have done anything to get him back. They all would have. They were ready to give up everything if they had to.

And he had agreed to stay away?

He had agreed to leave them behind?

He was shocked by how meaningless he could suddenly feel in the face of his own father, who had never before made him feel anything but loved.

His anger smoldered inside of him like a stubborn campfire, unwilling to be put out, even as hot tears of frustration singed their way down his face.

---

He couldn’t sleep.

Wow, what a surprise.

If he was being honest with himself, he hadn’t even tried, but he had very little interest in engaging with the process right now. Besides that, he wasn’t even that interested in the prospect of sleeping at all. Just the idea of trying to sleep right now was exhausting and wholly unappealing. He was too tired to try to fall asleep. He just wanted…

Well, he didn’t actually know what he wanted.

He supposed that’s how he had ended up here.

Leo had been curled up in the same place on the floor for hours now, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head resting on his knees as he just… stared at himself in the mirror. Examined his body, a tiny frown on his face.

It looked the same. Just the same as he always had. The same stripey face and spotted belly. The same curly blonde hair with dark roots poking through. His chin curved the same way it always did, his waist still pinched the same way, his shoulders sloped just the same as they always had. 

He had never loved his body. He knew he acted all confident and cocky, and that wasn’t all for show-- there were times when he really did feel confident. Lots of times, actually. He was perfectly capable of being confident and capable and fucking bright as a person, and not as a body, and no, he wasn’t afraid to declare to anyone who wanted to listen that he was very cute, thank you very much, and yes, he did have great taste in clothes, and yes, his hair was amazing, wasn’t it? I’ll tell you what conditioner I use--

But truthfully, he didn’t love his body. He didn’t hate it, either-- it had just existed up until now. It had just been, and he had dealt with it, liked the parts that he liked and tolerated the parts he didn’t, making plans to customize in the future, and it was… okay. 

But he had never despised his own skin so deeply as he did in this moment.

Looking at himself now, he couldn’t find a single thing to enjoy. He looked at himself in the mirror and he glowered, curling his lips in disgust, even though he was unable to look away. 

It was the same as it was before. Nothing had changed. But somehow, he hated it now. 

---

Donnie had always preferred to base his world on facts and logic over emotions. He had always found that this was what worked best for him. If he collected data, examined it, and allowed these values to influence his decisions, everything tended to work out better. No, admittedly, this did not, by any means, guarantee success, much to his annoyance, but he had run the statistics, and facts worked. They were reliable. He could lean on them and count that they would hold him up. He could place his trust there.

For example--

Fact: Hamato Donatello is adept in the care of tropical plants. This was supported by a vast array of data. He had no less than two dozen different varieties of houseplants flourishing in the living room alone that he could point to support this claim, thank you very much, and they were all thriving under his expert care. This was a fact. This was something that he knew to be true. He could rely on this. He could lean on this. It would not change.

Even those that he, at times, found painful, he could still count on.

For example--

Fact: Hamato Donatello is bad at talking to new people. He didn’t like it, but it was a fact. Never in his life had he met someone and been able to strike up a conversation without, at some point, putting his foot in his mouth and fucking it up or floundering. He always seemed to find a way to mess it up, even if he didn’t realize it until later on. Even if he, in the moment, thought that things were going great! He was… better than he had been. He had learned, over time, and gotten the hang of the art of conversation, at least to a degree. People he knew, he could handle, no problem but someone new? It was just… 

It was just a bullet point in the long list of micro-facts that had always supported the claim of, “Hamato Donatello is different from other people. He doesn’t fit in, and there’s something that separates him from his peers.”

And he had always known this. He was diagnosed with autism when he was five. He had always known that he was different, that he didn’t quite match with everyone else. It had always felt like he was missing something; like handbooks or a set of rules had been passed out at some point, and he never got his copy. There were times when it had bothered him, sure, but he had long since come to terms with it. He had found people and places where he could fit, where ‘matching’ mattered a lot less, where the mold that he was expected to adhere to had far more give to it. He had spent years in therapy discussing this gap; years trying to learn the content of the missing ruleset through secondhand explanations. And even if it wasn’t always his favorite fact, it was still a fact. It was something that he knew to be true. He could rely on this. He could lean on this. It would not change.

Or, well. He had thought so.

He had set up a new spreadsheet so he could run through all the data-- so he could review what he thought he had known, and that which he could no longer rely on. He got to work measuring just how patchworked his universe had suddenly become. Began evaluating just how much of the floor was actively falling out from beneath him, and put it all into neat, numbered rows and columns. 

Fact: Hamato Donatello is an awarded athlete.

(Inconclusive. If he was only a talented swimmer because he was a mutant, could any of these accomplishments really be attributed to him, in all fairness? Further research needed.)

Fact: Hamato Donatello is autistic.

(Inconclusive. Can this diagnosis be considered valid if he was not human? There was no diagnosis criteria for turtles. Perhaps he was just odd and different and didn’t fit because he was a mutant. Or because he was a failed experiment. Further research needed.)

Fact: Hamato Donatello is a member of the Hamato family.

(Inconclusive. If he was a mutant rather than simply his father’s child, did he really belong on the family tree? Could he actually be considered a Hamato descendent? Was their father truly their father to begin with? Further research needed.)

Fact: Donatello is a human being. 

(Inconclusive. Though he was still not sure what his exact standing was, or how he could be categorized now, it was very clear that he was not simply a human as previously believed. Further research needed.)

Fact: Donatello is a member of society, just like everyone else, and deserves to be treated with kindness and respect by others.

(Inconclusive. He was not a human, and therefore, it could not be said that he was a ‘member of society,’ nor that he inherently deserved anything based on this status, despite what his therapist Mossy had previously taught him. This statement was based on outdated information, and could no longer be taken at face value. Further research needed.)

Fact: Donatello belongs in human society.

(Inconclusive. Further research needed.)

---

April was kind of starting to think that maybe her parents might mean it when they said she was grounded for the rest of her life. And, to be fair, she knew that she had scared them.

A lot.

She had scared herself, too. If she was being honest, she was still scared. 

It had been weeks since she had last been here, standing in her own bathroom, looking at herself in her own mirror as she brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. And it was all normal, all the same as it ever was, but--

Everything that had been keeping her upright the past three weeks, the adrenaline, the survival instincts, the desire to support her brothers and stay steady and hold them up while things fell apart, the desire to protect them, to figure things out, to investigate, to fix things, it was all…

It was all gone.

Everything that had been propping her up had suddenly given way, and she had just been carried up the stairs into the apartment by her dad, her arms wrapped around his neck like she was six again, getting home from a family outing that had gone late. And now she was sitting here in her bathroom and looking at her own face in the mirror and it was her face, and not anything spooky or mutated or unfamiliar, and that felt so unfair, somehow? And--

She hiccuped softly. And then she sobbed, until she eventually sank down onto the floor, curled up in a little heap and weeping softly. 

Oh my god, what had just happened?

She could have died.

They all could have died.

Her brothers could have died. Leo could have died. She thought Leo was going to die. 

She could have died.

She still had toothpaste in her mouth, and it was getting all down her chin and the front of her shirt, and it was fucking gross but she couldn’t really get herself to care. She just sat there and she cried until her mom knocked on the door, just barely cracking it open and joining her on the cold tile floor. And then, eventually, her dad had joined her, too, and she had wrapped herself up in their arms and practically climbed into his lap and just clung to them. She really didn’t know what else to do.

Something horrible almost happened. But it hadn’t. They were all okay. They were all home, but…

God, why did she feel like her little brother was still falling?

---

The whole way home, Yoshi was terrified that one of his children would begin talking to him. Terrified that one of them would ask some question that he wouldn’t be able to answer. But the journey back to their apartment was near silent. Somehow, that was almost worse.

He thought to himself, god, why is this your main concern right now? Why are you worrying about that, of all things? What is wrong with you?

He got everyone back home. He made sure each of his children ended up safely in their own beds. And, finally, he retreated back to his own.

He’d like to say that his room was just as he had left it, but that was untrue. It had clearly been ransacked multiple times, and he groaned softly, scrubbing at his face with his hands, wondering who all had been in here and what they had uncovered. He supposed there was nothing he could do about it right now. 

He didn’t do much besides clear off his bed. One at a time, he removed the items stacked on top of it. The piles of old paperwork. The DVD cases. The dirty laundry. He didn’t have the energy to sort through any of it properly or put it away right now, so he simply placed it all to the side, stacking things on his dresser or tossing them across the room instead, promising himself that he would get to it in the morning and dreading the thought of it. 

He would have a lot of things to do in the morning.

Internally, he scolded himself. Shouldn’t he be happy? Or at least relieved? This was the best case scenario. All of his children were home, safe and sound. He was home-- he would never have to set foot in the Battle Nexus again. He was free to live his life and raise his children, wasn’t he?

But the only thing he could find in his chest was dread, no matter how deep he dug. Very gingerly, he eased himself down onto his bed, laying out flat on his back and staring up at the ceiling. There were no answers up there. He had looked many, many times before, and he already knew. At the very least, it felt good to lie down. To finally lay down properly in a bed and allow his body a proper break. 

Ah, if only he could allow his mind to do the same…

What the fuck was he going to say to them? What… could he say? How was he supposed to explain all the choices and mistakes he made-- to explain the things he had done and what he was, and then still look them in the eyes? Even worse-- would they still want to? Would they be able to look at him?

God. How could he have let this happen to them?

His eyes wandered aimlessly around his room, a very soft sigh working its way up his chest. He felt like he had come back from the dead. He felt like a ghost. A part of him had already accepted that he would never be back here. Had accepted that he would never see his children ever again. And now here they all were, right here in the same house as him. Only a few floors away.

It didn’t quite feel real yet.

He wanted, more than anything, to get up and go get them this very second. He wanted to gather them all up in his arms like he did when they were babies and pile them up in his bed with him. He wanted to hold them all and fall asleep that way, knowing that they were there and that they were close and that they were okay. He didn’t think he possibly could sleep otherwise.

But he didn’t do that.

He was afraid that if he tried, they wouldn’t want to come with him. And that fear was enough to keep him pinned in place, cold and still, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

He knew they were upset. He could feel that they were upset, and how could he blame them? They were justified. They had every right to be upset, to be angry with him, to hate him, after all he had kept from them! After all the ways he had failed them. He just…

He hadn’t known what else to do.

He still didn’t know what else to do.

This had never been his intention.

---

“Dad--”

“Don’t run in the house,” he replied, not even looking down at his son as he dashed into the kitchen, quite nearly crashing into his leg.

“I wasn’t!” Leo protested, even though he most certainly was, rolling his eyes with a huff. “Dad, I’m gonna be late! Hurry up! Justin and Ben are already waiting for me!”

“Oh, well, if I am going too slowly, I suppose that you can pack your own snacks for camp from now on--”

“Dad!”

“So ungrateful,” he tsked, scooping the last of the vegetables he was slicing up into his son’s bento box, handing it over to the impatient eight-year-old. “There. All the carrot sticks and sugar snap peas that a little turtle could ever ask for,” he teased. A rarely used nickname, but one that sugar peas always made him think of, given how excitedly they would be devoured on the rare occasion he was able to offer some when they were small.

Leo scoffed as he accepted the offering, shoving it into his backpack. “Dad, we’re too old for that game. We don’t play turtles anymore,” he huffed.

Yoshi froze.

“What?”

“We’re not little kids, Dad! We don’t play make-believe anymore!” Leo said matter-of-factly, shooting his dad an absolute withering look. Yoshi floundered for a moment, struggling to find his tongue, which suddenly felt heavy in his mouth, before he finally nodded. 

“Yes… of course.”

“I’ll be home later! Tell Donnie not to go in my room or else I’ll know!” Leo yelled over his shoulder as he ran out the door, hopping down the steps to meet his two classmates who were attending the same summer camp, and Justin’s mother, who had kindly offered to walk them to the bus stop each morning. Yoshi watched him go, and he waved, but things felt… far off. 

He sat down on the kitchen chair once Leo was gone, and thought about the conversation for quite some time, wondering if he had understood correctly. 

After sitting there for about twenty minutes, he eventually got to his feet, shuffling up the stairs to Mikey’s room and knocking gently on the door.

“Yeahhhhhh?”

Yoshi peeked his head in, unsurprised to find his youngest bent over some elaborate arts and crafts project, currently busying himself in taping a pack of construction paper together to create a massive canvas, no doubt for his latest masterpiece. Yoshi sighed very softly through his nose, smiling for just a second as he shuffled his way in.

“What are you working on, my son?”

“‘S gonna be a painting. But I want it to be big!” He explained, throwing his hands out to illustrate. “So I’m making a super big paper to paint on first.”

“Ah, I see. You will have to show me when you are done. I’m sure it’ll be very impressive.”

“Mmm-hmmmm,” Mikey confirmed, quickly returning his attention back to his project, his tongue sticking out from between his lips with his intense focus. Yoshi hesitated for a moment before he spoke again.

“Orange, do you remember… playing turtles?”

“Yeah,” Mikey replied easily. “Why?”

“Well,” he wobbled for a second, choosing his words carefully. “What do you remember?”

“Uhhh,” Mikey tilted his head to the side for a second before he shrugged. “I dunno. It was just a game we used to play. We used to pretend to be turtles and stuff when we were little. We used to play it all the time!” He chirped. “Buuuuut we don’t really play it much anymore. Leo says we’re ‘too old’ for make-believe,” he sighed. “But he still plays Jupiter Jim. He says that’s ‘acting’ and it’s different, but it’s not,” he informed their father, giving him an exasperated look, as if to say, ‘can you believe he would say something like that?’

“... Ah. I see. Thank you, Mikey.”

“Why?” Mikey asked again, and Yoshi swallowed.

“Nothing, no reason! I was just thinking of something else… Also, ah, I wanted to ask you, what do you think about pizza for dinner tonight, my son?” 

“YEAH! PIZZA!” Mikey immediately cheered, his face lighting up, and Yoshi inwardly sighed in relief. Pizza for dinner was a small price to pay to put an end to this conversation. After taking a few requests (demands) regarding toppings and which place they should order from, Yoshi was eventually able to escape from his child’s room, closing the door behind him as he made his way back out into the hall.

He slumped against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

They… 

Forgot. He hadn’t ever imagined that they would forget.

[ next ]

[bubblyhearts87-14]

How to Fall in Love in 5 Snacks

notes: so i super love theater and i came up with this idea while I was at one. My main account has other asks so I thought it would be fun to post here instead. Don't expect future fics to be this long, they normally aren't lol. Also I may or may not write a fic about Mikey and his person in this fic 🤷 who knows 🙈 This was written by Hearts (you can tell my the notes being green and the divider being green!)

Popcorn and one water

Leo saw her almost as soon as he entered the theater. She was at the counter, across the busy lobby, wearing a name tag. Leo suddenly wished he had supervision so he could out her name from all the way over here.

“I'm gonna go get a snack.” Leo informed Donnie who likely gave a snarky reply but Leo was far too invested in getting closer to her. He was surprised that he hadn't seen her around before, since she looked like she was in his grade.

 She had a sour expression on her face, looking dull and monotonous. Not fully a frown but definitely not a smile, her eyes darting away before they could meet anyone else's. It made Leo nervous that she was uncomfortable.

Either way, he was determined to swallow his anxiety and get a snack (or rather use getting a snack as a guise to learn her name.) 

Leo patiently waited in line, tapping his fingers against the fabric of his jeans. His heart beat erratically in his chest, sweat collecting in his hands. He tried to wipe it away just as it was his turn to get concessions. 

“Hi, what can I get you?” She said, her voice surprisingly friendly for such an….unpleasant expression. 

“Can I get a……” Leo faltered, realizing he hadn't thought of what to get yet. He glanced at the menu trying to figure out what to get before he frustrates you or the people in line. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. 

“Can I get popcorn and a bottle of water?” Leo finally said, hoping you wouldn't think his choice was dumb. Was it dumb? Should he have gotten a candy bar? Or maybe he should have gotten a soda instead? 

“Alright, coming right up.” She said cheerfully, turning around to grab a water bottle from the fridge. She leaned over the counter, standing on her tip-toes (Leo couldn't help but find that adorable) to hand the water to him. Leo shivered when your fingers brushed against his, his green skin gaining a pinkish tint. 

Leo finally glanced at her nametag, the sound of her name repeating over and over again in his head. It sounded so nice, so pretty, so lovely. He wanted to keep it locked up in his brain, place it on a shelf and make sure your name never gets forgotten and left to the dust. 

Finally he got his popcorn, yet again his heart fluttered when your hand touched his. Was it normal to have heart palpitations over minor touch? 

“Enjoy the show!” She said, giving Leo a small smile. He felt like the luckiest turtle in the world.

“You too, [Name]!” Leo said, taking a moment to process. Then he proceeded to die of cringes. She wasn't even watching the show since she was working! 

Leo quickly walked away before he could see your reaction to his absolute idiocy. 

How was he already so far gone?

2. Two hershey bars and one bag of gummies

“Leeeeoooooooo, can you please get me a snack?” Mikey whined, not even five seconds after Leo had returned with his own snacks. Not that he was complaining, since his brain was still on the counter where you handed him his popcorn and water.

Leo's hands still tingled, like all the atoms inside his body were doing a little dance right where your skin has brushed up against his. God, he felt ridiculous. (Donnie would most certainly label him a simp if he could hear Leo's thoughts.) 

“Alright fine, I'll get your snack.” Leo conceded, acting as if he wasn't ecstatic to see you again. Even with his last moment with you making Leo crumple up with cringe, he still likes you. 

[Name.] 

He wondered if you could tell how much you already make his heart pound and make his head feel like it's underwater. Like he's drowning quick and fast but Leo found he doesn't mind if this is his death. He liked the way you made him feel.

Leo put his own stuff down in his chair, using his ninja skills to avoid getting trapped in the crowd. Normally this sort of event wasn't for Leo, it's crowded and busy and Leo doesn't know this musical. But Mikey begged for them all to go so they could support his friend.  

He had never been happier to do something Mikey wants. 

Leo weaved his way through the hoard of people, making sure to avoid getting stuck in the monstrously long bathroom line. Finally, he made it out into the lobby eyes darting around until they spotted you.

She seemed to notice Leo too, as time slowed down. Her lips quirked into a smile, eyes crinkling like just made an inside joke with him. 

The blue clad turtle got into line, trying not to seem impatient even though he really really wanted to shove everyone out of line. That would be rude of him. 

He couldn't help wanting to see her! But he could control his…aggressive urges. (Maybe Raph was rubbing off on Leo a little bit.) 

After what felt like an eternity but was only a few seconds, it was finally Leo's turn. He approached the counter trying to suppress the dorky grin on his face.

"Hello again." She said, her eyes watching his face carefully. His skin itched like her sight was physically touching him.

"Hi, again. My brother wanted some snacks so I'm back." Leo explained, although almost immediately regretting it. Was it too much information? Was he rambling? Did she think he is a weirdo?

"If my sister was here she would make me get her snacks too." She replied, gifting Leo the chance to hear her delightful laugh. It was soft and quiet, repeating itself in his brain like a record that never stops turning.

He wanted to keep talking to you, maybe bond over having siblings, but there were people behind hin who were growing impatient. Leo only hopes to see you after the show.

"Can I have two hershey bars and some gummies?" Leo asked, feeling light and airy. Although disappointed he has to go as soon as you give him the food. She handed it to him, her gentle fingers wrapped around the packages as they brushed against his calloused skin.

"Enjoy the snacks." She said, with a small smile. Leo returned the smile, not saying anything yet in fear of saying something cringe again. He can't control the things he says around you.

As he turned around he could have sworn he heard you mutter, "See you soon, cutie."

Leo really hoped his brothers wanted more snacks soon.

3. One pack of cookies and a Sprite

The musical was a lot better than Leo had anticipated. The story was interesting and the songs weren't obnoxious. Plus Leo could see how much Mikey was enjoying seeing his friend up stage.

"Ughh, I need some soda. Dude go get me some and a snack too." Raph said, shoving some money in Leo's hands just as the lights started coming back on. It was intermission, or rather the little break in between acts so the actors can have a break. At least that's how Mikey explained it to Leo.

Leo was grateful for the intermission since it meant he had another chance to see [Name]. It seemed things were going very well with her! Even if he's only know her for about an hour. And most of that hour has been watching high schoolers kill other high schoolers. Very fascinating stuff.

"You're lucky I'm a good big brother." Leo replied in a snippy tone as though to mask his excitement Which doesn't seem to work because Donnie glances away from Mikey and gives Leo a suspicious look.

"Uh huh and you aren't excited to see Miss.....[Last Name]?" Donnie added, glancing at his phone. Leo blushed, more embarrassed by the teasing than the fact Donnie probably just got all of [Name]'s personal information.

"W-whatever!" Leo squeaked, face burning even more as his brothers laughed at him. How would Donnie even know Leo already had a major minor crush on [Name]? How obvious was he about it?

Leo doesn't have much time to think about it because he quickly had to weave himself through the lines forming to the bathrooms and concession stands. Yet again he was feeling grateful for Splinter teaching him the skills he needed to not get trapped between the parents of the actors and the other kids forced to come. A...unique crowd.

How many times was he going to be stuck in this line, waiting to see the face that had been plaguing his thoughts for the first half of the show? It was frustrating certainly but he had to remain patient and hope [Name] won't be sick of seeing him.

"Hi, what can I...oh it's you again!" She said, her smile brightening instead of falling thankfully. Leo laughed, although it sounded slightly awkward.

"Yeah, my brothers always seem to want me to get them something." Leo rolled his eyes, pretending as though he wasn't insanely excited to come back to the concession stand and see her.

She snorted and muttered a, "Real." as she gave Leo a wry smile. "And what do your brothers want this time?"

"A pack of cookies and a Sprite, please."

[Name] grabbed the stuff, her skirt flowing around her. She was dressed so elegantly, making Leo feel slightly under dressed. But she was utterly stunning, so much so it made Leo's tongue feel like an iron weight on top.

"Here you go, Blue." She said with a grin, making Leo startle slightly. Oh, oh. He hasn't even told her his name yet! How stupid can he be?

"My name's Leo." He explained, a slight influx in his pitch making him blush yet again. (Why must every bone in his body be cursed with awkwardness?!)

"Well, it's nice to meet you. I hope to see you soon, Leo." She said, waving Leo off. He smiled a little dopey as he walked away, almost under a trance.

He was unable to be saved from the thing called love.

4. Two granola bars

"Donnie, you are such a weirdo! Granola bars?" Mikey complained, leaning back in his chair as he watched Donnie hand Leo his money.

"Yes! I'm not wanting sugary treats right now. Granola bars are a perfectly acceptable snack." Donnie huffed, handing his blue masked brother a five dollar bill.

"Yeah, yeah. Just hand me the money so I can buy it before intermission hands." Leo complained, exaggerating his annoyance so he doesn't seem terribly down bad for [Name]. He's known her for barely any time at all and he's already dying to see her again, taking any chance really.

"Shut up, Nardo. You aren't fooling anyone. Now hurry up and get my food." Donnie replied, pulling out his phone to watch the newest episode of whatever anime he is currently obsessed with. Leo scoffed but walked away, heart flurrying with excitment.

Would [Name] think he is pathetic for his thoughts? Or would she call him a romantic? Oh god, if only he knew whether she liked him even a fraction of the same way.

"Bye-bye birdie~" Mikey sang, giggling after. Leo rolled his eyes, finding the musical reference not very funny at all. His brothers were such dorks.

Leo walked into line yet again, although grateful to see it isn't as long as before. She seemed to be working fast, waltzing from behind the counter to give everyone the things they bought.

"Here you go, sir! I hope you're enjoying the show!" She said to the man in front of Leo, finally making it his turn. How Leo so nervous? Gah, he's scared the money will be damp from how much he is nervous sweating!

"Wow, I feel like I haven't seen you in centuries." She said with a dry smile, Leo awkwardly laughing. Damn, she's so cool! And he's so....not!

"Hehe yeah. My other brother decided to get two granola bars." Leo explained, her eyes lighting up with amusement. His stomach clenched at that look. She was so effortlessly beautiful.

"Ooh, interesting choice." She hummed grabbing said items. Leo nodded, still feeling his nerves like a tightly pressed spring waiting to be unleashed.

They exchanged the money and granola bars, luckily with her seeming to notice the copious amounts of sweat on Leo's palms. Why must he be so embarrassing?

"Better get going." She said, jutting her chin towards the door, "Show is about to start."

Leo sighed, his heart fracturing dramatically at what seemed like rejection. Maybe she hasn't been flirting with him and Leo is too delusional to read the signs. Of course she doesn't like him! He's a cringy, dorky mutant who can barely speak without saying something so awkward.

"Yeah, that's true." Leo replied, wishing he could suck the disheartened tone out of his words. His very existence is embarrassing! She frowned a little, like she was surprised to see Leo disappointed.

Either way, Leo turned away and headed back to the audience with a heavy heart. He shouldn't be surprised she doesn't like him the way he liked her.

Who would like a freak like him?

5. ?????

Leo was....impressed by how much he enjoyed the show. He had never been one for musicals or any of that stuff but he can appreciate it. Especially since Mikey was head over heels for the lead in the show. (Although Mikey keeps saying they are "just friends")

He grabbed his trash and threw it out, waiting for his brothers to finish talking to the cast in the lobby so they can head home. He was exhausted.

Leo couldn't help but feel heartbroken over [Name] even if they did nothing more than be friendly while working. He sighed and leaned against the wall, watching Donnie bond with another audience member who liked anime. All of his brothers had a chance with someone except for him! Maybe it was less to do with him being a mutant and more of the fact he was so awkward and annoying and stupid and emb-

"Hey, Leo."

He stiffened at the sound of her voice, his heart yet again being sent into overdrive. He tried to stay calm as he turned around to see [Name]'s curious but tired expression. She was pretty enough to frustrate him.

She gave him a smile that put Leo slightly to ease, even if he was wary. And for little reason since she did nothing but her job! Leo was a pathetic lovesick fool.

"You forgot your last snack." She said, a slight glint in her eyes. Leo's curiosity was intrigued. She held out her arms and showed Leo what she was holding....a box of dates.

"Umm, what?" Leo asked confused, trying to figure out whatever the hell she meant by that. Dates? What teenager in their right mind eats those? And does their school even sell them?

She flustered (how cute Leo thought it was) and looked away, still holding the box of dates in her hands. Leo wasn't sure what was going on.

"It was a stupid pun. Like a date for a date? And multiple because I want to go on multiple dates with you?" She explained, an embarrassed laugh coming from her, "Sorry, I must have misunderstood some signals. I thought you were cute and I wanted to ask you out but I chickened out earlier."

Leo could have sworn his face was going to explode from how much blood rushed to it quickly. She thought he was cute? And she was dorky enough to ask him out using a pun? Leo must have died and gone to heaven because someone this perfect can't exist and like him.

"You don't need to say anything. Sorry fir bothering you, Leo." She shyly stammered, attempting to walk away but Leo grabbed her wrist before he could second guess himself.

"I'd love to go on a date with you. And I would make a pun but nothing can top yours." Leo replied, shoving the words out of his throat before he can be too shy. She brightened immediately, her smile widening.

"Really?" She asked, turning to face him. Leo nodded and smiled, finding her happiness contagious.

She leaned in and so did Leo, the rest of the world fading to black. He was about to get his first kiss! With an awesome girl too! Maybe they should wait for their first date? Or do people normally kiss this soon? Maybe Leo should have watched more romance movies when he had the chance.

"Bleh, can you stop giving each other the lovey dovey eyes?" Donnie complained, all three of Leo's brothers appearing at the most inopportune time. Leo pulled away the same time she did, both looking like guilty kids.

"Time to go?" Leo asked, cringing at the way his voice squeaked. All of his brothers snorted and [Name] gave Leo a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, lets go!" Mikey said, still looking far too hyper for it to be 10 pm. Raph rested his arm on Mikey's head, almost like it was his way to wrangle the younger boy.

Before they left, Leo and [Name] swapped phone numbers so they can plan a date and talk. Leo waved goodbye to her, smile spreading across his lips like invisible hands were forcing the joy on his face.

"You're such a dork, Nardo." Raph snorted, bit Leo was far too happy to even care about rebutting him. He may be a dork but he did get the girl.

[afreakingdork]

Crush Too Much - Part 7

RotTMNT Donatello x GN!Reader

Warnings: Light Angst, Fluff, Embarrassment, Overbearing Siblings, Aged-up Turtles

Synopsis:  So you met a customer three times at work and that made a pretty big impression on you? That’s nothing to necessarily get worked up over, but when you’re all prepared to ask for his number the next time you see him and his brother gets involved instead, you might be in for something more than you bargained for.

FIRST 💜 PREVIOUS

“This would happen in New Jersey!” Donnie griped from underneath the van.

The street it had broken down on was desolate so you sat beside him on the road leaning against the large rear all-terrain tires. “How did you get your driver’s license?”

“Like anyone else.” He responded in time with the soft clicking of something being tightened.

“It’s hard to picture you standing in line at the DMV.”

“Oh, you meant legally?” Though you couldn’t see him you could tell he was joking. Kicking your leg out, you tapped your shoe against his ankle. “Ow. Oh. Oh no. I have been mortally wounded. Now you’re stuck in this tragic place.” His dry wit brought a lazy smile to your face.

You leaned your head back against the rubber and looked up at the sky. “We’re not gonna make it.”

“Time.”

You pulled out your phone. “Almost 8.”

“A surprising lack of faith from the individual that asked acquaintance to trust them before dragging them to arguably one of the most seedy restaurant fronts in the city.”

Staring at the lock screen photo of the two of you from your rooftop rendezvous, heat pooled in your cheeks. You wouldn’t have asked just any acquaintance to do that. The eventualities had been on the fringes of your thoughts since your meeting with Leo. For now you’d change the subject. “Tell me more about the van.” You shuffled your legs into a straight line and clicked your sneakers together. On the quiet road, you could just hear your aglets clatter against one another.

Donnie slid out from under the vehicle and posed on his side in a French girl manner. “I acknowledge that by changing the subject you are avoiding an admission of guilt, but hoo boy!!” He shouted and jumped to his feet. “I’ll take any opportunity to talk about the Dream Van!”

He held out a hand to help you to your feet and you took it. As soon as you were righted, he released you in favor of hugging the car. You tried to curb your smile by biting your lip.

“I spotted her like a glittering jewel in the desert of Repo Mantis’ scrap yard!” He ran a hand along the side door. “Still mostly intact, though obviously broken down, she called to me in a sweet language only I can hear.” 

You were so glad you were already chewing on your bottom lip. “Purple?”

He stopped and shot you a scandalized glare.

The distant streetlight just barely illuminated the pearlescent paint job in said shade. “You mentioned restoring the original color when I complimented her earlier.” Tipping to one side you let your shoulder bump up against the vehicle.

“Hey!” Donnie pried himself off the van to shoo you away. “Insult the Dream Van and you don’t get to touch the Dream Van.”

Maybe it was the relaxed boredom, but you just wanted to press his buttons a little more tonight. You took a step back, hands raised in defeat. He gave a curt nod and just as he was about to return to his explanation, you reached out a single digit toward the van.

“Don’t…” He warned, throwing up a challenging finger of his own.

As soon as your pointer made contact with the cold steel, you were both off. You kept a hand to the vehicle as your rounded the rear. Donnie forwent the obvious straight chase line and lept straight over the van, cutting you off on the other side. His smug smile turned to dismay as the worn tread on your sneakers skidded on an unknown sidewalk puddle. The two of your unceremoniously collided. You waited for gravity to take over, but the world didn’t seemed to rotate around you. Blinking you looked up to find Donnie had reflexively caught you and was staring at your with a self-satisfied smirk.

“I’m starting to get the feeling that you don’t actually want to hear about the van.”

From your current proximity, you had a clear shot of the just barely marred shred of sadness in his otherwise deadpan gaze. “No, I do!”

He raised a single brow in question.

“I-“ You started and sighed, your eyes cast down from your delinquency. “It’s just we’ve been here for about an hour and I’m no help when it comes to this.” You nodded a head toward the vehicle and Donnie blew a relaxed puff of air out his nose.

“’Idle hands.’” He shook his head. “I have 3 brothers or did the prospect of an exciting night of science distract you from that?”

“You’re used to it.” You shook your head, parsing out his meaning. “I would say I’m a normal amount of excited for LSC After Dark.”

“It’s true.” Donnie tipped his head to the side with mild dismay. “If the Gilder Center had an afterhours event, that would be better suited to my tastes.”

“Are you telling me the science speakeasy and dance floor with a touch of science aren’t your speed?” You put on your best puppy dog eyes knowing full well Donnie had shot down the third Thursday party transformation at the Liberty City Science Center over text.

“Maybe if it actually had a modicum to do with science.” He rolled his eyes, but a thought seemed to strike him. “A techno rave where the beats per minute were set in a way to mimic heart rate.”

“Oh, it could be a five senses sort of thing!” You brightened, catching wind of his idea.

“A full body experience manipulation of one’s faculties.” You watched as he seemed to already be creating a mental map. “The ultimate implementation of jams!”

“Club owner has now been added to Donnie’s to-do list.”

“As if it already wasn’t.” His brows wiggled in a way that said he thought of everything. You smiled cheekily and felt a hum in his chest as his brain switched gears. That exact sound made you realize that he was still holding you. You cursed yourself for not taking the proper time to appreciate the moment. On the other hand, it was jarring that it’d felt so natural you hadn’t noticed it was happening at all. “Most of tonight’s events are placating stunts for masses that’d like to portray themselves as having scientific prowess. I’m more interested in gaining access to the planetarium and picking the brain of tonight’s Space Talk speaker.”

“Which we will miss if you don’t get the van running again.” Any hesitation you had about shifting his attention was immediately eclipsed by the guilt of causing him to miss the events he'd listed. He’d been willing to come all the way out to New Jersey to attend and that said more than enough about his excitement.

“Yes, of course.” He released you and brought a hand to his chin as he rounded the vehicle to gain access to the hood. “I regret having not installed a monitoring system!”

“Why didn’t you?” You followed him at a much slower pace.

He shot you a quick look that said you didn’t need to bother before scouring the engine.

You deserved that. “I wasn’t lying. I did want to know more about the van.”

He made a sound of wry sound of uncertainty, but spoke anyway. “It took many hours of negotiation, but I got the van and fixed her up.” He leaned back and you watched him disappear around the passenger side. “The Turtle Tank is my true baby, but her and Shell Cycles are more team oriented vehicles.” The back door slid open and you watched Donnie through the driver side window as he climbed in. “This is for my own personal use only. As such I retrofitted the interior with a miniature lab, but I left the exterior and major components street legal.”

“The dash certainly has a spaceship vibe.” You mused, turning your window attention to said lights and knobs.

“Mostly street legal.” He corrected himself and disappeared into the very back of the van. “I would have needed to rehaul the suspension to add a monitoring system!” He raised his voice to compensate for his distance. “The frame is basically just flat steel so the weight of the tech would have overtaxed the current build!”

“But because it’s an older car it was able to survive being junked to get into your hands, right?”

“Absolutely.” The vehicle shook as Donnie shuffled back out the door and rounded to the engine once more. “As Michael described it, I trend toward the ‘shiny and new,’ but there is a slew of merits to certain older technology. The first of which, in our current case, is there’s only so many things that can be wrong…”

You nodded, having not quite followed all the checks he had done so far.

Planting one hand on either side of the engine block, Donnie huffed. “The battery isn’t dead because the lights work, I tightened the terminals so those are fine, no sign that the alternator is bad, it turns over so ignition and starter work, and no sounds indicate timing belt or distributor…” He trailed off, clicking his tongue.

“So what’s left…?”

“That’s just it.” He lifted and smacked his hands down in frustration. “With my own two hands, I put every single part in this beautiful creature. I know where they’ve all been and where they all go-"

You watched as his face froze up. You blinked rapidly, making sure your vision was still good. Everything else seemed to be fine; it was just Donnie that had gone statuesque. “Uh…” You moved to his side. “Donnie? Earth to Donnie?” He was unresponsive so you waved a hand in front of his face. “Hello?” You were just about to touch him when his left eye twitched.

“That…”

“Wha-?”

“AbsolUTE IGNORAMUS!!!!” He roared back to life and you stumbled backward. Your heel caught the sidewalk and you sputtered to keep from falling. Donnie moved in an instant, snatching both of your wrists. You would have thanked him, but the look on his face said he had not done it for you safety. “Vacuum cleaner.”

“Vacuum cleaner?” You probably looked as pale as you felt.

“I was intensely focused on building the engine block!” Releasing you, Donnie whipped around and all but flung himself back into the van. The car bounced comically until he emerged with a small tool in his hand and dove straight into the engine. “Mikey had just finished his first whittling project and Raphael offered to vacuum up the saw dust.”

“Uh huh…?” You stared, mouth slightly agape. You had no idea what he was talking about, but you could hear something pop and the sound of a little trickle of liquid.

“It’s delicate work!” Donnie growled, pieces moving out of your view. “It takes a lot of focus!!”

“You rebuilt an engine from scratch…” You could only affirm what you knew for sure.

“They know how focused I can get! Which is why-" Donnie emerged with a small cylinder in his hand. “-when I was asked if the vacuum’s new filter had come in, I just brushed it off. Anyone of them is more than capable of opening packages!” He growled and held the cylinder out for you to see. As he jostled it the top popped off. “It’s not supposed to do that!” He hissed.

“What is-?”

“I had to special order some parts because of their age.” He reached down and grasped the lid of the object. “One such item was a fuel filter.”

“Which is…” You brought a feeble finger up. “That?”

“The filter that goes into the vacuum is cylindrical also.” He pulled the top off and blackened gunk clung to the ridges of the filter inside. “But why…?” Donnie dropped to his knees and held the object out in front of him in dismay. “Why did Raph think you had to saw through metal to get to a filter?! Why did he presumably put it in the vacuum, use said vacuum, then take it BACK OUT, PUT IT BACK INTO THE METAL CASING, AND INTO THE BOX FROM WHENST IT CAME?!”

You stared in twisted awe. You had never seen Donnie both this mad or this distraught before. “P-probably because it didn’t work…?”

“It didn’t…” Donnie’s voice had dropped down low along with his head. You leaned in slight. “OF COURSE IT DIDN’T WORK, IT’S FOR A CAR!!!” He screamed at you while snapping to his feet.

Now under the direct fire of the fury, you froze.

The fear must have translated to your face because Donnie dropped out of the snarl and you watched his eyes dart around your features. He pulled back and closed a hand around the filter. “I apologize. I’m not mad at you… I just…” He hung his head and went silent.

Still coming off the frightened adrenaline rush, you shifted your shoulders. “It’s… ok…”

“No, it’s not.”

“Donnie…” Tightened restraints wrapped around your heart as you realized he was distraught in a different way now.

“I’ll order you a ride home.” With his free hand, he unearthed his phone from his hoodie’s pocket.

“Wait!” It wasn’t just your mouth for once. Your whole body moved before your mind could process it. You leapt forward and covered his phone with your hands.

“It’s probably better for you to go home. I’ll wait here with the Dream Van until an auto shop opens up and get the part.”

You might have let him get away with it if had he moved even a muscle. Instead, he continued to keep his head down, staring at your hands. “Worries was one of the things we promised to discuss, remember?”

He was quiet, but gave a single tight nod.

“You were really excited for tonight.”

Another nod.

“Do you want to ship me off and let it end like this?” You wished so badly that he would look at you,

“It’s already 9, we really weren’t ever going to make it.”

“What did you say before?” You put force down on the phone. Like a pulley system, as his hands went down and his head lifted up. “Changing subjects was admitting guilt?”

“Incorrect.” His gaze was guarded.

“Ok, I didn’t get the exact words you used…”

“No.” He shook his head. “Incorrect as in I was not admitting guilt. I don’t want the night to end like this.”

“So, you just want to ship me off?” You didn’t mean for it to sound bitter, but maybe it was just the inherent content of the sentence.

“Absolutely not!” You were taken back by his sudden sternness. “I just…” He turned his head away. “I find it hard to look at you right now because when I do I’m reminded of the face you made earlier.”

You weren’t sure what to say.

“I snapped at you and you were scared of me.” You could feel the slightest tremble of his hands through the phone. “Your easy going temperament means you’re quick to forgive, but the same can't be said about me.”

“I don’t know if I would call myself easy-going…” The notion seemed ridiculous given your ever present anxieties.

 “You put up with me.” He turned and gave you a serious glance. His tone dripped with scornful sarcasm.

“Is that what you think?” You pushed his phone down all the way and stepped right into his personal space so he was forced to look at you. “I love spending time with you. Our banter, discussions, even when you just come in to pick up your weekly pizza order! Did any of that seem like I was just dealingwith your existence?”

It was a logic query that you knew he had no chance of rationalizing himself out of.

It took several moments, but the creases in his brow softened. “Emotions tend to be a grey area for me. When I feel them, I am often swept and bested.”

You tilted your head. That was familiar. “You must be joking.”

He was taken aback, but before he could protest, you continued.

“Yes, this time you got too heated, but this whole situation is beyond frustrating!” You swung your arms in a wide gesture. “It’s a very normal reaction.” He was so close you could see your reflection in his eyes. “I have never once thought of you as emotionless. You’re not heartless; you just struggle with articulating your emotions sometimes.”

He stared down at you with such intensity that you thought you might wilt under his gaze alone. Just as the speed of your heart rate was reaching critical levels, he took a step back and centered himself deep breath.  “Since, and you won’t hear me often admit this because it almost never happens, but I am not in my right mind. What do you propose we do now?”

You cleared your throat to get ahold of your own emotions before looking at him ruefully. “We make the guys, specifically Raph, pick us and the Dream Van up. When we’re on our way home, explaining what happened, you should show him the part without letting on that you know what happened.”

You watched as some life was breathed back into the otherwise limp hero. “Make him stew?” Donnie craned an eyebrow up in tentative curiosity.

“Just this once I thought I’d take inspiration from someone.” You rolled on the balls of your feet while giving him occasional side eyes.

“Finally.” He rounded the van and closed the open door. You were about to follow when he hopped on top of the vehicle and looked down at you. “I was wondering when I’d rub off on you.”

You smiled up at him and he offered his hand. Curious, you took it and squeaked in surprise as he hoisted you up onto the van with him. “Is it ok to be on top of your second baby?”

“She’s reinforced.” He noted and collapsed back onto the roof. He then held his phone above his head and appeared to be typing something out.

You folded your legs up against you body and rested your chin on your knees. You listened to the soft pattering of fingers on a phone screen until there was a thump against the roof. You turned to find Donnie had let his arm collapse, phone in hand one hand and the fuel filter in the other.

“Our target will be here in T-minus 24 minutes.” He reported with his eyes drifting shut.

“When you say it like that I don’t know how long I’ll be able to play the part.” You chuckled lightly, your lids feeling a similar tug.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.” A long swath of silence stretched out between you before Donnie broke it with a barely legible, “Thank you.”

In case that was some kind of sleepy comment not meant for your ears, you responded with a soft hum of affirmation. You thought he might have fallen asleep when another sentence slipped from him.

“This is just like when Jupiter Jim became stranded on Sectron…”

That name sounded vaguely familiar. “Jupiter Jim.” You whispered carefully. “Is that like a movie character?” You had truly meant it as a wonder for yourself.

“Yeah, you know.” He folded his phone hand over his chest. “Marcus Moncrief?”

“Huh, never seen it.”

Donnie snapped upright so fast the whole van shook.

“Par-DON!?”

-

You didn’t think you had ever been this tired in your whole life. The final scenes of the movie swam across your face. You tried to keep your eyes focused as Lou Jitsu tore his way through a sea of bad guys. Every time you lost focus, the image would start to blur. You squinted as suddenly the action stopped. You allowed yourself to blink for what felt like the first time in several minutes. When you opened them a snappy one-liner was quipped and then a big ‘The End’ card appeared. Sleep drunk, the room darkened as the only light source scrolled with credits.

“Did…” You own voice sounded foreign. “Did we do it?”

“Every-” Donnie’s speech seemed as affected as yours. You could hear him lick his lips, but it seemed like too much energy to turn and look at him. “Single Jupiter Jim and Lou Jitsu movie has been consumed. Congratulations. You are now caught up.”

“Hurray.” You couldn’t muster any emotion to the word. After his discovery the night of the failed museum trip, Donnie had been hyperfocused on getting you caught up on ‘all the good cinema you had missed.’ He was very lucky in several regards. The first was that it was now summer so your schedule had freed up. The second was you no longer had any summer classes to attend to with your internship on its way and, finally, that said internship did not start until the beginning of the next month. Based on Donnie incessant pestering though, you wouldn’t have lasted more than a week without succumbing to the movie marathon. In fact, you’d made it exactly three days and only had to trade one shift to squeeze the event in.

As if on cue, both of you collapsed back into the couch at the same time. When had you even started leaning forward? With only back support now squared away and lethally low energy in the tank, you body threatened to fall further. You were trying to calculate if you would hit your head on the armrest if you fell to the right when Donnie’s hand shuffled between you to unearth his phone. The simple movement bumped your shoulders and your body gave into the motion. With a soft thump, the side of your head gently plopped right onto his shoulder. You weren’t sure if it was pure exhaustion, but he didn’t seem to notice. From your new view, you could see he was now holding his phone in hand, tilted so both of you could see it. Staring at the dark screen, his thumb seemed to move in slow motion as he activated the device. It read the time and date against a glowing purple motherboard background.

“That’s…” You stared. It took so much effort to speak. “How long…?” You hoped and hoped that he understood.

“31 hours, 32 minutes, and 47 seconds…” He didn’t unlock his phone and you both watched as it went back to sleep.

“I… will never move… again…” You whined softly.

“When…” He trailed off and took a deep breath. “When do you normally go to sleep?”

That seemed like an odd question, but you couldn’t think of what a normal one would even be. “Around 2am?”

“Then we need to stay awake for 27 more minutes.”

“You’re joking!” It was so surprising that it gave you just enough energy to boost your voice.

“No.” You could see his reflection in the darkened phone screen and his face was the definition of neutral. “It’ll keep your sleep schedule on track.”

“How…?” You wanted to ask how you would stay awake, but the rest of the sentence was lost.

“I can’t... explain…” You watched his reflection close its eyes in defeat. You felt bad for mirror Donnie until it sunk in what he had said. You had to try harder, for his sake.

“No…” You shifted your head enough to just bump his. “How will we stay up… that long?”

“Oh.” His reflection’s mouth formed a perfect circle. His thumb moved again and the screen illuminated once more. He unlocked his phone and opened an internet window. It then sat there, static, with only suggested articles at the bottom.

“Donnie?” You wondered and his head flopped over atop yours.

“Thinking.” He responded weekly, his thumb hovering over the screen.

If you had a shred of your mind left, you would have screamed at your current contact. Instead you were left as a husk with no inhibitions. “I don’t think I can… make it home…”

“Sleep here.” If he meant literally right where you were on the couch, that sounded like everything good and perfect in this world. When you’d first arrived at the lair at 5pm the previous day, you’d been blown away by the short tour. His family had dropped in throughout the marathon in stages, but for the last 2 movies only you and Donnie remained.

“You say sleep…” Why were you wasting energy on this? “I say how high.” That didn’t even make sense.

“Dumb.” He responded, finally typing something into the search bar. Your eyes lost focus again. When it returned you were staring at a news feed.

“Nooo…” You whined. That was going to put you more to sleep.

“Don’t complain.” His voice was somehow flatter than usual. “You have 11 minutes and 17 seconds on me.”

“What… are you talking about?” You couldn’t see his reflection anymore in the bright screen.

“You micronapped during Punch Chowder.” He thumbed over the screen, scrolling.

“I did?” You wondered how he knew to the very second how long you were out.

“One fight sequence missed.” Another line of articles floated by.

“Did I miss… a lot?”

He shook his head and you could feel the motion as if he was settling down further into your hair. “We’ll discuss… later.”

“Many movie discuss…” You nodded also. You were really starting to lose touch with reality now that you had nothing to focus on.

“Pick one.”

“An article?” That seemed like so much work.

“16 minutes left.”

Was that an answer to your question? How had both so much and so little time passed?

With the phone balanced on Donnie’s right thigh, you managed to drag your left hand out from where it was squished between both your legs and plop it next to the device. Your index finger wobbled as you pointed at the screen and managed to flick through a few articles. A pretty picture of a starry sky caught your attention. “That one.” You pointed at the photograph while simultaneously opening the article.

“There’s a meteor shower next week…” Donnie paraphrased the headline. He then took back control of the phone and scrolled over the blur of text.

You swore an entirely different Donatello had talked about a planetarium.

“Wanna go?”

“Mm.” It was more of a hum, but it sounded like a confirmation. “Together?”

That was more concrete. “Yeah.”

“Ok.” He gave another nod and you were sure your hair was going to look like a nest. “New telescope…” There was just the tiniest dash of excitement to that. He was too cute. You wished you were more awake so you could enjoy how sleepy he was.

“It’s a date.”

His thumb stopped, but it was also at the end of the article. You watched as he moved to the back button, but hovered over it instead of clicking. Why was he hesitating?

“It’s a date.” He finally spoke after what had seemed like hours had passed.

“Think we’ll remember?” You could barely remember the last thing you said. There was a nagging feeling it was important.

Donnie made another inconspicuous noise and closed the internet browser. He then thumbed over to a calendar that was packed with dozens of multicolored notes. You had no energy to marvel at his efficiencies as he opened up a specific day next week and added a new event.

‘Meteor Shower Date’

You watched him thumb quickly through several reminders, but your eyes refused to focus enough to tell you when they were set. He closed the window and the home screen picture of both of you was marred by a atomic clock.

“Three minutes.”

“Can’t we cheat it?”

“No.” 

You both fell asleep with one minute remaining.

NEXT

A/N: What's the Dream Van you ask? It's a Donatello-themed Hot Wheels Toy I saw! The XGW is technically not a real car, except it is now.

So there’s like 8 Lou Jitsu movies named in Rise and in "Repo Mantis" Donnie says there’s 60 sequels to “Jupiter Jim’s Last Trip to the Moon” alone, but man there’s like only 40 Godzilla movies so… I used the number for when I did my own marathon which was watching every single episode of Ed, Edd, and Eddy in a row to the premiere of Big Picture Show so like… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[thelaundrybitch]

Shattered Dreams

TURTLE DOVES!!!

Y'all getting a special treat tonight.

@sharpwindow and I decided to do a writing exercise, and we wrote something together.

We're bringing you some BLURPLE 💙💜

AND if you aren't already following them, you are absolutely missing out. They're a brilliant writer 🙌

PART 2 HERE!!!

18+ content - for mature audiences only!

Reblogs only, please!

Shattered Dreams

"You know, you can come visit whenever you want, right?" The blue bara whispered gently, dropping you off at your bedroom window. You could have managed the climb up the fire escape, he didn’t have to drop you off, but he always did.

"Thanks, Leo," you said with half of a sad smile, trying to be polite while keeping your face turned away from him. You were never a fan of crying in front of others, and it was taking everything you had not to dissolve into tears.

"Everything will turn out alright," he comforted you, giving you half of a side hug before helping you into your room.

Always a gentleman.

Despite your tears, you were grateful for the hug. You felt a stab of guilt that he was being so kind while you were just longing for some time alone.

"Thanks," you said quietly, "see you around, Leo."

"Sooner than later, I hope," he commented with a look of concern that you missed, face still turned away.

"Bye, Leo," you repeated, hinting a little more strongly for him to go.

"See ya," he said sadly, a bittersweet smile on his face as he left.

You sat down on your bed and covered your face as tears streamed down your cheeks like rain on a window during a hurricane. Your mind was full of what happened earlier in the lair, and the pain washed over you anew.

🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

You had been at the lair with the guys for movie night like you always were when Don came in with a girl.

You didn’t miss it as Leo and Mike shared a look as they glanced across the room at one another, then looked back at Raph in case he seemed to have any ideas. All while taking note that all three were looking confused and worried, it didn’t escape your notice that no one seemed to be looking at you either.

"Hey, I want you guys to meet Ana Leigh," said Donnie warmly, smiling shyly as he introduced the woman behind him. "She's the one I've been talking about. We met online through that forum for WoW."

Your stomach dropped as you saw the blue-eyed beauty walk into the room from behind Don. She was gorgeous, and there was no way you could lie to yourself about it. Tall and toned, with naturally banana-curled blonde hair that fell a little below her shoulders. You could practically hear Mikey’s heart rate speed up despite the fact that you were sitting on the smaller sofa next to Leo. 

She was wearing a cute, figure-hugging little green sundress with yellow sunflowers all over it, that matched her blonde hair and complimented her eyes. The fact she was wearing open-laced combat boots and a small backpack, did little to detract from the image of a walking goddess, smiling at all of you.

"Hi, everyone! It's really nice to meet you all, finally!" She practically sang. Her voice sounded like it belonged to an angel. “Donnie has told me so much about you, I feel like I know you all already.”

You had no idea Don was even talking to someone, and inside, you felt your heart starting to shatter into a million sharp pieces. It’s all you could do to stay on the sofa beside Leo, legs covered by the throw from the back of the sofa, having tucked yourself against him while you waited for Donnie to join them all.

“Are you gonna be joining us for movie night?” Mikey asked excitedly, grinning widely and causing Raph to scowl at him.

“She’s probably here to see Donnie, bro. Don’t go making it weird by asking her to hang out with us,” scolded the red-clad turtle, cuffing Mikey on the back of the head. Turning his attention to Donnie and Ana Leigh, he flipped a hand dismissively, “go do whatever ya doing, bro. We’re gonna carry on an’ start the movie.”

Donnie had smiled warmly at the room as a whole and proceeded to lead the new guest towards his lab, already talking expansively about his computer rig. What made bile really stir in your stomach was that she was nodding along, asking questions about processor power and graphics cards.

Leo, with an arm already curled around you, gave you a small shake, “you okay there?”

Looking around aimlessly, you felt like your mind was full of static, and everything sounded like it was far away. You nodded wordlessly, and Mikey started the movie, shimmying back into his seat next to Raph and propping his feet up on the coffee table.

You may as well not be there.

Your mind had already checked out, going through your regrets and worries. The old “Shudda-wudda-cudda” routine that always filled your mind when you realized you had made a mistake. Should I have? Could I have? Would I have?

It was useless, and when Mikey called a bathroom break after only forty minutes - with much complaining from his brothers - you called it too.

“Look, I’m not in the right mind for this,” you admitted as you pushed the blanket off of your legs and climbed off of the sofa.

You were so focused on putting your shoes back on that you missed the flash of pain in watching blue eyes. Leo had hoped that you might have been cuddled up to him for a reason, but it seems it had just been for warmth, little else. You’d not said anything when he’d curled his arm around you from the back of the sofa, nor when he’d started casually stroking your arm.

But, it wasn’t like there wouldn’t be other chances to get you to notice him.

“Do you want me to take you home?” He asked hopefully, smiling kindly at you as you stood up.

“Yes, please,” you agreed with a tired smile. “I think I might just be coming down with something. I’ve been feeling a bit rough all day.”

Even a coffee-deprived Donnie would have been able to see through that lie, but he didn’t call you out. Raph just watched wordlessly from his seat on the sofa, looking at something on his phone while Mikey shouted from the kitchen about bringing in more snacks. He spoke up before you went, wishing you a quick journey home and that he hoped you would feel better soon.

Leo, ever the perfect gentleman, walked beside you through the tunnels, and then once you were on the surface, he offered to carry you the few streets to your apartment block. You had agreed because by then, you really were starting to feel rough, heartbroken, and mind blank.

Now, as you sat on your bed in the dark and cried your heart out, you had forgotten to close your curtains and didn’t realize you were being watched. Leo hadn’t left; he’d merely gone to the opposite rooftop to make sure you got to your bed okay. 

He’d not expected the tears.

His chest tightened in sympathy, and he wanted nothing more than to go back to you, to wrap you in his arms and dry your eyes. Comfort you and tell you that it would get better, that he loved you and his brother was a blind jerk.

But he wouldn’t.

He couldn’t.

Maybe one day soon, he could, but not yet.

🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

It was your turn to have the brothers over at your apartment for movie night. It was probably pure luck that you’d inherited the place and weren’t renting it -there was no way you’d be able to rent a two-bed place for the prices they asked for in your block.

There was still an hour until the official ‘movie start time,’ and despite the guys arriving early, you’d slipped off for a quick shower. You’d gotten back from work to find your apartment infested with turtles, but you’d smiled warmly at the welcomed company.

Now, stepping out of the bathroom, dressed in your pajamas and towel-drying your hair, you nearly jumped out of your skin to see Donnie standing there.

"Hey," he said quietly to you as you looked at him in mute shock. 

"Hey," you echoed, tone uncertain as you furrow your brow in confusion, "I thought you were watching another movie with everyone? Do you need to go?"

He swallowed and looked down at his hands, almost as if he were nervous, while his fingers moved around each other. 

"I was. Am. But I was getting cold with the seat next to me being empty," he replied, sheepishly. 

You furrowed your brow even further, trying to understand the nonsense he was talking about. He’d not come to the movie night alone, but then neither had Raph. Donnie had brought Ana Leigh, and Raph had invited Casey. Mikey had tried to invite April, but she’d been called out for something last minute to do with work.

"Did Ana Leigh go home?"

It's Donnie's turn for a furrowed brow ridge, "no?"

"Did she move seats?"

"No?" He responded, still seeming confused. 

"Then, shouldn't you still be warm if she's still there?" You replied tartly, moving past him to your vanity table and picking up your hairbrush. 

You don’t want him to see your annoyed expression, since it wasn’t Ana Leigh’s fault that she was amazing and a perfect match for the man you loved.

Donnie stood there for several long moments as if he wasn’t a certified genius, letting you turn around and look at him as you damp brushed your hair out. Finally, he appeared to realize something, and he walked up to you. Seeming to understand the confusion, he moved a strand of your hair behind your ear before his hand cupped your face in his one strong hand.

You froze up, feeling his thumb brushing over your cheek for a moment. Your heart was pounding in your chest as he leaned down, and you couldn't breathe… As he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, hazel eyes looking into yours, over his glasses. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner. I must have hurt you with my ignorance.”

Your heart broke.

It shattered, and each piece seemed to dig into you, making you bleed.

Pulling in a shaky breath, you stepped away from him, shaking your head while fighting back the tears.

“Get out.” You whispered, knowing you were being irrational, but you couldn’t help yourself.

Anger and pain and heartbreak and sorrow and humiliation and… and you couldn’t take any more.

“Please, I-” 

Donnie tried, but your hands were balled into fists at your sides, and you didn’t want to cause a scene. You just want him to go!

“Stop!” You hissed, interrupting him as you glared. “Get out. Of my. Room!”

Licking his lips nervously, Donnie opened his mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it. Closing his mouth, he nodded to himself and turned to leave, moving as silently as a true ninja.

Feeling yourself breathing hard, you didn’t want to stay there a moment longer. Thankfully your boots were still in your room, and you grabbed a thick jumper from your wardrobe, as you jumped onto the fire escape and scurried up to the roof, pausing only long enough to pull on your boots as you climbed.

You hadn’t grabbed your phone, you’d just run.

You weren’t foolish enough to run any further than the roof, despite the temptation to slip out of the building via the main stairwell inside. You didn’t have any money on you, and you were dressed in your fleece pajamas with little lollipops on them, it was basically a walking advertisement for sexual assault.

So, you didn’t know how long you were up there on the roof, curled up next to one of the warm units on the roof, and out of the wind. It wasn’t a cold night since it was the start of summer, but you felt cold inside.

You only realized that you weren’t alone when you felt the sense of space filled near you. It was the only way you could think to describe the feeling of one of the brothers silently coming near you. It was an awareness that had grown in the time that you had known them.

“Donnie said that you didn’t want to watch the movie,” said Leo in a quiet voice as he sat down on the warm unit. “He didn’t say that you weren’t in your room.”

You didn’t say anything, staring emptily out at the city.

“You damn near gave me a heart attack,” Leo continued, seemingly speaking to the air around him as you continued to ignore him. “It was probably lucky that I was heading to the bathroom and not one of the others. Mikey would have lost his mind, and Raph would have panicked.”

There’s a worm of guilt there now.

You hadn’t wanted to worry your friends like that.

“Can I ask what’s wrong?”

Swallowing thickly, you finally moved and glanced up at him.

When you looked up at him, it felt as if, for the first time ever, you were finally seeing him.

Sitting there, with only the lights of the city to illuminate him, Leo looked like something from a dream. His blue eyes were bright but full of hurt and love as he looked down at you. His soft lips were pulled into a smirk, trying to cheer you up, but you could see that his heart was bleeding as badly as yours.

Oh god, you thought to yourself as fresh tears welled up in your eyes. I’m no better than Donnie. How did I not realize?

“I’m sorry,” you managed to whisper out past the lump in your throat.

That got his attention, and Leo shifted so he could kneel in front of your curled-up figure. You were hugging your knees to your chest, arms wrapped around your legs with your chin resting on your knees.

A gentle hand reached out and wiped away your tears, and suddenly your heart felt like it was aching all over again. Now you were hurting, thinking of all the times that Leo had listened to you talk about his brother. He had been your go-to man when you’d worked out how you had felt about Donnie, and not once had you ever guessed that he had felt anything more than friendship towards you.

“Shh, shh, what do you have to be sorry about?” He asked kindly, cupping your face as the tears slowly stopped. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong. What can I do to help you?”

Oh god.

You must be the worst person in the world.

With a whimper, you launched yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck, burying your face in the curve of his neck and shoulder. He didn’t even hesitate to wrap his arms around you, not moving an inch for suddenly taking your weight as well as his own while balancing only on the balls of his feet.

“Hang on, let me shift us, so we’re sitting down,” he said quietly, moving as he spoke. “I want you to be comfortable while you explain this to me.”

🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

It had been a month since the night on the rooftop.

You had poured your heart out to Leo, and in turn, you’d also apologized, for hurting him and being blind to how he had felt all along. You actually had to hold your hand over his mouth to stop him from interrupting you as you stammered out your apology, tears dripping off of your chin.

He’d forgiven you.

Of course, he would have forgiven you, even if you hadn’t just had your heart broken by his brother.

His brothers were his world, but they weren’t teenagers anymore. 

Life moves on.

Now, you were about to go on your first official date with Leo. He’d asked you to meet him at the lair beforehand, and you skipped in, humming happily just as Mikey was shouting about something.

“-April’s pissed off!”

“What’s going on?” You asked innocently, having no idea what had gotten the orange-masked ninja so agitated.

“April an’ Casey are fightin’ again,” Raph explained with a sigh while Mikey fidgeted around him. “She says he’s cheating on her, but he says that he has no idea what’s going on.”

“Where did she get that idea from?” You asked, surprised. “I thought those two were solid?”

“Seems that Donnie's friend, Ana Leigh, tried to kiss Casey last night,” Mikey explained, blue eyes wide with the dramatic scandal of it all. “She didn’t even try an be subtle about it either. Casey said he nearly jumped out the window trying to get away from her, an’ April was just standing there all like, ‘whaaaaat?’” 

You winced at the explanation while Raph rolled his eyes at Mikey’s dramatics, smirking despite the seriousness of the conversation. But then a thought occurred to you, and you frowned, “Wait, I thought Ana Leigh was Donnie’s girl?”

Mikey and Raph shared a look, too much being exchanged in that small moment for you to even try and understand what was going on, before they both looked over at the Lab door.

“Yeah, best to just give the guy some space for now,” Raph rumbled before turning away and heading toward the garage. “Mikey, you wanna help me change the oil in the bike?”

You saw the youngest brother open his mouth to complain that he should do that with Donnie before he realized what he was about to say and closed it again. “Alright, bro, but you owe me.”

The pair started to bicker playfully as they headed off to the garage, and you felt a warm pair of hands settle on your shoulders. A kiss was planted on the back of your neck, making you shiver and giggle.

Turning around, Leo smiled warmly down at you.

“Are you ready, Love?”

“Of course. Why did you want me to meet you down here?”

“Because I want to show you something secret, and I only know one way to get to it,” Leo explained honestly, taking your hand as he started to tug you towards one of the exits of the lair.

Giggling, you let yourself be pulled from the lair, not seeing the eyes that are watching you from the lab doorway.

🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

It's only once you've gone, while the sound of your voice faded away, that Donnie shut the door to his lab. Turning slowly around, he moved almost mechanically to his bed and sat down on the edge of it. He didn't have any of his gear on, not even his mask. He even took his glasses off, placing them carefully on the bedside table before he let himself go.

The tall tech-turtle folded in on himself, arms wrapped around his chest as his head flops down, tears falling in silent grief.

It hurt.

Oh, gods, it hurt.

But… he was being a good brother.

He was doing what Leo had asked him to do, all those many months ago when you’d started coming down to the lair. Leo had loved you since you’d first met, but it was only as you had become more involved in their lives that the blue-masked ninja had started to think he had a chance.

Donnie had thought nothing of it when he’d agreed to help Leo get the girl he loved.

Then, it started to become obvious who you had feelings for. In the beginning, he’d been flattered and it had taken all he could, not to respond to your compliments and gentle flirting. 

He’d told himself that he didn’t care about you like that, and for a while, it had worked.

Until… until it wasn’t working.

Until he realized that… he really did love you.

Just as much as you had still loved him at that moment.

But he had promised, and despite it all, family came first.

So he had wiped away his tears, locked away his heart, and helped his brother get the girl he’d secretly loved for nearly two years.

Donnie shuddered as tears dripped off of his chin, and he tried not to make a sound.

Oh gods, did it hurt.

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[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Shadows Entwined: Part 4

BatmanVsTmnt!Leonardo x sidekick!reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 / Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Bonus (18+)

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

Donnie and Batgirl makes an anti mutagen, you and Robin are ready to throw each other’s heads around, and Batman has a talk with Leonardo.

Warnings: Spelling.

The reader and the turtles are 19.

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

The look on Alfred’s face when he saw four mutant turtles in the Batcave was priceless. But Alfred being Alfred took a calming breath, mumbling about how he should have known at this point, before asking if Master Wayne wanted dinner for his guests. Alfred offered to cook a gourmet meal, but to his surprise, all four of the turtles wanted pizza. Take out pizza to be preferred. Alfred would never show it on his face, but you knew, he was disgusted.

Alfred left the Batcave to make a phone call to the nearest pizzeria, mumbling something about teenagers.

Michelangelo - who you learned was the youngest out of the turtle brothers - took the opportunity to take a look around Wayne Manor. It didn’t ease you one bit that he took his skateboard along for that tour.

That left you, Batman, Batgirl, Robin and the three remaining turtle brothers in the Batcave. You, Robin and the angry turtle, Raphael, was looking through the computer, teaching the red turtle more about the League Of Assassins. Or at least Robin was doing that. You were too busy, standing off to the side, acting as if you had a lot in your mind. In actuality, you would every now and again throw glances towards Batman and Leonardo as they were training together. But whenever someone looked your way, you would throw your gaze somewhere random, as if you had been looking there the whole time.

That was how you noticed Batgirl and Donatello working at the chemical table, smiling with a few laughs ever once in a while. You couldn’t help but smile. Looks like you weren’t the only one that had a thing for turtle eyes.

“Impressive form”, you heard Batman’s voice, causing you to look in the direction of him and the blue turtle one more time. You had to admit, Leonardo did know how to fight. It was almost irritating how good he was at it. Because somehow he also made it look good. And just the thought of Leonardo looking good fighting was enough to get mildly frustrated at him. Why did he had to have such pretty eyes?!

“Your father taught you well”, Batman said, giving Leo a rare Batman smile. And to your surprise, Leonardo smiled back.

“Thanks”.

You wanted to scream. You did not expect Leonardo’s smile to catch you off guard like that. Especially not in the middle of the Batcave. But as much as your heart was beating inside your chest, no one could see it on your face. Sometimes you actually learned something from Batman’s stoic nature.

You listened as Robin told Raph about his grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul, the Demon’s Head, and as Batgirl told them about the mutagen, forcing your attention away from the turtle, who’s eyes had been invading your thoughts.

“Yeah, Ra’s obviously has plans for the mutagen your Shredder brought into the city”, Batgirl said out loud, still with half of her attention directed towards Donatello.

“Ooze”, the purple turtle corrected her, not moving his eyes from the glass he held in his hands. But upon Batgirl’s silence he looked up. “We call it ooze”.

“Really?” She sounded almost sad. “Argh, I do not like that word. Ooze, gross”.

“Stop whining”, you laughed. “It’s just a word”.

“It may just be a word to you, but to me it makes me want to vomit”. Upon hearing that from Batgirl, Donatello took a small step away from her.

“Right. Shredder gives Ghully the ooze, they build some kind of gizmo, and in return - let me get this straight - Shredder gets… a pit?” Raphael did not seem convinced one bit. You did not blame him. It did sound strange.

“The Lazarus Pit”, Robin said before turning back towards the computer. “It’s how Ra’a al Ghul has survived for centuries. Its magic grants immortality to any who bathe in it”.

You did not expect the look on Raphael’s face. He almost looked scared. Angry, but scared.

“An immortal Shredder?” He thought for a moment. “That would… suck”.

“As much as the words “immortal Shredder” freaks me out, I think Batgirl and I have solved one of our problems”, Donatello said, handing a cylinder of thick yellow liquid to Batgril.

“Yup! With the info Donnie - I can call you that right?”

“By all means”, Donatello said, seemingly as calm as before. You did not buy it. You bet that just like when you looked at Leonardo, his heart was pounding like crazy when Batgirl called him that.

“Cool - that Donnie had on his T-phone, I’ve whipped up a retro mutagen-”.

"Anti ooze”, Donatello said, almost teasingly.

“Not gonna call it that - that will reverse the effect of the… stuff”.

Raphael took a step back from Batgirl as she came closer with the cylinder. “You're gonna wanna get that anti mutagen away from this happily mutated turtle”.

“Don’t worry”, Donatello said, making his way over to the rest of you. “It’ll only work on someone that’s been mutated within the last twelve hours. After that the DNA changes are baked in”.

“Yeah but maybe worry a little ‘cause it’s untested. Right now there’s a - I’m gonna say 40% chance of lethal side effects”, Batgirl said with a strained smile.

“I agree with the turtle. Go stand over there”, Robin said, pointing in your direction. “She could use some anti mutagen anyway”. His annoying little grin showing on his face.

“Demon child”, you snarled. “Maybe you should drink it. With that size you could be a fully mutated bat”.

Raphael almost had to restrain Robin before he could jump on you.

While you and Robin was about to have a sibling brawl in the middle of the Batcave, none of you noticed Leonardo and Batman’s training continuing.

They jumped, punched and dodged, both showing strength and talent. Leonardo grabbed onto Batman’s arm, before rolling back, throwing Batman over him and into the ground. Batman slid across the ground, while Leonardo celebrated with a minor victory; “yes!”

Batman chuckled lightly from the ground. “Where were those moves when we fought before? If you’d focused like that you would have had a chance”.

“A chance?” Leonardo extended a hand to help Batman up. “I won just now”.

“Because you weren’t looking at her”, Batman said, staring directly down at the turtle in front of him.

Leonardo almost choked on his own spit at Batman’s words. Had he been human his face would had been red. Leo turned his gaze and saw you grinning with a small laugh at an angry Robin, who was being as far away from you as possible by Raph and Batgirl. Your laughter rang in his ears and for a second he dared to wonder, if he could get to hear your laugh one more time.

“Leonardo”. Batman’s deep voice almost shocked Leo back to reality. For a split second he had managed to forget where he was and who he was standing in front of. All because you said you liked his eyes…

“(H/N) is not just my sidekick. She is like a daughter to me, and I will not let anything harm her. She has not been trained from birth like her brother, and she is not as old as Batgirl. (H/N) is strong, but she still has a lot to learn in a fight”. Leonardo looked at you one more time, catching you as you were talking to Donnie, telling him something that made Batgirl let go of Robin, leaving Raph struggling to hold the boy still.

Batman rolled his shoulder, feeling the pain that had been there, ever since his fight with the Shredder. The fight that had happened, while you were outside of Wayne Enterprise, watching the turtles fight the Penguin. Leonardo noticed the light pain in Batman’s face, causing him a look of slight concern. “I’m still recovering from whatever Shredder did to me. I’ve never seen an attack like that”.

“It must have been the Sata Oshi strike”, Leonardo said. “It’s a powerful ninja technique that dates back hundreds of years, said to be created by the founders of the Foot Clan. It focuses all the body’s energy into a single blow, and can prove as fatal to its welder as it is to its opponent. Because of that, it’s been lost to history. Only two living ninja masters know how to utilize it to its full power; my father Splinter and the Shredder”.

“Good to know”, Batman said. “Shredder may have ancient ninja moves, but I’ve still got a utility belt”. Leonardo nodded in slight confusion, turning to look at you one more time. You were laughing behind Donatello, who you were using as an unwilling shield to cover you from an agitated Robin, who looked like he was ready to attack. Raphael was shaking his wrist, slightly hurting after Robin’s escape from his grip. Batgirl was looking like she had a great time, watching you with her arms crossed.

“(H/N)! Robin!”, Batman called out, causing the two of you to hold back the attacks you were preparing. “No fighting”.

“Sorry dad”, the two of you said in unisense. Donatello managed to get out of your grip, clutching his bow staff tightly as he walked to Batgril. You and Robin poked your tongues out at each other, before Robin went to Raphael, yelling something about how he hated sisters.

At the sight of you standing alone, looking at the others, Leonardo couldn’t stop himself before he had made his way over to you.

“Hey”, Leo said with a stoic and unreadable face. You almost jumped in surprise. You hadn’t expected Leo to be this close.

“Uh… hey”.

The two of you stood in silence. Leo wondered if it was Batman’s eyes he could feel in the back of his neck, or if he was just imagining it. Leo was searching his brain for words.

“I just wanted to say that you did pretty good back there in the alley”, he finally settled on.

“Pretty good?”, you asked with a crooked smile. “I kicked your butt”.

“Yeah, not a lot of people get to do that”, Leonardo said.

You chuckled lightly at his answer. Leo felt a warm spread inside his chest and a small tug at the side of his lip. It was your turn to feel the warmth inside your chest. Leonardo was giving you a small smile. Your eyes flickered from his lip to his eyes. Those damn eyes.

“You weren’t so bad yourself”, you said, looking away to avoid eye contact.

Leonardo felt something else grow in his chest. Was it pride? Or maybe even satisfaction? Now you were complimenting his fighting skills.

Leo really wanted to answer you. Say something that would make you chuckle again. But he also really wanted to ask you. Did you mean what you said back in the alley? Did you really like his eyes, or did you just try to distract him? The more Leo thought about it, the more he hoped that you meant it.

Leo was just about to ask you when Alfred came down the stairs with a skateboard in one hand and a tight grip on Michelangelo balancing a stack of pizza boxes with the other. Leonardo felt a slight embarrassment wash over him, when he heard Alfred tell Mikey that he was keeping the skateboard, until he learned not to use it in the house. Batman’s house. Your house. But you started laughing light heartedly at the scene of Alfred and Michelangelo coming down stairs. Leonardo felt all embarrassment wash away as he watched you laugh. Leo couldn’t deny that he really liked your laugh. Just as much as you liked his eyes.

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

A/N: The lack of Batman Vs TMNT gif's on the internet is giving me a headache.

[fishsticksloser]

Rottmnt Future leo and female reader platonic, little angst, happy ending one-shot?

The plot (this happened after kraang invasion) is about Reader who's a mutant turtle like her 4 brothers, She's young about 8 - 10 years? And Her uncle leo is spoiling her a lot; Play with her, give her gifts & hardly say no to her requests tho she doesn't asks for much from her uncle, just either playing dolls or carrying her on his back.

The rest were so confused why he do that as he doesn't do this to Donnie, raph or Mikey ( yes he spends time with them but he doesn't spoil them THIS hard), turned out after talking with future leo privately, Reader had passed away earlier in the invasion before it reach the apocalypse level, like after 2 weeks?

And this scares future leo as what if it still happened to her? She was so young when it happened and everyone were upset.

Everyone call him down after getting the idea and reassure him reader is safe and since he's around she's even more safe.

You'll Be in My Heart

F!Leo + gn!reader

Warnings: family fluff, angst, death, comfort

A/N: Yes, named after the Tarzan song because Phil Collins didn't have to go so hard. This prompt broke my heart. Future Leo is called Leon. This was going to be posted in June, but I didn't want to move around all of my scheduled posts, so I just moved one. :)

Previous | Next

Leon spent a lot of time with you. After you were finally introduced to Leon, he spent every waking moment with you. Sometimes he'd even sleep next to you due to his nightmares. He loves you so much. He didn't notice that his other brothers were jealous and confused by his actions.

The younger turtles found Leon sitting next to you bed one night. They all listened in, wanting to know what Leon was feeling. He always hid his feelings, never telling them what happened to you in the future. Of course they worried.

"As long as I'm breathing, I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe." Leon whispered, rubbing your temple with his thumb. His hand covered the back of your head. "No matter what happens, no matter how bad it gets, you will not be alone. I'm not going to loose you again."

Leon held you as you guys watched your favorite movie. He had your favorite snack sitting in his lap, you were talking about the movie and he was listening intently. He smiled and added his thoughts on what was going on every once in a while. He could hear his young brothers, whispering to each other.

The movie ended and you yawned so Leon decided to put you to bed. He picked you up, holding you gently, your head laying on his shoulder. You started drifting off, Leon started humming. He laid you in bed, tucking you in. He knelt next to you, kissing your forehead. He left your room. Leon jumped as he turned the corner, all 4 younger turtles stood there.

"We need to talk." Raph said, his arms crossed.

"You guys can talk to me about anything." Leon smiles.

"What happened to Bee in the future?" Mikey starts. "Why are you so protective? Why do you always spoil them?"

"Oh..." Leon looked at the ground. He had a feeling they would ask, you hadn't, you didn't know he was from the future. You just believed he was some distant uncle.

He got flashbacks of the day you died.

You all had been out enjoying the amazing summer air, when Kraang dogs attacked. Leon had been in charge of you, but a building fell. He tried to cover you, but he got knocked aside. After the dust cleared, he tried to dig you out, yelling for help. Leon's ears were ringing, tears rolling down his cheeks from dust and the thought of what came of you.

He dug you out, calling your name. He found you, you were weakly holding out your arms to him. Leon scooped you up, yelling for his brothers. They portal back to the lair, Leon holding you close to him.

"Dad!" Mikey called, tears falling down his cheeks as well. They started to assess your wounds. Splinter joins you all in the med bay, hugging Mikey.

"What happened?" Splinter asks.

"I tried to cover them, a building was falling..." Leon sobbed, bandaging up your external wounds while Donnie scanned you. "I couldn't... I'm so sorry, Bee."

You started drifting, you eyes closing slowly. Leon yells, he begs you to stay awake. You couldn't. Leon only blames himself.

Leon told them. They all covered their mouths, tears coming to Mikey and Raph's eyes. Leo shook his head, not able to look at his future self.

"It wasn't your fault." Raph says, pulling Leon into a tight hug. "You can't stop a building from falling."

"That won't happen." Mikey tells him. "They have 4 brothers and a 7 foot uncle."

"We will never let anything happen to them." Leo nods.

The boys let Leon treat you how he wanted although, they did ask him to stop giving into your every want, it made them look bad.

[raainy-daze]

Hi, here again

Second request!

Leo x female!reader who is very muscly and just... scoops Leo up bridal-style. Bonus if Leo short-circuits with the most flabbergasted look on his face 😂 ~🌺👸

(note: I saw you don't usually write for female inserts, but I thought it would get extra fluster points if reader was female. Your call though)

What Happens In The Hidden City

rottmnt leo x strong!female!reader

summary: how is it that every nice outing ends in some sort of chaos? time to bail your boyfriend out of trouble - again.

word count: 832

a/n: i may or may not have taken this and ran. not sure how this mini-plot developed, but it did, so here we are. this may be a little ooc, the last few days i’ve been writing in a sleep deprived frenzy and a sleep deprived frenzy only.

also! to the lovely people who’ve commented on my previous posts, i’ve found there’s a glitch in my tumblr that’s giving me an error message whenever i try to respond to anything. i’ll say thank you here, and hope you see it! have a lovely day, everyone!

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

Sometimes, you wondered just what was going on in the guys’ brains that convinced them that any of what they did was a good idea.

The Hidden City was amazing. You’d known that the moment you stepped foot in it. Filled with yokai, and with this magic that you only ever dreamed of as a child. You’d thought you were in for a nice, peaceful day for once, exploring.

At some point, you and April had split off from the group. You could’ve sworn you didn’t even leave their sight, but when you turned around, the turtles were gone.

You decided to meet up with them again later, and went on about your sightseeing. It had been maybe fifteen minutes - only fifteen minutes - when you heard April’s phone ring.

“Hey, Mikey.” You knelt down to examine the plaque of a statue while she picked up the call, noting it was meant to be of some historic figure.

“What did you guys do this time.”

That certainly wasn’t an encouraging statement. “What did they do?” You quickly looked back at her.

April took the phone from her ear and put it on speaker. None other than Michelangelo was on the other end. “So, uh, funny story…” He spoke in a panicked whisper. Definitely not a good sign.

“So Donnie-“

“Oh, so it’s MY fault now, is it!”

“Would you two be quiet?” On the other end, Raph took the phone. “We were just minding our business, and I’m-Not-Naming-Names-Donnie ran into this yokai.”

“Oh?” You could hear faint bickering in the background, accompanied by Raph trying to hush his brothers. Well, two of them, at least. “Where’s Leo?”

“Mob.”

“Excuse me?”

“There is a mob.”

Now that the word ‘mob’ was mentioned, you couldn’t help but notice the sounds of rage coming from somewhere in the distance.

“WHAT ON EARTH DID YOU SAY TO THEM?” As April yelled into the phone, you began making your way towards the racket.

About five streets down, you found the previously mentioned mob. And it truly was a mob, with pitchforks and everything. Above the crowd, on the rooftops of what you took to be a restaurant of some kind, you could see three of the four brothers hiding somewhat poorly behind a stack of boxes. Your boyfriend, notably, was missing.

“Look, I didn’t mean to take that little girl’s teddy bear, okay? I didn’t know!” There he was, at the front of the crowd, quickly being backed into a corner.

“God damn it, Leo…” Pushing through the horde wasn’t easy, especially a horde of yokai, who occasionally had spikes and other such appendages, but you made it through.

“HEY, HEY, PEOPLE, CALM DOWN!” Your yells quickly brought attention to you, which may or may not have been a mistake.

“Oh hey, y’don’t see humans every day ‘round here…”

“Who’s that lady?”

You laughed nervously. “Now look, I don’t know what happened here, but I can assure you all, whatever my boyfriend and his brothers may have said, or done, they apologize deeply and hope you can forgive them, and/or whatever they smashed can hopefully be fixed with super glue.”

Silence had fallen over the mob. Was that a good sign? The pitchforks were still up.

“… So now that that’s been said and done we’re going to take our leave now goodbye!”

You turned away from the crowd and hastily scooped Leo up bridal style. “OH-“ You barely had time to register his red face before you were running from a mob of angry yokai.

You’re not really sure how you got out of there without being burned at the stake. You had absolutely no plan, and the majority of your success was definitely due to pure luck. At some point, you managed to duck into an alleyway without being noticed, breathing heavily. Running who knows how far at who knows how fast wasn’t an easy feat.

Speaking of, Leo was still in your arms.

“I’m gonna put you down now.”

“Okay.”

You set him down gently before leaning back against the wall behind you, trying to catch your breath. “Think they’re gone? … Leo?”

You hadn’t previously been aware that turtles could blush just as red as humans, but here Leo was.

You couldn’t help but smile at him. “Aw, did I catch you off guard?”

“Off guard? Me, the great Leonardo, off guard? Never!”

“Your face says different.”

“Pff-“ Leo crossed his arms. “You didn’t HAVE to pick me up. What, (y/n), trying to impress me?”

“Maybe.” You were on a roll today. It wasn’t every day Leo got flustered like this. “Guess you’re just that lucky to have a big, strong girlfriend like me.”

Leo did that awkward laugh - you know the one - as he covered his face with a hand. “Oh, I’m going to get you back for this.”

“Yeah, sure, pretty boy.” You grabbed his hand, and led the way out of the alley. “Come on, let’s find the others before those yokai come back. What did you do, anyways…?”

[ninjaneonleon]

The Twins

Start

Prev

Donnie was tired. His whole body ached and even his Ninpō felt exhausted. He, Leo and the swan twins were still perched out on the Lake, curled up and waiting for the others to wake up.

“We shouldn’t delay this much longer, Donnie,” Odette whispered after a moment. “This is draining you more. I don’t want to hurt you. You’ve been so good to me.” She nuzzled against Donnie’s shoulder with a small sigh.

“Are you sure you’re ready, Odette?” Donnie asked softly. “It’s a big step. And you just got your magic.”

“You’re more important, Donnie,” Odette said with a firm nod, scrubbing at her eyes.

Donnie glanced down at Leo. He was talking softly to Odile, both their voices too low for Donnie to hear properly. Odile’s expression was one of awe but also of pain. Donnie expected that they were going through the same feelings that he was.

“Donnie, it’s okay.” Odette put her hand on Donnie’s arm, smiling up at him with tears in her eyes. “You took great care of me while we’ve been here. Without you, I would still be stuck and Odile would still be with… him.” She shook her head. “You saved us. You helped make me brave.”

“Oh, Odette.” Donnie shifted to hug her properly. “You were already so brave. All I did was let you see that. You’re amazing, Odette, and you always have been.”

Odette sniffled, then started sobbing softly. She clung to Donnie, curling against him. Her tears wet the feathers of his dress but he didn’t care. Her comfort was more important than a few damp feathers.

“I love you, Donnie,” Odette managed to whimper through her sobs. “You’re the best big brother I could ever want.”

Donnie couldn’t help but smile. Odette was so sweet. And she was too young to have been through so much. Donnie wished he could give her more. More time, more comfort, more chance to grow.

But he couldn’t. She wanted this. Donnie wouldn’t take that choice away from her.

“I love you too, Odette,” Donnie murmured honestly, pressing a kiss to Odette’s forehead.

She paused before nuzzling against Donnie again. “If I help you, can we dance together one more time?” Donnie didn’t know if he had the energy to, but he would find the energy. He wouldn’t deny Odette this.

“Of course. Did you want Leo and Odile too?”

“Yes please.”

Donnie paused, unwilling to interrupt the two’s conversation, but Leo turned to look at him not a moment later. “Hey, Odile has asked if we could all dance together one last time.” Donnie couldn’t help but laugh. The twins were very much on the same wavelength.

“We were just about to ask the same thing.”

With help, Donnie climbed to his feet.

“Here, let me help you, Dee.” Leo took a breath, then took Donnie’s hand. Instinctively, Donnie raised his leg and let Leo spin him in a perfect pirouette. Energy flooded through Donnie’s system, giving him the strength and power to continue. A soft, blue light shone around the lake and Donnie stopped spinning. When he looked down, he saw that he wore the same style of feathered pants that Leo now had, except his were white, and he was also wearing a crown of branches and leaves. “There. Now we match.”

Donnie couldn’t help but roll his eyes fondly. “Thanks, Nardo. Now c’mon. Let’s give these lovely swans one last goodbye.”

Leo nodded and smiled at Odile. The two walked over a few steps, then started dancing together. Donnie and Odette followed, falling into step next to them.

Donnie couldn’t help but smile as his body guided him to follow the music. It was so natural, so normal, so right. Even if Donnie didn’t have Odette’s soul merging with his own, he still had his natural love of dancing and his skill. Leo was keeping up, not quite as good as he had been while fused with Odile but still a decent dancer nonetheless. Clearly his lessons with them had paid off.

The pairs danced and danced and danced until Donnie’s body started aching again and his energy started to wane. During that time, the others woke up from the spell Von Rothbart had used on them, leaving the two pairs of twins with an audience.

“I can’t anymore, guys, I’m sorry,” Donnie apologised as he carefully set Odette down from the lift he was carrying her in. He was at his limit, as much as he wanted this moment to last forever.

“It’s okay, Donnie,” Odette said with a small smile. “Thank you for dancing with me.”

“Will we see you again?” Leo asked, walking Odile over and letting them go to their sister.

“One day,” Odile promised. “But for now… there’s someone waiting for us.” They turned and ran towards the center of the lake. There they started doing fouetté after fouetté, Donnie counted thirty-two in total, ending in a perfect arabesque.

The Lake glowed and from its depths, another form emerged. This one appeared as a dark skinned woman, wearing a pale gray dress and hat. Donnie recognised her immediately.

“Mom!” Donnie and Odette cried in unison. Odette immediately rushed over to the woman, Ilma Rothbart. Donnie was only stopped by Leo’s hand on his arm and the small shake of his head.

“You go to her now, you don’t come back,” he whispered, not letting go of Donnie for a moment.

The two swans smiled and rushed into their mother’s waiting arms. They were hugged close and Donnie didn’t miss the way the two started crying into Ilma’s dress.

Ilma looked over, smiled, then nodded silently at Donnie. He knew what she was saying.

“Thank you for loving my babies.”

The twin swans turned and waved at Donnie and Leo. Then, as he quickly as Ilma appeared, the group of spirits vanished.

Donnie turned, smiling softly at Leo. “It’s over. They’re home.”

Leo nodded, reaching out and taking Donnie’s hand. “And now it’s our turn.”

Donnie hesitated. Could he just… go back? The Lake had been his home for years now, this was where he belonged, right?

But then he looked over, saw his brothers, his dad, April, even Barry sitting on the shore of the Lake and he knew.

The Lake wasn’t his home. His home was with the people he loved. With his twin, with his family. His home wasn’t a place. It was the people.

Donnie took a step towards the shore. Then another. Then another and suddenly he was running as fast as he could.

He crashed into Raph’s arms, clinging to his biggest brother as the fog in his head that had lingered for so long finally cleared. His family gathered around him, holding him close and giggling and crying and laughing as Donnie finally came back to himself for the first time in years.

Donatello Hamato. Tech genius. Mutant Ninja Turtle. Donnie.

He was home.

————————

And there we go! All the main story is complete! Thank you all so much for the support you’ve given this mini series and thank you for reading!

Swanatello belongs to @tangledinink

Crownardo belongs to @dryad-druid

[aquietwritingcorner]

Enter the Competition

(for @tmntstorycomp )

Ms. Morrison clung to the arm she was holding, as a cacophony of noises assaulted her ears. She hadn’t been out in crowds much since she’d lost her sight, bus trips to and from doctor’s offices with the help of disability services, and friends and neighbors being about her only outings. She was confident enough around her home, but outside of it she was uncertain. All of the noise didn’t help either, making it hard to pinpoint where things were.

“Easy, Ms. M, I gotcha.” Raphael gave her hand a squeeze and patted her arm. “Me and Donnie are right here with ya, and we ain’t gonna leave your side.”

She was lucky that, wherever she was, Raphael and Donatello had ended up with her. They were good boys, and she knew that they’d help her out, although she was a bit worried. She didn’t want them to get caught up in things that wouldn’t be good for their future. Good boys like them deserved a good future.

“Where’s Lucy?” She asked, knowing that her cat had come with them, but not sure where she had ended up at the moment.

“She’s sitting on Don’s shel—uh, shoulders,” Raphael said. “He’s trying to figure out how we got here.”

Ms. Morrison frowned. New York City had been quite crazy as of late, with aliens and invasion, and all sorts of things that she had thought was simply another War of the Worlds radio situation, until one of the ladies from upstairs had confirmed that it was real. She hoped this wasn’t another fictional situation turned into reality.

“Any luck, Don?” Raphael asked his brother. Ms. Morrison could hear the undercurrent of worry in his voice.

“None,” Donatello said, an undercurrent of frustration in his. She heard the zipper of his bag, and what she thought was the sound of him putting things back inside it, before he zipped it up again. “No signal on the shell cells, and nothing I do to enhance it works. There are anomalous readings, but there’s also an interference that is messing with them.” He sighed heavily, and Ms. Morrison heard him shift around, and Lucy’s purring. Donatello must have brought the cat into his arms. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do to get us home, Raph. We’re just going to have to keep moving and see if we can figure it out.”

One of Raphael’s arms left hers, and she could tell that he was reaching out to his brother. “Hey, it’s okay, Don. You can’t have all the answers all the time. We’ll figure a way out of this one way or another. We always do.”

She wondered about that “always do” part, just as she wondered about many things when it came to these two boys, but as always, she kept her silence. If they wanted to tell her, then they would when they were ready.

In the meantime, the least she could do was try to keep their spirits up.

She tapped on Raphael’s arm. “Can you two describe to me where we are?” she asked them. “It seems like there are a lot of people here.”

“There are,” Raph said. “Lots of people. Most of them, ah, well,” he hesitated, sounding slightly nervous. “They ain’t human, Ms. M.”

“What he means,” Donatello said, “is that we seem to have ended up in a place where there are both humans and non-humans. But there seem to be a mix of ages, and no one seems to be outright aggressive.” She could feel him step a little closer to her and lay a gentle touch on her arm. “I don’t think we’re in any sort of immediate danger. Human or not, they just seem to be… people.”

They were holding something back, and she wasn’t sure what, but Ms. Morrison just nodded. “Alright. That makes sense. If humans can be good or bad and not all the same, then why not aliens, too?”

Some sort of unknown tension seemed to ease in them at that, and she wondered why that was.

“Yeah,” Raphael said, a strange sort of relief in his voice. “That’s a good way to look at it, Ms. M.”

“As for the space we’re in,” Donatello said, and she could practically hear the frown on his face. “It’s big and spacious, and there appear to be some places to sit down scattered about. But there’s also a lot of junk lying around. Toys, gaming systems, jump ropes, things like that.” His voice trailed off thoughtfully.

“Hey, brainiac. Come back to that later,” Raphael said. “Let’s focus on the here and now.”

“Right,” Donatello said ruefully.

“What about that fellow that spoke earlier?” Ms. Morrison asked, redirecting the conversation. “Is he in charge here? He sounded young.”

“Seems like it, yeah,” Raphael said, and his grip tightened on her arm.

“Sounded young, yes,” Donatello said thoughtfully. “But I’m not going to bank on that quite yet. Appearances can be deceiving.”

“Is he human?” Ms. Morrison asked.

“No, he’s not,” Donatello said. “But he does appear to be the same species as a majority of the beings here.”

Ms. Morrison frowned but tucked that bit of information away. “He said something about a competition. Games, entertainment, themes—”

“—a battlefield—” Raphael muttered under his breath and tensed back up.

She continued on. “—what did he mean by all of that?”

“I’m not sure,” Donatello said. “But my guess? All of these different beings here, all of these groups, we’ve all been gathered as some sort of entertainment for the person who spoke. And that entertainment involves us competing somehow.”

Raphael let out a growl. “I ain’t nobody’s entertainment. And if that little punk thinks he can make me entertainment for him, I’m gonna shove my—”

Donatello cut him off before he could finish his threat, although Ms. Morrison had a pretty good idea of where it was going. She wasn’t born yesterday, after all.

“Raph. Let me remind you that ‘that little punk’ wrote some things on a piece of paper, threw them to the side, and items appeared. Twice. Its obvious he’s got some sort of magical ability,” Donatello said. “Best to bide our time and figure out what’s going on.” Donatello’s voice shifted, and Ms. Morrison was fairly certain he was looking around the area they were in again. “After all, someone’s got to know what’s going on here.”

Ms. Morrison gave Raphael’s arm a squeeze, and then reached out, finding Donatello’s and pulling him a little closer to her.

“Well,” she said. “If we’re going to be here, and we’re going to try to figure out what’s going on, then it’s best we start trying to be friendly to people, isn’t it? A little kindness can go a long way.”

Donatello let out a chuckle, and Raphael snorted lightly, the tension broken.

“Yeah, okay, Ms. M. Point made,” Raphael said. “But stay close to us, alright? We still don’t know what’s going on here.”

She squeezed Raphael’s arm again. “Oh, don’t you worry. I’m old and blind, not senile,” she said with a chuckle. “I don’t plan on letting either of you get out of arm’s length.”

She heard the brothers chuckle in amusement again, and the group started to move forward. Ms. Morrison still had no idea what was going on, or where they were. But she knew that she had two very good boys with her, and that she would do everything she could to help them as they tried to find their way through this competition and back home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello!

Ally here, the author of this little piece and the story it comes from, Sanctuary (ff.net, AO3, tumblr), and my story is officially part of the @tmntstorycomp !

Sanctuary is a TMNT 2003 Raph and Don story based off of the season 3 episode, Touch and Go. In the episode, New York City is recovering from the Triceriton Invasion, and Raphael finds himself being chased by citizens who have armed themselves in an effort to protect themselves. He ends up in a dead end, outside of a door. An elderly lady, Ms. Morrison, opens the door and mistakes Raphael as a teenager who was supposed to come over to help her. Being blind, she can’t see that he’s a giant turtle, and brings him into her home, unintentionally shielding him from the alien hunters. Raphael, being the good boy that he is, helps her out, and makes friends with her cat, Lucy.

It turns out that Ms. Morrison is being evicted from her home, as she can’t afford to live there anymore, not since her husband passed. At the end of the episode, Raph goes back to Ms. Morrison with a case full of money that Mikey and Splinter got a hold of during their plotline of this episode, allowing Ms. Morrison to stay in her home.

In my story, Sanctuary, Donatello notices that Raph has been asking him about repairing things that neither they nor April have. Suspicious, he follows Raph one night, only to see him going into Ms. Morrison’s home. He ends up being caught by Raph, and invited in my Ms. Morrison. In the end, Don helps teach Raph how to repair a few more things around Ms. Morrison’s home, and promises to keep his knowledge about Ms. Morrison to himself, so that Raph can have his sanctuary with her.

In this competition, Raph, Don, Ms. Morrison and Lucy (the cat) have gotten pulled into Masaccio’s world with all the other competitors, and now have to make it through and around as best they can!

Let’s hope it all goes smoothly for them!

Or not. We’ll see ;)

(FYI, feel free to reblog!)