#if I'd thought of it in time I would have texted Leo and asked if I could go with his family again

[solitarelee]

BEAR WITNESS TO THE UNDERWHELMING FRUITS OF MY JEWISH LABORS

THIS TOOK ME ALMOST TWO HOURS. WHY YOU ASK. Because I made everything from scratch. It was my first time making unleavened bread (easier than I thought) and baba ghanouj (exactly as difficult as I thought). It wasn't my first time cutting up a massive side of salmon, though. If you're wondering if I overcooked it; yeah sorry. ;-; I was cooking so many things simultaneously.

ANYWAY CHAG FUCKING SAMEACH THIS IS THE PASSOVER I DON'T STARVE!!!! THIS IS THE PASSOVER I HAVE MONEY FOR FOOD I CAN EAT!

[hotheadedhero]

First Date

AN: Wow, wow, WOW! You guys went haywire for 'Like 'em Big', didn't ya? I have yet again been surprised at the popularity of something that started as a joke. Thank you all for your patience and showing the love, it really warms my heart as always 🙏 Without further ado, here's part two ❤️(I'd also like to preface that I haven't been on a first date in years, so I apologise :'])

Part 1

All characters are aged up

Raphael x Reader

Warnings: Brief mention of ROTTMNT Movie, near peril (again), meddlesome brothers, cute idiots being cute

Returning home after the mind-boggling excursion you endured had tired you out to the point of near collapse. Yet, you couldn’t sleep after everything that happened. Your mind was racing. Not because you were nearly eaten. Not because you had met a giant turtle. Not even because you found that same turtle adorably attractive. No. It’s because you were fool-hardy enough to give him your number and after you embarrassingly called him beautiful, no less. More often than not, your overzealousness has been your downfall and you wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case here.

Universal blessings had other things in mind. The beacons lit, your prayers answered, and hope restored before your weary brain has a chance to sink - a text - and the chime of that first notification is a sweet melody indeed. All of that karmic debt seems to have been paid off. About time. Again, you won’t get too ahead of yourself but this is already a good start. And, so entails days of messaging, sneaking texts on work shifts, leg-kicking with the gushy motions, and downright losing your mind over how sweet this guy is.

As for Raph, this is uncharted territory; a piece of ocean he never dreamed he’d sail because he never thought it would be accessible to someone like him. He finds himself terrified of the mornings, worried that you’ll wake up with your senses and realise who - what - you’re talking to. Such concerns immediately disappear when he opens his phone to see a routine ‘Good morning’ paired with a heart or kiss.

During this time of exchanging pleasantries, he has been falling ever so gracefully for the character that makes up your person. He’s amazed by how bold you are in your messages during the times he shies away out of fear. It’s probably no surprise that a gorgeous lady such as yourself has at least some experience in the field, which makes him all the more nervous. Meanwhile, he’s working with two left feet and terrible advice from his family. Try as they may, he knows better than to listen to them where these things are concerned. The only one who has had experience is their dad and they all know how things turned out with Big Mama. 

Raph reckons he’ll take his chances. If your texting is anything to go off of, he likes to think he’s doing pretty well for himself. That hasn’t stopped his brothers from meddling, however. He expected Leo to poke his nose where he shouldn’t but he didn’t anticipate all of them getting involved. Even now, they’re desperately trying to clammer onto him in an attempt to get his phone. He has the advantage of being much taller than them but, of course, Donatello is resourceful and snatches it with one of his robotic limbs before throwing it to the youngest of the four. Lousy cheater. 

The unspoken rules of the game are the least of his worries when Mikey quickly messages you. He drops the phone as Raphael lunges for him and retrieves it before it hits the ground. Then he sees the extent of the damage dealt by his sibling: he’s asked you out on a date tonight. No no no! The large turtle is mortified! Sure, he’d considered the same proposal for a couple of days now but he wasn’t sure if it was too soon. This is going to make him look like a fool! He’s finished. You’re going to read it and you’re going to ignore it and he’s going to be ruined.

The receipt goes to ‘read’ and, surely, that to be the end of it until he sees you’re formulating a response. He bores holes into his screen. The taunting three-dotted line rises and falls and each second has him in the sweats. His brothers’ heads comically peak past his shell, each invested, placing bets on what your answer is going to be. Whoever had put their money down for a positive result is just that little bit richer. Three words. Three little words that would turn out to be Raphael’s salvation: ‘I’d love to! X’.

The joyous uplift of deliverance soon flees when it truly sinks in. You’ve agreed to go on a date with him. A date. With him. He’s going on a date. With you. Where will he take you? What will you both do? What is he going to wear? He’s desperate enough to call on his brothers’ aid for any input they can provide. After all, he can’t deny that their antics have led to this. Listen, these guys have all watched how much of an impact this has had on him. Sure, they’ll poke their fun but it’s genuinely warming to see their big lug of a brother with that dorky grin on his face. 

After a quick montage of his family hyping him up, going through outfits, and detailing the do’s and don’t’s, he’s finally ready. You both decide to meet on the roof of your apartment complex seeing as the sun will still be out. He double, triple, and quadruple-checks the location on his phone just in case he’s managed to pick the wrong one. As he’s about to check a fifth time, the little door to the side opens and out comes you in an even cuter outfit than the one worn on your first meeting. You, too, are in awe of what stands before you, having not expected him to go through the effort of dressing up at all. It’s nothing striking but it lights up all the parts of your objective brain that make you the size-hungry gremlin you are: a grey, sleeveless hoodie that shows off his arms very nicely. 

Sitting on the roof and people-watching seems to be a good enough pass time until it gets dark. Raphael’s legs hang over the side whilst yours lay to the side of you. He should have made a note of things to talk about. You’ve both already covered basic information over the phone alongside the odd funny video here and there but he’s completely blank now. Crap. He can feel the sweats coming on.

“So, hey,” he hears your voice suddenly, “what’s the highest up you reckon you’ve ever been?”

He knows the answer to that but it’s not an instance he much likes to think about. It would have been during the Kraang invasion years back when he and his brothers plummeted from heights of the sky no person should outside of a plane. That will be a story he keeps to himself. Too deep. He doesn’t want to dampen the mood. 

His brain wracks itself for something else and he says the first thing that comes to mind, “Uh… well, there was the time me and my brothers zip-lined from one building and into a roof pool.”

“No way! That sounds like so much fun!”

The elated look in your eyes makes him smile and his chest inflates with pride. “Yeah, it was! Our friend April even got it on video.”

“Do you have it?” you ask eagerly. “I’d love to see.”

That’s when you scoot closer to him to the point that your arms are brushing. Do you want to see it that badly? Yes. Was this an excuse to get close? You will die at your doorstep before you admit to anything without a lawyer. He sucks his lips in at the contact and looks down at your sparkling face before fumbling for his phone. He’s almost certain he has it somewhere. 

As you’re both watching the video, three sets of eyes have their sights on you. Three pairs of eyes belonging to three incredibly nosy brothers. They’re stood on one of the buildings behind you two, a few floors higher for a good view.

“So, how come we’re spying on Raph and his date?” the one in orange asks keenly.

“Listen, we all know that Raph chokes under pressure and we’re just here to make sure things go smoothly,” the blue-banded turtle responds with a hand to his chest. The other hand grips onto a tarp that seems to be shielding a box. “And I have just the thing to get some romance going.”

Beneath the blanket, Leo unveils a cage of doves all more than ready to be set free. Where, when, and how he managed to get these birds is a mystery but life is full of those. Best not to question his eccentricities. He quietly whispers, “Fly, my pretties,” before turning the latch and throwing a flurry of birdseed in the unsuspecting couple’s direction. 

Large brows furrow above concern. “Aren’t they a little too close to the edge?”

Ah. That might be problematic.

“Oh my gosh,” you laugh, “I think I would have a heart attack zipping along something like that.”

“It’s really not so bad when you get used to it,” Raph chuckles reassuringly. 

“Pft! You’re a lot braver than me.”

You both smile at each other as he puts his phone away. He doesn’t believe that for a second. You were brave enough to give him your number after all. He’s about to say something else when a series of aggressive flaps and coos break him of whatever thought he had. Following, a flock of doves barrages into the two of you. Luckily, he’s a sturdy pillar but the same can’t be said for you. A shrill scream breaks past your lips as you tip over the ledge. There’s a short moment when all that surrounds you is air. Nothing but air and the impending dread of what sits below. You were only joking when you said about dying on your doorstep.

Just as your eyes clench shut in preparation, the breath in your lungs gets knocked out of you when a force catches and cradles you by your gut. This strong force lifts you up and you’re met with an even stronger chest. You slowly take a look up at your saviour and he’s got you in a tight lock against his body. His other hand is clasped onto the roof ledge and he breathes heavily. Raphael swallows hard. That was close. Way too close for comfort.

Not wanting to dawdle over the long drop for much longer, he hoists himself back onto the roof with you in his clutch. The threat of falling diminished. The threat of falling in other ways climbs higher from your stomach. Oh lordy, you’re getting the vapours. As he gently eases you back on your feet, you look up at him with wide eyes.

“I think,” you breathe out, in again to recollect yourself, “maybe, we continue this on the ground.”

“Agreed.”

Thankfully, it’s dark enough that he should be able to waltz around in the public eye without it being too bothersome. From a neighbouring rooftop, there’s a rushed scurry but when he looks, nothing appears to be there. Must have been more of those doves or something. That still begs the question of where they came from but he’ll try not to worry about it.

So, a little bit of a rocky start but it doesn’t appear to have shaken your spirit. You’re a little jittery from the adrenaline, perhaps. That and being in his arms for that short moment made you realise what you’ve been missing out on all this time. You need to get a hold of yourself, woman. For the sake of not ruining this, get a hold of yourself. The slight tremble in your fingertips doesn’t go unnoticed. Luckily, Raph has just the remedy.

He walks you to a park, quiet from day nearing its end, lit up with the gentle hug of streetlamps dotted along the pathways. The setting itself is already enough to coax you back into a level head but curiosity peaks when the mutant urges you to sit on a bench. He asks that you close your eyes before dashing off. Just what is he planning? You’re tempted to take a peak but, respectively, you sit and patiently wait. When he returns, you open your eyes to see him standing in front of you, three hot dogs in one hand, two sodas in the other. 

“It ain’t much but I figured it’ll help,” he admits bashfully. “‘Specially some sugar.”

You blink up at him and shrink down with a shy bat of your lashes. “Thank you.”

Your lips spread into a mile-wide smile as you take the food and drink from him. He sits down beside you and you happily dig in. There must have been a food stand that you had walked past without noticing, yet he noticed. He’s also noticed how greedy it must look for him to have two hot dogs. 

Suddenly conscious of the fact, he clears his throat awkwardly, “I hope it’s okay I got two for myself.”

“Hm?” You look up at him with a mouthful and swallow. “Oh! Have as many as you like.” Your nose scrunches up as you wave him off. “The other night I had about five to myself. Not even with the buns either.”

You laugh at yourself as you take another bite. It sounds like a bizarre way to eat them outside of their intended purpose but when Mother Nature calls, there’s no point in questioning it. Besides, the best part of a hot dog is the Frankfurter. Why waste stomach space on all of that bread? You shrug it off casually but the tall turtle’s attention remains on you as he rallies something up in his head.

“How do you feel about salami?”

The way he asks is gentle, not interrogative but carefully interested with a harboured hope. What an adorable query. You can’t say you have any strong opinions about it but if it’s there in front of you, you know you wouldn’t be able to help yourself. There’s a glimmer in his stare as he awaits your answer and it takes a lot for you to not grin like an idiot.

You glance side to side, pretending to be shifty-like and lean in towards him whilst cupping your mouth. “Once, I ate an entire pack of assorted pepperoni and salamis in one sitting.”

Raph’s eyes sparkle, almost forming into hearts. He doesn’t register how he replies, going purely on automatic as his head wanders off into la la land. His free hand grips onto the side of the bench and he can feel his heart palpitate with a swarm of warmth. Has he just found his soulmate? Is it too soon to think something like that? Does it matter? He’s not too sure he cares now. Those rose-tinted glasses are his new contact lenses and he’s never taking them out.

A few trees over, the eclectic triad of trouble is back at it again trying to formulate their next plan in the ‘Romance for Raph’ operative. Donatello tinkers with something as the other two watch their brother. They have no idea what you said as you leaned into him but it must have been something mind-altering from the way he’s staring off with stars in his eyes.

“Hurry up with that thing, Dee! I wanna hear what they’re talking about.”

“You can’t rush good work,” he states, though he holds up the complete product no more than a second later. “But yes, you may now marvel at my new masterpiece.”

It’s a dinky-looking drone, fitted with the best mic system and soundless heli-propellers this turtle genius can build, small enough that it should be able to soar around unnoticed. Leo and Mikey tussle over who gets to fly the device first, each pulling on the remote control. During their scuffle, they hit a button and it quietly thrums to life. Before Donnie can intervene, the little drone is already flying around in seemingly no point of direction until it nose-dives towards them and crashes into the tree trunk. The entire tree shakes so much that a flurry of birds dart off and head for yourself and Raph.

They sore overhead with such ferocity that you both flail your arms up to cover your heads. Unfortunately, the soda in Raphael’s hand flies up into the air with the abrupt action. It falls onto the pathway but not before spritzing his hands with the fizzy liquid. Great. Now his hands are going to be uncomfortably sticky. What is the darn deal with these birds today? Alfred Hitchcock might have been onto something. The vermin of the sky turns into an afterthought when you spot your date looking over his fingers with a wrinkled frown.

Glancing around the park, you suddenly jump up onto your feet with an idea. You gesture for him to follow after you and lead him to a nearby lake. It’s the only way you could think for him to wash away the sugary beverage. As he gets on his knees and dips his hands in, you opt to stand and keep an eye out for any more winged miscreants. Figuring the coast is clear, you go back to facing the lake with your hands behind your back. 

“It sure looks pretty,” you remark quietly.

Not initially knowing what you’re talking about, Raphael glances up at you. He then follows your gaze back to the lake, taking his hands out to shake them dry. The water ripples from the movement but when it settles, he thinks he understands what you’re talking about. Starlight is often hard to come by in a city such as New York but it seems they have blessed you both with their presence. They twinkle delicately, reflecting off the water and it looks as though they’re dancing, like fireflies in the calm of night. Pretty indeed. He can’t remember the last time he sat back and appreciated something like this if ever he has.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” he hears you again, quieter this time, “what made you ask me out on this date?”

His face and the entirety of his body warms. He hadn’t expected to be put on the spot like that but he supposes you would’ve asked sooner or later. It’s only fair that you’d be curious. The palms of his hands press into his knees as he sits on his feet. 

“My brothers kinda had a hand in that. I’d been thinking about doin’ it before that, though!” he quickly rectifies just in case you thought this was completely his family’s doing but you giggle. He chuckles nervously and lowers his sights. “You just seem like someone I’d wanna get to know. Why’d you give me your number?”

“You saved my life that day,” you say as if it’s obvious. He narrows his eyes at you playfully and you figured he’d eventually realise that there’s more to it than that. “Okay, so, maybe there were other reasons.”

This is where your throat fails you and instead of talking, you attempt to motion with your hands. You hold them parallel to one another and map out the air in front of you sideways. Then, you make the same movement but vertically, one hand rising as the other lowers. He isn’t sure what you’re insinuating at first but it soon clicks. Are you referring to his stature? The thing that people usually fear? Nah. Surely not. That’s when it dawns on him. There was a word - one particular word that night which threw him off guard; a word he thought he had imagined but this just about confirms its existence.

With a newfound confidence, he sits up straight and raises a brow at you. “You think I’m beautiful?”

A brash heat burdens your cheeks as they puff out. You’ve certainly dug your grave on this one. How do you even answer? That probably isn’t an issue. Your reaction must be answer enough. With a blown-out breath, you swivel on your feet away from him, not knowing how to verbally respond. Just as you turn, a pebble hits you square on the forehead and knocks you back into the lake. It makes for a mighty splash but an incredibly discomfiting feeling around your body. Your head shoots up with a gasp and you hold your upper body with your hands in the sickly, cold mud, squelching between your fingers like wet clay. If birds had apposable thumbs, you would assume this was their doing considering how the night has gone.

Raphael shoots up to his feet and extends a hand to you, much like how he did when you first met. His face is laced with the same amount of concern as that day. Less hesitant than that instance, you immediately reach out and his fingers engulf your hand just as they did before. He hoists you up onto your feet, looking over you worriedly. You’re soaked head to toe.

What he doesn’t expect is to hear you laugh, “Deja vu?” 

His head cranes to the side but he finds himself smiling sadly when you continue to laugh. An unshakable spirit; that’s something he’s quickly realising you have and it’s admirable, to say the least. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for your body. You hug yourself and shiver, teeth almost chattering. Even summer nights can nip at the skin when drenched in freezing lake water.

In his haste to find a solution, he enacts the first thing that comes to mind without thinking of asking on your behalf. He quickly slips his hoodie off and holds it out to you. It’s probably a little counterproductive since it won’t dry you but it should hopefully shield you from the cold. Just enough to last you the walk home. You bite your tongue as you gratefully take the garment and slip it on. In a generalised state of mind, this is every girl’s dream right here. Your dream. It sits over you in all of its oversized glory like a great big hug. Perfect. It’s a shame to be calling the night to an end here but you both know you won’t be able to completely enjoy yourself with a dripping head.

Those same three figures dash off into the shadows, one sorely guilty for causing such a catastrophe. All Michelangelo had intended to do was throw that rock at Raph to gain his attention. It had a note stuck to it with some cute lines he could have said to you. The last thing he wanted was for it to smack you dead in the face and topple you over. He swears his aim isn’t usually that bad, hence he’ll blame the note for messing with the air dynamics or whatever Donnie called it.

As yourself and Raph journey back to your apartment, he finds himself in a bit of a funk. He tries to keep his enthusiasms up for the remaining minutes you have together but there were a fair share of disasters this evening. Not how he envisioned things panning out. He walks you up to your front door but lingers in the middle. You stop, too, and stride down one, meeting him head-level.

“Everything okay?” you ask.

"Sorry," he sighs as he sits on one of the steps. "This has got to have been the worst first date ever."

His whole body slumps and he hangs his head low in shame, arms resting atop his thighs with his hands dangling limp between his legs. This feeling just can’t seem to shake. There were so many mishaps: you falling off the roof, soda spilling over himself, and to top it all off, you got yourself a nasty bath in muddy water. He wouldn’t blame you if you took his presence as a bad omen. Disaster does seem to follow him and his brothers wherever they go. His eyes suddenly open wide and stare at the floor when he feels a soft cushion of skin against his cheek.

"Actually, it's the best first date I've ever been on," you say and he'd see a large smile on your face had he the strength to look. Removing the hoodie, you hang it over his arm and giggle, "I mean, I might have a fear of birds now but I’ve had a really lovely time. I look forward to the second one."

You peck his cheek once more before slipping off into your apartment, leaving him to sit with eyes like saucers and rosy cheeks. He supposes it wasn’t all bad. There was a lot of laughter. You two found a lot in common with one another and once you got talking, the conversation was easy. There weren’t many cases where he caved under the pressures of those ‘first date’ nerves. He felt comfortable. Really comfortable, in fact. 

Raph blinks down at the hoodie and holds it up to his face. It’s a little damp but the scent of your perfume lingers on the fabric. It smells nice and he hopes he isn’t creepy for being happy about having this until you next see each other. His face hurts from all of this smiling, achy and strained. Painful but a good pain, nonetheless. An experience so new to him. He doesn’t know what to do. His body is running on highs it’s never known before. The burley mutant stands to his feet, hoodie in hand, and does the only thing he can think to do: he dances, blissfully unaware of the three sets of eyes watching from a building across the street.

"Oh, god, he's doing his victory dance right outside her apartment. Can't he save it till later? He's gonna make a fool of himself."

"Aw, but look how happy he is!"

"Indeed. I would say this is a big win for our illustrious leader."

"Hey, don't forget about our win. None of this would have happened without us and that deserves a pizza reward. Am I right, guys?"

The other two nod and mumble in agreement. It’s probably best that they flee the scene before they’re spotted, anyway. They’ll be excited to hear about their brother’s ventures when he returns and, of course, they’ll act as if they haven’t witnessed every moment of it. Take it to the grave, boys. Take it to the grave.

_________________________

I kinda love how the first part of this story was written during a fever and I had to wait until I was ill again to finish this part. Also, have to mention... the comments people!!! You ravenous animals are as crazy as me, I love it. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these comments and I just had to include some of them here

You are my people and I love all of you so much <3

[normal-internet-user]

AAAH! I LOVED THE MIKEY WITH AN ASSANIAN GF! AND I WAS GONNA REQUEST SOMETHING SIMILAR BUT I SAW THAT YOUR REQUESTS WERE CLOSED!

sorry about the caps!

Could I request Leo(2012) with a secret S/O(reader) who is quiet and reserved, not because she's shy, but because she just finds it easier to respond with gestures and expressions! Maybe she is very confident and skilled at fighting, but she prefers to work as a hacker.

When they start dating Leo gets a little jumpier when he sneaks out to see her and splinter notices so he confronts Leo about it maybe Mikey overhears and he gets curious so he goes to meet the reader and brings her back to the liar to surprise Leo?

-🍵

(bonus if the reader has a very chill reaction to everything and does not scare easily at all! like the feeling of being jumpscared is foreign to her)

I LOVE THE SECRET LOVER TROPE SO MUCH YA'LL HAVE NO IDEA -

LEO WITH A SECRET HACKER GIRLFRIEND

Ya'll would meet completely and 100% by chance.

He was probably scouting or on patrol or something when he saw you cornered in an alley by some guys that were like, 2× your size.

By the time he got there to help, you had already knocked the last guy down and were dusting yourself off.

Bro just kinda stood there, stunned that you had just done that.

You guys exchanged numbers and kept in touch, becoming friends pretty quick.

Leo thought it was stressful trying to have a secret friend, But when ya'll start dating,

His anxiety goes through the roof.

Obviously Splinter is the first to notice him being so jumpy and secretive.

He won't directly ask Leo about it,

Just quietly observe.

Donnie is the second to suspect about you, and it may have been your fault...

You see, Leo came to ask you for help with some of Baxtor Stockman's files, and you might have accidentally left a small teeny-weeny digital footprint.

Not enough to directly trace back to specifically you,

But enough for Donnie to suspect Leo having outside help.

The real kicker was when Mikey overheard one of Leo's phone calls with you.

He overheard him planning a day to come visit and there was an awful lot of, "Love" and "Angel" being said.

He may or may not have followed Leo to see if he was right, and he was.

One day, Mikey just can't take it anymore, and he shows up on your fire escape to introduce himself.

You were incredibly chill about it, and even agreed to let Mikey take you to the Lair.

When he arrived, he shouted out as loud as he freaking could, "I BROUGHT LEO'S GIRLFRIEEENNNDDD!"

"Leo's what!?"

"You brought who???"

"Mikey!"

Leo tripped over himself running into the room, immediatly he rushed over to you and pulled you off to the side while Donnie and Raph asked Mikey questions.

"What are you doing here?" Leo whispered to you,

You shrugged, and answered in your normal, quiet voice, "Your brother showed up at my apartment and asked if I wanted to meet your family. I texted you about it."

He pulled out his t-phone and saw that he did infact have multiple messages from you. He face palmed, and sighed.

"It's fine. It's about time they met you anyway."

You fiddled with your fingers, "Sorry I didn't talk to you about it, Hun."

Leo shook his head and kissed you on the cheek, "It's ok, Angel. Really, it's fine."

He then turned around to face his brothers, "Guys, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, (Name), these are my brothers."

Donnie moved forward to shake your hand, Raph shoved Leo out of the way to ask you questions and Mikey sat back and enjoyed the chaos he'd created.

Splinter entered the room, amd Leo visibly tensed up.

You greeted him respectfully, and he asked you to follow you to the dojo, leaving Leo to be bombarded by his brothers.

"So, I assume you are who my son was sneaking away to see?"

You nodded, "Probably, sir."

Splinter waved his hand in a dissmisive gesture, "Call me Splinter, 'sir' makes me sound old."

You giggled, "Ok, Splinter."

Leo was so happy you got along well with his family, your relativly chill and reserved attitude contrasted well with his loud and essentric family.

You are now the teams designated "Gal in the chair", as Mikey calls it,

You'll help them with gathering info, breaking into systems etc.

Leo is more than happy to have you around more often, with no more need to sneak around!

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

Voilà! Here you go 🍵 Anon! I hope you enjoyed💕

[fishsticksloser]

Hello! I'm having a bit of a rough time so I thought I'd send this ask. What would the turtles be like with a S/O that has anxiety, depression and PTSD? How would they help them if their depression is bad enough that on some days they can't get out of bed, forget to eat, etc? Bonus if S/O is plus-sized/kinda chubby and insecure about it.

Anxious/Depressed!Reader

RotTMNT x gn!reader

Warnings: depression, anxiety, fluff, post-movie based

A/N: I've already done PTSD!Reader so this will just be anxiety and depression. I hope you're feeling better, I'm so sorry it's taken so long. Make sure to take care of yourself, drink plenty of water, and eat well. I know I don't know you, but I care about you.

Donnie

Donnie struggles with a lot of depression and anxiety

Constantly feel like he's not enough

That once his brothers figure out their mystic powers, they won't need him anymore

So he understands a lot

If you're having a bad day, he'll do whatever it takes to make you feel better

Favorite snacks, blankets, movies

While he's not a big fan of touch, he will do whatever you want

He'll hold you, rant about whatever he could think of

Donnie has absolutely knows what to do if you have an anxiety attack

He'll do whatever it takes to help you

Leo

He has a bad relationship with anxiety and depression

After the Kraang invasion, it got much much worse

He felt like the injuries his brothers have/had were his fault

Leo is very good at helping with anxiety attacks

He was used to helping Donnie with his

He'll do whatever he could do to help

Leo will hold you and murmur lovely things to you

He'd rub your back

He'd give you sweet kisses all over your face

Leo would tell jokes, trying to make you laugh

Mikey

Mikey deals with more anxiety than his brothers

The thoughts of what could've had happened if he hadn't saved Leo

What he saw in the Kraang ship with Donnie

He feels like every thing at the end was on his shoulders

So he holds you close

He rubs your back, cuddles you close

He'll whisper words of love and comfort

Mikey will hold you so close

He'll do whatever he could do to help you

Mikey used what he learned from Leo and Donnie to help you

Raph

Raph suffers with a lot of anxiety and depression as well

He feels like the Kraang invasion was his fault

He didn't try hard enough

He didn't help Leo enough, didn't help Donnie or Mikey enough

He works hard to help you

Schedules texts and calls if he can't be with you

Makes sure you take care of yourself

Raph will hold you close

He'll do whatever he can to make you feel better

[goosewriting]

Hello, I'd like to say that I already requested some things from you but I hope you don't mind that I'm sending this in because I love your writing and I thought that you could do this request perfectly. I also noticed your requests are closing tomorrow so yeah 😭 tsym

Rise Boys x tomboy reader (gn tho obviously). It's prom night or a school dance or something at April's school. The turtles are kinda dissapointed because the reader got a date to the dance and they had a big crush on them. It's all they can think about all night until the reader shows up at the lair looking a little dejected but GOOD because they're wearing a freshly pressed black suit and tie. The turtle asks what's wrong they why they're not at the dance. They tell that they were going to go to the dance but the reader got stood up by her date and just didn't feel like going after that. After seeing how badly they had wanted to go, the turtle suggests instead of the dance, they go out for a night in the hidden city and just goof off and have fun. So that's what they do, maybe they go skating or for smoothies just the two of them having a good time. At the end of the night they sit on a rooftop watching the sun come up and the reader says "We should do this more often" basically confirming the night was a date and they'd like to do it again.🥲👏🏾 sorry this is so long 💗💗

Prom night, plan B (rottmnt x reader)

summary: reader got stood up for prom and goes to the lair instead, looking extremely fly.

relationship: Rise Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey x GN reader (crushing phase)

warnings: fluff!, reader’s date being a jerk, slight vandalism in Mikey’s i guess lol

word count: 2.4k

A/N: back when i got this request i squealed in glee because i love me a good ol’ reader in a suit! this one’s in my other (bulletpoints only) headcanon style again, hope it’s not too disruptive. thank you so much for your patience and i hope you like it :D

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

— — —

Someone from your class had actually asked you out to prom, and since they were the only person to do so, you had accepted. After all, you two were on good terms.

Your parents had even brought you to a proper tailor shop to get a three piece suit. Since it was made to your measurements, it fit perfectly. You couldn’t help but check yourself out in the mirror a couple of times: you looked fresh.

The morning and afternoon before prom, you felt like ants were crawling in your pants; you couldn’t sit still. You had been looking forward to this night for a while. You probably also would have gone without a date; you just wanted to have a good time with your friends. But knowing that someone was gonna come pick you up any minute made it more thrilling.

You watched the clock in your room, first with anticipation, then with worry. The time your date was supposed to be at your door was now 30 minutes in the past. If they were late, they would have texted you, right?

Again and again you watched as the clock hands slowly moved forward. You texted them a couple of times asking if everything was okay, but there was no reaction. They didn’t even see the messages. It wasn’t until almost an hour after the supposed pick-up time that you got a text, and you rushed to your phone on your bed. It was April. As you read the message and saw the attached photo, your heart dropped to your stomach.

— — —

The turtle lied in his bed, feeling a strange sense of defeat. He’s been crushing on you for a while now, and he knew that right at this moment, you’d be on the dance floor with your date, having the time of your life. He sighed loudly, wishing that could be him. The whole day he had held himself back from texting you to ask how you were doing, and how the night was going. You probably wouldn’t even check your phone. The turtle had accepted his fate, and tried to fall asleep so the day would be over quicker. Tomorrow you’d come to him to tell everything about prom night anyways. A bittersweet smile spread on his face at that thought.

As he rolled over and over on his bed in frustration, he heard footsteps entering the lair. He’d recognise those steps from miles away; it was you. With joy but also confusion at your arrival, he bolted up and went to greet you. Seeing your dejected face, he was about to ask what was wrong, but his brain stopped computing as he saw how incredible you looked.

🔵 Leo

*Jaw dropped on the ground like a cartoon*

You looked amazing!

The vest accentuated your waist and the tailored pants stylised your form, making you look taller and more slender.

The fact you were holding your jacket over your shoulder with your shirt sleeves rolled up, didn’t help either; you looked effortlessly cool.

Leo needed a second to regain his composure.

He forced his eyes up to meet your face, so as to stop shamelessly checking you out.

Your eyes were a bit glossed over; it’s clear you were about to cry.

When you told him that you got stood up for your date and showed him the photo April sent you, of your date dancing with someone else and holding them awfully close, Leo just felt angry.

How dare they leave you hanging!

And when you looked so good no less!

And either way, you so didn’t deserve that!

Leo was about to grab his swords to portal himself to school and kick this person’s butt, but then he got a better idea.

He suggested that you hang out with him instead.

Since you were now free, you agreed. You could use the distraction.

You decided to go to the Arcade in the Hidden City.

There were a couple of new games you had been wanting to check out.

The night was an absolute blast; even though you were planning on having a good time with your classmates, you were kinda glad you got stood up because you knew you had a better time with Leo in one night than your so-called “date” could give you in a lifetime.

And the fact that you won most of the games was just the cherry on top.

Leo was an adorably pouty loser.

You also hadn’t missed the way the turtle would steal glances at you, giving you a quick one-over every so often.

After almost running out of money at the Arcade, you decided to grab something to eat.

The two of you sat on a bench in the park, eating pretzels.

“Thank you for taking me out here, Leo. I’m glad the night wasn’t a total bust after all.”

“Anytime. In fact, we should do this more often, I really had a good time.”

“Me too…” you answered earnestly, turning to him.

Something in Leo’s eyes changed; his gaze was softer, lingering.

So you decided to tease him a little.

“And if you want, I can wear the suit again” you added with a little eyebrow wiggle.

You laughed and gently patted his shell as Leo choked on his pretzel, cheeks flustered.

🔴 Raph

Raph was torn between complimenting you and asking what was up.

He had no problem telling you how good you looked; he’d do it often, in hopes that one day you’d catch on that he’s actually into you.

But when you looked up at him almost in tears, his brain went into mother hen mode.

He asked what was wrong, and you told him you got stood up, showing him April’s texts.

His face contorted in anger, his fists clenched and you could see a couple of red sparks flash over his arms from his Ninpo.

If it were up to him, he’d throw hands with this jerk, no doubt.

Seeing that he was getting worked up, you put your hands on his arm to calm him down, telling him that there was no use. They probably never intended to go with you anyways.

Raph inwardly melted at your touch, immediately calming down, then announcing that it was their loss to not hang out with you.

He suggested going to the Hidden City to spend the night, since you were already dressed for an occasion, whatever it might be.

You accepted the offer, and off you two ran.

You spent the night at a ‘50s themed yokai diner, which served… interesting looking food.

But they also had the classics like eggs and waffles and fries.

For more comfort you took off your suit jacket and neatly placed it next to you on the seat.

Raph couldn’t help but blush a little at how well the vest hugged your torso at all the right places.

Tucked away in a booth, you two talked and goofed off for hours on end, stuffing your faces, almost choking on food several times because of how much you laughed.

You were still careful not to get anything on your suit though and did an excellent job.

As the night was coming to an end, you two enjoying your smoothies, Raph noticed you had gotten some whipped cream on your cheek.

Without thinking, he reached over the table and gently wiped it off your face with his thumb.

You looked at him with big eyes, abruptly stopping what you were saying, and Raph’s face went red.

As he stuttered and apologised, you told him it was okay with a slight blush of your own.

Before he could pull away, you gently put your hand over his, your cheek leaning into his touch.

“Thank you for today. We should do this more often” you said softly.

Raph’s brain all but short-circuited as he thanked the gods and the universe for what’s-their-face dumping you today so he got this chance with you.

🟠 Mikey

Mikey went to greet you in his high energy manner as always, calling your name in a sing-sang voice as he made his way to the entrance.

The first thing he said when he saw you was “woah!”, all starry-eyed, taking in your looks.

Then he approached you and asked what was wrong.

As soon as you told him you got stood up and showed him April’s texts, he crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head in a disapproving manner.

Being the empath of the group, he first hugged and comforted you. Physical contact like this wasn‘t rare with you two.

Then he got a mischievous grin, and you couldn't help but wonder what was going on in that mind of his.

Bringing you to his room, he showed you some new “babies“ he got: several new paint spray cans.

He was planning on painting a mural on the side of the skating ramp but this would be a much better use in his eyes, if he got to distract you for a while.

Mikey gave you a big hoodie that reached almost down your knees, so you wouldn’t get paint on your nice clothes, and then you two took off.

You spent the night going from alley to alley, from street to street, leaving little drawings here and there.

Mainly you drew little turtles in every colour you could get your hand on.

Mikey made some really cool looking hand lettering. He wrote your name, in a different style each time.

You also noticed how with every new graffiti, he seemed to add more and more hearts to your name as well.

By the time you were done with your little city tour, you found yourself hiding behind the parking lot at school.

You wondered how you had not noticed that he guided you here, but that’s how good he was at keeping your mind focused on the good time you were having with him.

Suddenly remembering the events before your little escapade, you felt sad again, but mostly just annoyed. Why did they see the need to stand you up? They could have just called.

Mikey noticed where your brain was going and made you look up across the parking lot.

You understood the plan.

In your hands: several spray cans.

In your sight: your date’s car.

In your mind: sweet revenge.

You two made quick work out of it, not writing down anything obscene or offending; just decorating the car with a lot of scribbles, flowers and animals, leaving it undamaged but very colourful.

Giggling like little kids, you two scurried off just as quickly as you had arrived.

You ended up on Albearto’s rooftop, sitting on the hoodie and munching on some pizza.

As you looked out to the city lights, you sighed in contentment.

“I had so much fun Mikey, thank you” you said.

Mikey did a theatrical bow, stating how he also had a great time.

“We should do this more often” you said, and thought to yourself: It almost felt like a date.

Judging by Mikey’s expression, you had not only said that in your mind though.

You both blushed and looked away from each other.

After some silence Mikey finally answered, almost shy:

“That can be arranged.”

🟣 Donnie

All Donnie could do when he laid eyes on you was stare.

For probably the first time in his life he was rendered speechless: you looked beyond fantastic.

Squirming a little under his intense gaze, you called his name.

Snapping out of it, Donnie asked why you were at the lair. Not that he wasn’t happy to see you. But weren’t you supposed to be elsewhere?

You told him how you got stood up out of nowhere, showing him April’s messages.

In the blink of an eye he had already formulated a masterplan in his mind about how he was gonna hack all of this person’s devices and make their existence a little more miserable.

Just by looking at Donnie’s “scheming face”, as you called it, you already knew what was going on.

With a dejected sigh you told him it wasn’t worth the trouble, and instructed him to not attack this person in any way or form.

After a couple of tries on his part to negiotiate something viable, changing the terms a little bit here and there, he finally assured you he wouldn’t do any funny business.

You knew he would probably still so something small like hack into this person’s phone and log them out of all the apps or delete a game save or something like that.

There was no stopping Donnie when he set his mind on something, after all.

For the moment, you decided you needed a distraction.

Donnie said he knew the perfect place, and took you to the Hidden City.

There was a roller skating rink, the floor being smooth wood, and you could rent skates.

You had used inline skates before, but never these ones with the wheels in a 2x2 position.

As you entered the rink, you were about to lose your balance, so you grabbed onto the first thing you could, which was Donnie’s arm.

After some awkward apologies, flustered cheeks, and him having to catch you a couple of times mid-air, you two decided that it would be easiest for you to keep your balance if you skated next to each other hand in hand.

At first it felt a little silly, but the more you skated, the more comfortable you felt in the skates, keeping your balance.

The speakers around the rink were blasting music, which faded into the next song, and you and Donnie looked at each other in glee: an 80’s banger.

He was a skilled skater, and had you twirling and dancing with him in the group of people and creatures on the rink. Never once did he let you fall or bump into someone.

Your face hurt from so much laughing, and you told him you needed a break.

Skating towards the edge of the rink, you held onto the railing and took a breather.

Coming down from your high, you turned towards Donnie, and were faced with how he was looking at you in a state you could only describe as enamored.

Did your heart just skip a beat?

Shaking that thought off your mind, you spoke first.

“I had honestly no idea a place like this existed down here. Thank you so much for bringing me Donnie, this is exactly what I needed.”

“My pleasure” he said, and seemed to hesitate for a second before adding: “In fact, I’ve actually been meaning to come here with you for a while now.”

“Then we should definitely come again.” You gave him a sincere smile, your face glowing under the flashing neon lights.

Unbeknownst to either of you, you both thought at the same time: It’s a date then.

~~~~~

🐥 taglist: [more info in my pinned post!] @hearteyedracoon, @koalaray, @maribatshipper, @whygz, @lovelylovelydreams

[imashoe69420]

Hello! I'm having a bit of a rough time so I thought I'd send this ask. What would the turtles be like with a S/O that has anxiety, depression and PTSD? How would they help them if their depression is bad enough that on some days they can't get out of bed, forget to eat, etc? Bonus if S/O is plus-sized/kinda chubby and insecure about it.

So since I’m doing all the boys, each mental illness/self-image issue will be separated by turtle. I hope that’s okay!

The reader’s symptoms are also closely aligned with my own as well as outside research. If you feel that something could be more accurate, let me know! :)

===================================

Rise!Bros X Reader Headcannons★彡

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Relationships: Dating

Pronouns: Gender Neutral (They/Them)

Timeline: Post Movie

Warnings ⚠️: Language, Mental Heath Issues, Brief Mention of Medication (Mikey)

===================================

Leo // PTSD

• Leo would be the first the know how to deal with PTSD.

• Well, not necessarily know, but empathize with you because of his time in the prison dimension.

• Both of you had vivid nightmares, so most nights, you two would stay awake together.

• The first time this happened, Leo caught you with your head in the refrigerator picking at some leftovers:

• “Nightmares?” The blue turtle asked, sleep lacing his voice.

• “Nightmares.” You nodded.

• You two finished some leftover spaghetti, then trudged back to Leo’s room, spending the rest of the night under the covers watching TNTL videos.

• This became a normal occurrence, talks eventually getting deeper:

• “It’s just… I feel so stupid sometimes. It happened years ago. Why do I still think about it almost every day?” You sighed as you laid on the blue clad turtle’s plastron.

• Leo shrugged. “I dunno, it’s more annoying than traumatic now.”

• There’s a pause when Leo took your hand in his own.

• “But I don’t think you’re stupid for it.”

• You smiled as he rubbed his hand over your knuckles.

• “Thanks, Lee.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raph // Anxiety

• Being the oldest in the family causes a lot of anxiety, especially in the Hamato household.

• You were also stressed being the oldest sibling as well. One of your siblings was in the hospital, and although it was just for a broken leg, it had you worried.

• Sleeping was a battle. One night, you were in the lair in Raph’s room.

• You slowly watched the clock tick by.

• 11PM… 12PM… 1PM.

• And you were still tossing and turning.

• Eventually, you started to think about your sibling and if it was right for you to be with your boyfriend rather than being in the hospital with them.

• It didn’t take long for the tears to start flowing as you had convinced yourself that you were a bad sibling.

• The snapping turtle eventually noticed your sadness and sleepily asked you what was wrong.

• “I should be with them, not here.” You said tearfully. “What if something happens? What if they dropped the remote to contact the nurse? What if—”

• “(Y/N), (Y/N)… don’t worry so much. They’re gonna be fine.” Raph tried to quell your anxiety.

• “But what if—”

• “Ya’ can’t live a life on ‘what if’s, (Y/N).” He interrupted you, speaking gently. “I know how you feel. You think I’m never worried about these knuckle heads? Ya’ just gotta trust them and the doctors.”

• You pushed your hair back from your face and sighed. “I… I know. It’s just…”

• “I know.”

• Raph scooped you in his arms and held you close. “You don’t have to explain. Just try to rest so you can see them tomorrow.”

• You snuggled up against him, attempting to hold back your tears. “Okay… I’ll try. Thank you. Really.”

• “What’re big siblings for?” He said sarcastically before you both eventually fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey // Depression

• Despite being medicated, there were moments when you would have a depressive episode.

• This consisted of staying at home, ignoring texts to hang out, not showering for days at a time, and overeating while watching a random Netflix Original.

• Mikey respected that you sometimes needed time away, although he was naturally clingy.

• After about three days, he’ll come visit you.

• It’s always a gamble with you. You either let him in graciously, or simply act like he’s not there.

• When you would let him in, he would bring snacks and DVDs of your favorite movies.

• Most of the time, you two would huddle under a blanket and watch those DVDs for hours.

• Other times, he would beckon you to come outside. And when you obliged, you two usually had a good time exploring New York and the Hidden City.

• When you were out of your funk, you were back to being physically affectionate.

• You were always grateful for your little orange weirdo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donnie // Plus Size

• Donnie never quite understood people’s hate for plus sized bodies, nor did he understand your misplaced desire to be skinnier.

• Your insecurities really stood out when you guys would go out or on dates.

• “We’ve been walking for a while. Are you hungry?” Donnie asked you as the two of you walked the streets of New York City.

• “I mean… are you hungry?” You asked bashfully.

• Donnie shrugged. “Not especially.”

• You shook your head. “I’m good, then.”

• It took Donnie a couple of minutes to become curious as to why you only wanted to eat when he was eating.

• “Why didn’t you want to eat?” He asked out of the blue.

• You sighed and shook your head again. “It’s nothing, Dee.”

• “No,” the purple clad turtle stopped walking, “I wanna know.”

• “Well… I dunno, it’s embarrassing.” You thought about how to formulate your words to help him understand. “When people see us eating together, they’ll just think that we’re hungry. But when I’m the only one eating…”

• Your words trailed off, and it took Donnie several seconds to finally understand what you’d meant.

• “That’s nonsense.”

• “Yeah, well, that’s how people will see us: a guy and his fatass girlfriend.”

• To say the turtle was angry at the absurdity of the world’s mentality on plus sized people was an understatement.

• He quickly took hold of your hand and pulled you back to the hotdog stand you’d just passed.

• “Two plain hotdogs, please. And some ketchup on the side.” Donnie told the vendor.

• He had really meant that he wasn’t hungry and only ended up finishing about half of the hotdog, but your comfortability meant more to him.

• After the meal, you started walking again before you took hold of Donnie’s bicep.

• “I really appreciate that, babe. I mean it.” You rested your head on his shoulder.

• The turtle leaned his head so it was on top of yours. “Anything for you.”

[tangledinink]

Heya! First off I’m around halfway through teenage mutant what now and it is the funniest fic I have ever read - Beautifully written and overall brilliant but the jokes get me every time

And second, is it okay if I reference a pose from one of your gemini artworks for my own work? I’ll credit the inspiration if I post it anywhere ^^

whew we're overdue for an ask dump,,, OKAY ALRIGHT.

THANK YOU ; w ; I'm really glad you like it hehehehe. also yeah sure feel free! I don't mind! ^^

HEHEHE THIS MAKES ME VERY HAPPY THANK YOU

oh he DEFINITELY freaked out at first. there was a lot of panicking and confusion and "how could this even happen?!" ("you think i'd genetically engineer a creature that's not capable of reproducing? all of you should be genetically compatible with practically any yokai," draxum said. "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO, I DUNNO, TELL US THAT?!" donnie said.) but eventually, he did calm down, and he and his partner talked about it (a bunch, multiple times), and eventually some of the panic gave way to... curiosity, first of all... and then maybe kind of excitement? and some fondness? i mean, he was still pretty scared, and sure, he doesn't really consider himself a 'kid' person, but it's not like he never thought about EVENTUALLY having kids, just maybe... not so soon? but. i mean.

well. if they're already cooking...

THANK YOU ; w ; i'm glad you like them! @kiwi-smug-silvalina

oh gosh, that's a good question. i'm not entirely sure... uhmmm... i would say perhaps... details about how gemini!donnie's witchcraft looks and acts, VS how venus's witchcraft looks and acts...

it is very shiny. i like that people call it "the bean" instead of its actual title coz it pisses anish kapoor off.

ah ; w ; THANK YOU SO MUCH,,, thats so sweet and this made me very happy,,, <3 im glad you liked it!!!! @allegedllama

HEHEHE thank you. yes im aware that i am deranged.

omg same hat!!! i was a lifeguard and it was.... uh.... INTERESTING to say the least... (sometimes lovely, sometimes AWFUL...) @datfearlesschick

if by games you mean 'messed up deals that she can manipulate to her own advantage,' then yes! @frogonamelon

@beannary @spectralsleuth @heckitall @livsinpjs and the sep council as a whole!!! y'all's support has definitely meant so much and there's no way i'd have gotten as far with any of my projects as i have without them... or without literally ANY of the people who take the time to do things like reblog with tags, leave commentary in the tags, send in asks about my stories, etc etc etc! that's definitely one of my main motivators to create more!!! <3 thank y'all!

EEEE this made me smile, hehehehe. thank you :3c @thejavavoid

AAAAAA THANK YOU THIS GENUINELY MADE ME SO HAPPY COZ I WAS SO GODDAMN PROUD OF THOSE HANDS AND HOW THEY CAME OUT ; w ; THANK YOU @onejellyfishplease

thank you!!! u w u @fanrulerjynx

THANK YOU ; w ; I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS,,, it made me very very very happy and HEHEHE IM GLAD YOU LIKE YASSIFIED DRAXUM,,, i just think he DESERVES it, y'know? also thats just my favorite way to draw characters lmao I think it's fun so I decided for this comic I just get to indulge...

not necessarily-- this was mostly just a coincidence! @breezehurricane

oh gosh. i'm not sure, but i know it definitely WILL affect their parenting... i think at first donnie will find himself just... deferring to his partner a LOT in almost any situation because he's afraid that he'll fuck it up, because he DOESN'T feel like he understands proper boundaries or what parenting is supposed to look like, etc etc etc, and he's afraid he'll mess up. he probably reads a TON of parenting books as well because RESEARCH and will often try to pull directly from them in any situation he can, and is confused when things don't go exactly the way they were described in the text... leo i think kind of tends to flounder between being overprotective and feeling the desire to protect his son from everything and anything and wanting to overcorrect this tendency by pulling back and trying to give him as much freedom and space as possible, which sometimes leads to some... inconsistencies. there's definitely a learning curve for both of them, but they both get the hang of it eventually. they both have lovely partners and a very loving and supportive family to help them and they'll figure it out with a bit of practice.

ahhh thank you! :D im so delighted that my silly stories actually inspired something for you!!! hell yeah!!! MAKING THINGS IS GREAT!!! THANK YOU!!! @can-elope

i like to imagine them all staying very close, especially coz i'm loosely planning on them all going through the kraang-apocalypse together (and then coming through to the other side!) so i can't imagine them ever drifting too far from each other, emotionally or geographically. there's a bit of a rocky start for a lot of them, but all of the siblings end up a very tight-knit bunch.

[turtlecleric]

Happy late birthday!!

Just wanted to share my grain of thoughts that while people theorized about a possible confrontation in your latest text about Leon/Leo/Reader, all I could think off was Leon finding himself doing this again, like ravaging reader, no matter if we're awake, conscious or not, because... He tasted heaven, and come on. He'd keep wanting more of what he got. He knows it's wrong, that it isn't HIS time-line, his lover, it's just isn't his. But we were, even if just for a night, a few minutes, we were his, and it felt right amidst the wrong. So what if he wanted more? What if he got more? Even if it makes him a terrible person?

And also there's reader, that, not to bash out on our Leo, but he still has a long way to work and learn, and yes, it's a little mean, but wouldn't reader rather keep having those mind-blowing love sessions with someone who actually knows what he's doing?

Me thinks. But whatever I'm just rambling!!

Thank you nonnie!

Ohhhh that would be a dark way to go, wouldn't it? Leon deciding that he's already fucked up beyond repair anyway. And it made him feel good for the first time in a long, long time. Reminded him what it used to feel like, being with you. So he decides to... keep an eye out for more opportunities. Take advantage of those opportunities when they do arise. He's already a terrible person, isn't he? Why not? If it makes the ache in his chest ease for a time and no one finds out or gets hurt... it might be hard for him to stop himself, knowing that, on top of everything else, he's making you feel good, even if you don't remember.

Idk if I'd ever write the reader knowingly cheating, because. Well. I know this may be surprising given what I frequently write, but that just feels so icky, to have the reader do something like that on purpose. It's one thing to have the characters do terrible things. It's another to have the reader do terrible things. I can't explain it well, I suppose 😅

Thanks for the ask! Hope you're well 😊

[cookieswithay]

When they get a random kiss! ROTTMNT x reader! Pt 1 of 4 ⚠️Warning: possible typos⚠️ (And yes, this is BEFORE dating)

Leo! Prime time boy😎!

It's been a crazy day. Meat sweats had kidnapped ya, a bomb was planted on the tank, and your PHONE was destroyed. By the time you guys got back to the lair, it was nearly seven. You were DEAD tired. After shooting your mom a text, (Using Donnie's phone) you laid your face on one of the arcade games. You nearly fell asleep, when you felt someone poking your sides. "Y/N~!" Of course it was Leo tickling you. You grumbled and swatted his hands away. Once again you tried to fall asleep.

But this time, you JOLTED up. Cause a certain somebody JAMMED his fingers in your armpits. " Ah! " He burst out laughing. Man, you just wanted a few minutes of peace! " Okay, okay, I'm sorry, " He said, hoping you'd drop the death glare. " But c'mon, let's play a game or something. " You rubbed your eyes. " Why? " You were crazy tired. Sure a few minutes would barely take the edge off, but it would still be awesome. " Well I mean, If I spent the day in danger, I'd vibe afterwards. " You sighed and stared at him. Leo poked your cheek. " I'll leave you alone if play a round of zombie unicorn with me~. "

He (basically) sang. Guess it wouldn't be so bad. Spending time with Leo was one of favorite things to do. " Okay, " You said. " Let's go poof some unicorns. " He snickered. " Oh yeah! " He said, grabbing your hand. For the next thirty minutes, the two of you played ALL the games. Nothing like video games to wake you up. After beating Leo (and Donnie.) at "Luigi" cart again, D's phone buzzed. " M/N's here. " He said, in the background. You looked back. " She's parked at April's place, again. " You stood up. " Can I have this walk, fair maiden? " Leo chimed in. You snickered " Why of course, kind sir. "

After a fun roof walk, you two were on April's fire escape. (Probably should've called first) " And remember, " Leo said. " If your mom asks about the scratches, tell her Mayhem got to you. " You chuckled. Yeah right. She would totally freak if she thought Mayhem touched you. " Sure, bud. " You said. You gave a wave and started down the stairs. "Wait, wait," Leo said, grabbing onto your hoodie. " Hug fee. " Of course, he never lets you forget that.

As you both embraced, you started to get lost in your thoughts. You were sleepier than a PANDA earlier, but your bff turned things around. Made all worries fly away. Like he always does. " Clingy today, aren't we? " That snapped you out of it. You pulled away giving a quiet "sorry". " It's fine! " Leo leaned on his sword. " I'm irresistible, y'know. " Instead of laughing at his gloating, you took a deep breath. And... kissed him. It was...nice and quick. When you pulled away, Leo gasped. He looked... mesmerised. Or like entranced. Honestly, he looked frickin adorable like that.

Finally realizing what you just did, you covered your mouth. " Um, " You started. Ahhh, you messed up. You were gonna apologize (or run away) when Leo pulled you in by the waist. Your lips clashed with his. He was smooching you! Really passionately. You didn't mind, but boy were you surprised. After four more kisses, he pulls away. (This boy needed a AIR break) He cleared his throat.

" Sorry. " He had NOTHING to apologize for. " Um, " You tapped your nail on his plastron, wondering what to say next. " Talk about it tomorrow? " You tried. "Talk about it tomorrow." Leo let go of your waist, and you guys awkwardly said bye to one another. You pretty shocked that you RANDOMLY kissed him. But at the same time, Leo ALWAYS acted like your boyfriend. Guess you guys were finally putting things in motion. Nice.

°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

Wow...I think my HEART fluttered a bit.☺️ This randomly turned out really nice. Bravo me~!😎 Stay tuned for the other parts! And as usual, pardon any spelling errors. I keep missing the little details😅

[symmetricalkazekage]

Okay!! I'm finally done. My late entry for March's All 4 1 TMNT Challenge (late by my timezone since it's April 1 already).

See, after reading @m1dnyt3-w0lf 's entry (read here), and fucking sobbed, I could not sit by and let our poor Red banded bara suffer. So I told her I'd write a part 2 to hers, to give us some closure. I'm sorry if it makes zero sense, I wanted to get something out before time was up.

So without further ado, here is that part 2!!

⚠️MENTIONS OF UNALIVE AND BODILY HARM. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION⚠️

It had been several months now since Raphael had his heart stomped on. Ever since then, he had been on a warpath, throwing himself into his patrols and duties; he needed the distraction from Y/N, keep her off his mind. While Leo was taking pride in seeing Raph finally take their job seriously, Donatello could tell he was only doing it as an ulterior motive. However, every time he was asked if he were okay, Raph would always brush it off saying he’s fine; he would avoid any and all confrontation if Y/N’s name was mentioned. He wanted to forget, he wanted out.

However, it was hard. Try as he might, his heart had the tendency to remind him of the agreement, and it would be the most painful reminder. Most of his nights were spent in that secret part of New York’s under belly, pounding out his anger and heartache into the old tiles and concrete, before collapsing to his knees. He fought his tears, but they still fell; and every now and then, if New York was quiet enough, you’d be able to hear the scream of someone who’s heart was breaking into tiny pieces. His pain was becoming unbearable, and his thoughts began to get the better of him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Raphael stood atop a tall building somewhere in lower Manhattan, the breeze whipping the tails of his skullcap violently around his face. He was staring out into the streets, but he wasn’t seeing anything; or well, he couldn’t see anything. He was horribly drunk, swaying gently on the ledge. How long had it been now, a year? A whole year since that day, and he had reached his limit. Y/N hadn’t even tried to reach out and properly explain, he knew she didn’t have to, but it would’ve been nice. Just to ease his aching heart, even just a little. But she hadn’t. he tried to follow her, tried to leave little clues that he wanted to talk to her, but they had gone unnoticed. He tried texting, calling, something; nothing, it had all lead to nothing.

The familiar notification sound came from his communicator; his brothers. They had been trying to contact him. Assuming they had found his GPS tracker somewhere back in the lair, but he didn’t want to be found. Eventually, he turned it off, and took a deep breath. Then he felt it; all his pain and anguish, all the suffering, it hit him like a train. He didn’t stop the tears as they fell, he didn’t try to hold back the sob that escaped his throat, he didn’t try to stop the shaking that had overtaken his body. He swayed, and then, he fell.

It was as if time began to slow around him as he fell. He closed his eyes, and the flashes of his life burned into his mind. His childhood, his brothers, Master Splinter, April, defeating Shredder, Casey, defeating the Kraang; everything flashed through, including his agreement. This was it, he was ready to die, to end his own suffering.

“Shit! Are you okay?!”

Raph opened his eyes, he had reached the bottom. A giant pile of garbage bags and boxes had softened his attempt; he felt a stinging in his right arm and his side. He closed his eyes, he didn’t need to look to know that he was bleeding. He was hoping, if he lay there long enough, he might bleed out. He felt taps to his cheek, he had to open his eyes again. Who was this person, and why wouldn’t they leave him alone?

“Hey wake up!” the voice yelled, from the pitch, he figured it was a woman.

He batted her hands away. “Leave me…”

“Okay, we’ve got the biggest gash I’ve seen on your arm and side. I can’t put pressure on both, you’re gonna have to do that part.”

She had shoved some sort of cloth into his hand and practically forced him to keep pressure as he felt her wrap his arm up in something else. His vision was still blurred with tears, and he no longer felt the alcohol in him. He blamed his uberfast metabolism on the fact that he is a mutant with science bullshit that fixes itself. He was half listening to the unknown woman rambling about he she really should have paid more attention in her first aid class on how to tie a tunicate. He really didn’t want to have to deal with someone, so he mustered whatever strength he could and pulled himself from the trash, pushing the young woman aside. Instantly, a sharp pain shot up his left leg; he might've twisted something when he landed. Nothing felt broken so that was good, but he still wanted to be alone so he tired to walk away.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” the woman asked, running and throwing her arms out to prevent him from going further.

“Away from you,” he spat, he didn’t like her tone. He tried to step around her to leave, but she just put her hands on his chest plates.

“Not like that you’re not, you’re pissing blood everywhere!” She yelled.

Now Raph was getting mad, why was this woman in his way, and why was she giving him attitude? When he tried to sidestep again, she just blocked his path again. He was starting to seethe with anger, he just wanted to disappear but this woman was making it very difficult to do that. Just as he was about to yet again try and sidestep, his left leg wobbled and he fell to his knees. He was frustrated now; his attempts failed, he was now injured, no longer feeling the effects of alcohol, and now he couldn’t even get away from this human. Y/N’s face flashed over his eyes once more, and he broke down. He began to sob as the tears left hot trails down his cheeks, his voice barely audible.

He furiously tried to wipe the tears as they fell, but they continued to soak the edges of his mask making it feel heavier on his head. He so desperately wanted to move now, the human was still standing there, watching him too closely for comfort. He had reached for her to try to push her away, but she dodged him easily and stepped forward. He was expecting a lecture from a random stranger, but what he got instead was a soft hug around his neck. The moment had made him freeze, he wasn’t expecting this; was she pitying him, cause he didn’t want that.

“I get it now,” she whispered. “Only the most broken of hearts could make someone do something so silly… I don’t know who did this to you, babe, but I’m so sorry you had to suffer under their hand like this.”

“It’s not you like ya could understand how I feel,” he whispered back harshly.

She laughed softly, “Perhaps,” he felt her arms tighten around him, “but right now, I’m not gonna let you go through this alone. So cry babe, cry and scream. Let it all out, I’ll be right here.”

Raph gritted his teeth as he tried to stop his body from trembling, “I don’t…”

“Shh, it’s okay, I won’t look,” she hushed.

It’s not like he could’ve kept up the walls even if he wanted to, he gripped onto her body with his uninjured arm and let everything out into her chest. His cries echoed of the alley walls, his tears began to soak through her shirt, and he clung to her like a lifeline he didn’t know he needed. In the back of his mind, he had expected her to push him off after a minute, but she stayed, shushing him softly and rubbing comforting circles into the base of his neck. A feeling he didn’t know would help so much.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he had finally calmed down, his body now gently trembling from the onslaught that was just wreaked upon his heart and soul. And the mystery woman hadn’t moved, she hadn’t even shifted; she still stood there, although her grip had loosened. Raph took a moment to take a deep breath before he tried to stand on shaky legs.

“Thanks,” he croaked, guess all that crying did a number on his throat too.

“I’m not done yet, darling,” she said, tugging on his arm gently. “You’re still injured, so I’m taking you home to patch you up. I’ have a pull-out futon you can crash on too.”

She began to pull Raph along with her as she went around a corner into another alley. He wanted to resist, but his feet followed.

“How do ya know I won’t try and run away,” he tried to joke.

She half laughed, half scoffed at his poor attempt, “You can honestly try, but I’m pretty sure you just expended any energy you just had.” She looked back at him with a smirk before tugging on his hand a bit firmer.

After a minute, they walked up to a large gate with a padlock. She pulled out a key from her pocket and unlocked it with one hand. She pulled him into… a car elevator? She shut the gate and relocked the gate, pocketing the key before pushing a big green button on a panel. The rickety old thing began to move up slowly, going passed two floors before coming to a stop. She opened a second gate and pulled out, making sure she shut the gate behind her.

Raph looked around the space. He was no Donnie, but he guessed that this was a warehouse floor, but it had been renovated into a home, or it was getting there. Room dividers were everywhere, some in the shape of a square with a soft pink light flooding out from over the edges. He let himself be pulled to the pull-out and sat down; he watched the woman disappear into the kitchen behind the counter, then re-emerge with a big green box. She walked back over, and he noticed the box said ‘For Ouchies’ and covered in unicorn and car stickers. She set the box down quietly before opening it and pulling out a bunch of things; he watched her hands set out and organize everything before he remembered something.

“The name’s, Raphael, but everyone calls me Raph,” he muttered quietly, feeling if he spoke any louder he would disturb the silence.

“Lahni,” she smiled at him as she soaked a cloth with an orange liquid before going to clean his arm.

Raph winced slightly as he watched her work, by this point he had stopped bleeding, she was just cleaning dried blood and whatnot. He was always a fast healer, but that didn’t stop him from getting injured a lot more than he wanted. She patched his arm quickly before grabbing a clean cloth and moving to his side, she placed it on the gash and let the liquid soak and seep into the wound before gently swiping it away.

Raph watched Lahni whisper to herself before he turned to stare at the coffee table in front of him. He saw a photo laying face down, and he got curious. He reached for it, and what he saw made him tense solid. In the picture was Lahni… and Y/N. Raph felt his blood boil and bubble up, turning his now steel gaze to the woman hard at work.

“Who’s this…?” he asked in a hard voice. Raph watched her look up, watching her face also turn hard before going back to work.

“My evil sister…” she said coldy.

“Sister?!”

“Hush, child.”

“Explain.”

Lahni placed the last piece of tape over the gauze before standing. “She’s my sister, who cares. I don’t talk to her anymore.”

Raph’s looked faltered.

“What happened…”

“I went to lunch with her, and she was going on and on about this agreement she had with someone.” Lahni sat angrily on the edge of the table and crossed her arms. “This person apparently had no idea about sex or what to do, he asked her for her help. I told her it was a bad idea.”

“Why’d ya say that?” Raph asked.

“Come on, did she really think someone who hadn’t had sex before wouldn’t become attached or even develop any feelings? She’s such an idiot!” Lahni got up and started pacing. “What did she think was gonna happen?! He would be totally okay when she called it off? Ugh! What a fucking idiot!”

Raph watched as Lahni got herself worked up. If she knew that person was him, she would probably instantly change her mind; he was a mutant after all. He continued to listen to her get angry.

“At lunch, she laughed and started belittling him. Saying that he should’ve known better, but she didn’t make any boundaries, or keep things clear! SHE should’ve known better!! You can’t just do that to someone!!”

Raph went to calm her, but the sound of small taps made him freeze.

“Mama?”

They both turned, Raph immediately began shitting bricks. Standing next to where the pink light was coming from was a smaller version of Lahni. She was wearing what he picked as her mom’s shirt, holding a stuffed samurai rabbit rubbing her eyes.

“Ah shit, come here baby,’ Lahni coaxed.

The little girl wandered over, stopping when she saw Raph. He panicked as he picked up a cushion and tried shielding himself from her eyes. She stared at him, but then her eyes got big and she ran up to him.

“Mama! He has ouchies!” she squealed as she stared at the bandages.

Lahni laughed, before sitting back down on the table. “He does, but don’t worry,” she looked up to Raph and smiled, “I fixed him.”

The little girl stared before she climbed up onto the pull-out with him, she handed the rabbit to him and kissed both his injuries. Now, if he could blush, he would be red all over. Lahni laughed hard at his face as he watched the little girl stand up, getting right into his face.

“Don’t worry Mister. My mommy is the best fixer upper. And I have magic kisses, so you’ll be better in zero time.”

She had said it in the most serious tone ever, and Raph was taken aback quite a bit. He looked to Lahni for help, but the woman just kept laughing.

“Miwa, are you gonna introduce yourself?”

The little girl practically shoved her hand into his face, “I’m Miwa, and I’m dis many numbers!” he watched as she tried to hold up three fingers but was coming out as four.

Raph chuckled, before taking her tiny hand and shaking it gently. That night went on with childish stories and giggles, until eventually Miwa fell back to sleep. Every time Lahni tried to move her, Miwa protested, saying she wanted to stay with her new friend. It got to a point where they both gave up, so Lahni grabbed extra pillows and blankets and set up the pull-out for the three of them.

And that was the first night that Raphael had slept without any nightmares.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A whole year had gone by after that night, a lot had happened. Raph was babysitting Miwa for Lahni while she ducked out to the store, when she had an unexpected and unwanted guest arrive. Y/N. She had walked in expecting to see her sister, but instead found Raph. He had frozen, he didn’t know what to do. But Miwa had stood in front of him telling Y/N to leave, they didn’t want to see her.

Y/N tried and tried to convince her it wasnt nice to talk to her aunty like that, getting closer and closer. He watched her try to reach for Miwa, and something came over him. He grabbed Miwa and pulled her into a protective embrace, and he growled defensively. Y/N tried to explain herself, but she ran out time when Lahni returned.

A screaming war began, Raph turning and covering Miwa’s ears as she huddled close to his chest plates. Y/N left, and Raph finally told her everything. Lahni knew all along, she had figured it out quite early, he always avoided her family pictures that had Y/N in them. But, she didnt want him to relive all the bad memories so she didn’t mention it.

That night, Raphael sat on the couch. It was a more comfortable one he had picked up with his brothers help. After he had explained to them everything that had happened with Y/N, when Lahni found him and even Miwa. He had gotten the lecture of a lifetime from Leo and Splinter, but they were just happy that he was doing okay now. Reiterating that he could rely on them for anything he needed.

However, during his time spent with Lahni and Miwa, his heart decided it’d play matchmaker. Anytime Lahni was close, his heart would skip beats and he’d flush. Any moment spent with Miwa, he’d get this urge to protect by any means. Donnie had said that he’d imprinted on her, if that was even possible in a turtle. Raph didn’t want his heart broken again, but he was willing to take this chance.

Lahni was sitting next to him as they watched TV, Miwa asleep on his lap curled into a ball with her rabbit. Mustering up his courage, Raph put his arm around Lahni and pulled her close to his side; his arm slipping down her back to her waist, effectively pulling her even closer. He had expected her to flinch or stiffen, but she relaxed into him and leant her head on his shoulder.

She scoffed. “Took you long enough.”

Raph chuckled. “Keep you waiting long, then?”

“A little. But I wanted it on your terms.”

Raph smiled. “Hey I wanted to ask you something...”

She turned to him, “What’s up, hun?”

He sighed, “I know, it hasn’t been long... a year isn’t a lot of time... but I really like you...” he looked away from her eyes. “And... I was wondering... if you’d let me, be a part of your family...”

Raph heard Lahni gasp, he panicked so he continued. “I can’t really see myself without you now, you’ve made an impact on me...” he looked down at the little girl in his lap “and so has Miwa. And I wanted to know... if it’d be too much to ask ya...”

He hesitated, but her hand on his knee made him finish in a rush. “IWASWONDERINGIFYOU’DLETMEBEMIWA’SDAD!”

He squeezed his eyes shut, expecting her to reject him. But his eyes shot open when he felt Lahni kiss his knuckles.

“You know, I’d been thinking the same thing. But I wanted you to make that decision first, babe.”

Raphael’s smile couldn’t grow any wider as he pulled Lahni into a feverish but loving kiss, which she returned with just as much love.

When they broke, he laughed out of breath.

“I’m new to all this though... can you show me where to start?”

Lahni smiled at him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Tags: @turtle-babe83 @thelaundrybitch @red-phoenixxx @post-apocalyptic-daydream @dilucsflame33 @leosgirl82 @tmnt-tychou anybody else that I cant remember!!

[rosesradio]

The Ceaseless Eve Playlist: Let's Discuss

⚠️ The following contains spoilers for any & all of Ceaseless Eve ⚠️

So, the playlist has about 75 songs on it right now, and I reference over 20 of them here. I thought I would divide them into different catagories so you could see why I decided to put these types of songs on the playlist. Also, the playlist is open for suggestions, so if you see a song you think should be on here, please let me know! And, if you're curious about any song in particular I didn't sort on here, lmk, I'd be happy to answer an ask about it or something :-)

General pjo songs: • How Far We've Come by Matchbox Twenty (Viria's 2013 video my beloved) • Ophelia by The Lumineers • Renegades by X Ambassadors • Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths • Viva La Vida by Coldplay • & every Imagine Dragons song lmao

Songs referenced in the text: • California Gurls by Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg • Love The Way You Lie by Eminem & Rihanna (These two are referenced as playing on the radio just to show the time period, though I might be a bit more wibbly-wobbly with it in the future rather than making sure everything is strictly 2010. Meaning, I might reference a Hunger Games T-shirt or something, not TikTok lmao)

• Hotel California by Eagles (this was just referenced as it was the first thing to come to mind, but it makes sense—the monster doesn't want them leaving. Plus it's a good song!)

• Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus (the original title of chapter 19 was "leo experiences the death-zone", referencing when he passes out, but also kind-of the "friend zone"? Until I realized that's dumb as hell and the "friend zone" isn't real, so I changed it. Besides, if you look into the lyrics of Teenage Dirtbag, it's about a kid who's insecure and thinks his crush doesn't like him back, when really she does...remind you of anyone? 🤠)

Songs that have the general vibe of the plot: • Run Boy Run by Woodkid • Mr. Sandman by SYML • I Ran (So Far Away) by Hidden Citizens • Skyfall by Adele • Once Upon A Dream by Lana Del Ray • Bottom of the Pit by The Living Tombstone

Cool instrumental/electronic music: • Tetris by Game Chops & Cement City (This song always makes me think of Leo fighting with Nico's sword, like he does in chapter 4) • YOU'RE TOO SLOW! by squirl beats • Leni (Crystal Castles vs GoodBooks) by GoodBooks & Crystal Castles • INCOMING by MC ORSEN

Why so much Hot Freaks? Hot Freaks was my favorite band for a while during the writing of CE. While I don't have a favorite band at the moment, I still like HF and I think a lot of their songs are relevant to CE, particularly as Leo songs or valdangelo songs. You should give their new album a listen, especially the songs that are on the playlist 🤠

Bonus Song:

• From the Start by Good Kid

(This song is actually for the sequel, Ivory Rain. I thought I would add it and see if anyone picks up any vibes or has any guesses for what the sequel might contain :-) )

That should be all, again lmk if you have suggestions, questions, or just what your favorite song on the playlist is <3

[stargazer-sims]

Christmas With the Okamoto-Nelson Family (part two)

click for part one

While Caroline was in another room, Victor gave Yuri the surprise he'd been saving for last.

Yuri: Victor! Is this a plane ticket?

Victor: It's two plane tickets. How does March break in Sulani sound to you?

Yuri: It sounds wonderful, but what about Caroline?

Victor: Mom and Julian have it all worked out. They're taking Caroline, Nora and Elliot for the week, and it sounds like they've got a zillion fun things planned. Who wouldn't want a fun week with the grandparents?

Yuri: So it'll just be the two of us?

Victor: The two of us, and all the pineapple, sandy beaches and romantic sunsets you could ever wish for. The only obligatory thing is going to be my meeting with the people from the nurse exchange program.

Yuri: You picked Sulani?

Victor: Wouldn't you like to live in Sulani for six months or a year?

Yuri: Yes! Yes, I would!

Victor: It wouldn't be until next autumn. That'll leave time for Caroline's adoption process to go through and for her to get a new passport, so it should all work out.

Yuri: Thank you! This makes me so happy.

Victor took great pride in preparing Christmas dinner for his family.

He got interrupted by his step-sister Ellie constantly texting him, asking him whether or not she was doing things right. Neither Ellie nor Leo are particularly good cooks. They usually eat out for Christmas dinner, but decided to stay in for a family Christmas at home this year with their children, Nora and Elliot.

Even though he didn't need to check on the roasting turkey every fifteen minutes, Victor checked it anyway, mostly because he was impatient to eat it. Anyone who knows Victor, knows he loves food.

The dinner table looked wonderful.

Finally, it was time to sit down to a lovely dinner. Before they took their first bite, they went around the table and told each other what they were thankful for during the past year.

Caroline felt like a real grownup because Yuri let her drink her fruit punch from a wineglass. Victor was drinking his fruit punch from a wineglass too. Yuri was having strawberry wine, and Caroline thought her and Victor's juice looked a lot like that.

Victor: Ahh... a fine vintage of fruit punch, don't you think, Caroline?

Father Winter turned up while the boys were having seconds. They had to call Caroline back to the dining room to meet him.

Father Winter: You must be Caroline Nakamura. I knew I'd find you here. This is a special gift just for you!

Caroline: Thank you!

Father Winter: Here's one for your dad. You can be my helper and pass it to him.

Father Winter: Of course I didn't forget you, little Yuri!

In the evening, Caroline and Victor opened Christmas crackers. Caroline was scared of the noise at first, but she felt better once she realized there were little surprises inside the paper.

These exhausted boys finally found their way to bed. Victor's happy that Christmas Eve was the last day of this rotation and that he'll have three days off before he has to go back to work. Yuri's happy too. Tomorrow, Caroline is going to spend the day with her grandparents, Grace and Julian, so Victor and Yuri are going to have a special day of fun and romantic alone time.

If anyone were to ask them, they'd say the day was a success. It was indeed a very Merry Christmas.

[iheartchv]

🎄Not This Year:

Turtle of choice x Reader

A Christmas Gift for you all 🎄🎁 😊 hope you like it

Summary: This Christmas was going to be different for you...

Last Christmas, you texted your now ex crush to tell them that you loved them, giving them your heart. You have known them for a while and wanted to tell them how you felt, and what a better time than Christmas. The first person you told your plan to was your best friend Leo/Raph/Donnie/Mikey. He seemed happy for you, but little did you know that your best friend had a crush on you for a long time...

You went out to hang out with them and get to know one another as a couple. They wanted to break up with you within a week; they just went out with you out of pity and couldn't do it anymore, they said.

"That jerk! Why did he/she accept if he/she didn't even like me?"

You threw your pillow across the room as you cried out in frustration and heartbreak. 'You didn't like me back, why didn't you just say that instead?' You could've handled the rejection, it wasn't going to hurt you. Maybe sting, but not for long.

Your heart hurt. It ached for comfort. The first person to come to mind was Leo/Raph/Donnie/Mikey. You always felt in such a good mood when you were hanging out with him and his brothers. He... made you feel happy.

You didn't want to talk to anyone but you wanted someone to be with you. You pulled out your cell phone and gave your turtle bestie a call.

He saw your number and was nervous. You hadn't called or talked to him much in the past week. He didn't want to interrupt you and your new relationship. He cleared his throat and answered.

"Hey"

"Hey"

He noticed the break in your voice. Panic rose inside him and his voice was filled with urgency.

"Y/N, are you hurt?"

"No." *sniff* "well, not physically"

"Do you need me to come over?"

The thought of having his arms wrapped around you sounded good right now. Your heart jumped with excitement.

"If it isn't much trouble"

"Alright, I'll be right there in a few minutes."

He hurried as fast as he could to your place, knocking on your bedroom window. He slid in as soon as it opened. It was a good thing it was late evening so no one on the streets or by windows nearby could see him.

"What happened?"

He asked as if he knew exactly what was going on. Maybe he did. He was a ninja, after all.

"It just didn't work out."

"Why?"

He thought maybe everything would work out because they were both human... and he wasn't... He heard you explain the story and anger bubbled inside him. How dare they treat you like that!

"If you were mine, I'd never let you go" he exclaimed, upset by the fact that someone would hurt you. "I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Hearing him say these things melted your heart into a puddle. It was like a balm to your aching soul. You felt like crying again, but not out of sadness. 'If you were mine... If I were yours...' His strong arms pulled you into a gentle but tight hug that you couldn't help but give back in return.

He hugged you, rubbing your back, and loving the feel of you in his arms. There was so much he wanted to say, but right now was not the time. All he wanted to do was heal your broken heart, make all your troubles go away. After all, he did promise to protect you from anything.

******

That was a year ago. For 8 months, you've been dating ( he asked you out in April, and you thought it was a late April Fools Day joke). You wished that you would've asked Leo/Raph/Donnie/Mikey out sooner if it was going to turn out like this. He was so loving, so caring, and considerate. He was just so perfect!

This Christmas, and more Christmases to come, was going to be better than the last.

Tag list:

@turtle-babe83 @tmntspidergirl @leosgirl82 @angelcatlowyn @annaliaandtheturtles @pheradream15 @exovapor @cowabunga-doll @bluesakurablossom @crazedauthor @darksaphire2002 @foreignbrunette @half-shell-bo @lady-maria-the-wolf225 @moonlightflower21 @narwals14 @nikitaboeve @nittleboo @raphaelsrightarm @southernblossoms @thelostandforgottenangel @white-masked-beauty @roxosupreme @kawaiibunga @captain-kinda-trash @angelicdavinci @thelaundrybitch @yumefuusen @sivy-chan-blog @artsolarsash @turtlebeaa @crazedtmnt @raisin-shell @sacredwarrior88 @leosgirl82 @egg-on-the-run @ashleighclark98 @dilucsflame33 @tkappi

[tinkabelle24]

To Build a Home

Chapter 13: Repercussions

A/N: Parts of this story were inspired by several of my favourite TV shows, The Vampire Diaries being one of them (the first couple seasons, at least).

I took a particular scene from season 2 and utilised it in this chapter. You'll know it when you read it. It's one of my absolute favourite scenes of this story as it showcases how far Val's willing to go to protect those she cares about. Enjoy! 🥰

TW! Blood and injury, assault (physical) attempt.

Masterlist / Chapter 12

---

“No – let me do it.”

Leo gently seized the pair of tweezers from Val’s grasp, returning them to the bowl of warm, salted water. He’d already cleaned and sealed her head wound with glue; wanting to get the quickest, easiest task out of the way first, so he could devote his full attention to the more complicated one.

The terrapin took her injured hand and set it palm-down atop the freshly cleared and sterilised dining table. Plucking the tweezers from the bowl and shaking off the excess water, he proceeded carefully extracting the many minuscule pieces of debris from the wound, one by one.

Leo stole a glance at Val’s face; her gaze was slightly lowered, staring at nothing in particular. Her lips were taut and eyes held a thousand unspoken thoughts. Aside from the occasional pained grunts and hisses, the brunette hadn’t spoken a word since they left topside.

He hadn’t yet enquired about the degree to which she was assaulted, but he did give her a brief onceover whilst reporting the incident to Donnie and police.

She looked dishevelled but, thankfully, no clothing appeared missing or out of place. Her face was covered in scrapes and her right brow had been split in half; he suspected a stray nail or an improperly placed brick was to blame. Whatever it was, he urged her to get a Tetanus booster.

Her left hand bore the brunt of the damage. The flesh of her knuckles had been ground away, some even to the bone. The brow would likely heal without scarring, but he doubted very much this will.

“I’m sorry...” he murmured regretfully.

At that, Val lifted her gaze to meet his. “Don’t be,” she insisted gently.

“If I’d just gotten there sooner-”

“-Leo, please. You’ve nothing to apologise for – this is on me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the leader scoffed, shaking his head. “You didn’t ask for this-”

“Leo,” Val leaned forward, staring him dead in the eyes. “I did this. I could’ve called for help, but I didn’t. Now, he’s dead… I’m so sorry.”

Leo frowned at her. “I don’t understand…”

“He was at my work,” she explained solemnly. “He got handsy with me, so I had him kicked out. I had a feeling he’d come back for me – I ignored it.”

"Why would you do something like that?”

“…C-cos I felt I'd already asked too much of you guys...”

“Too much?” Leo echoed, even more confused. “Where on earth did you get that idea from?” He then remembered her text. “Would this have anything to do with what you wanted to talk to us about?”

The brunette immediately looked away.

Ding, ding, ding!

“Look, Val,” Setting aside the tweezers, the terrapin shifted his body so he was directly facing her. It was now his turn to deliver the piercing gaze. “I know it mightn't seem like it sometimes but, trust me, I do like you. You’re great with everyone and you make Raph happy, something I've not seen in a long time. I consider you part of our family. In this family, we help each other - no matter what. You’d never be asking too much.”

At that point, tears were streaming down Val’s cheeks. The salt stung her broken skin but the surge of endorphins helped drown out the pain. This was precisely what she needed to hear.

Leo retrieved the box of tissues from the kitchen counter and set it in front of her. “Thank you,” the woman sniffled with a half-smile, then turned away to quickly wipe her face and blow her nose. The terrapin sat quietly in his seat, rubbing her knee comfortingly.

The pair snapped their heads toward the sudden commotion near the main entrance. Raph had finally arrived, squeezing through the door before it had the chance to open fully.

Leo promptly removed his hand.

The red-banded terrapin frantically searched about for a few moments, before his gaze finally fell on them. Out the corner of his eye, Leo watched Val shrink into herself as she looked away.

“Sorry. Got here as quickly as I could…” Raph apologised breathlessly as he strode over. Leo rose once again, allowing his brother to take his seat. “Thanks, brothah.”

"I'll give you two some privacy...” The leader glanced over at Val once more, before making his way over to the lab.

---

"-Val agreed to give her statement tomorrow-"

Donnie swivelled in his chair to find his eldest brother approaching. "Hang on a sec - Leo's here... Alright, keep us posted. Over." Tilting the microphone away from his mouth, he finally addressed the terrapin standing before him. "Hey. Is she okay?"

Leo shrugged slowly. "I don't know... no? Raph's here, finally."

Donnie nodded. "That's good... are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," the leader reassured. "He wasn't my first."

"I know that, but-"

"It was either him or her - I chose her. My conscience is clear."

Of course, Leo despised having to take a life. Had he the choice, he simply would've incapacitated the sorry excuse for a man. But he'd wasted too much precious time agonising over whether Val - who'd never given him a reason not to trust her - was the true aggressor.

He didn't feel deserving of her kindness.

"Okay, well... I'm here, if you ever need to talk."

Leo gave a small smile. "Thanks, Don. I appreciate it."

After a moment, Donnie finally changed the subject. "Mikey said the coroner just left. I've requested an autopsy be performed; I've an itch that needs scratching."

The purple-banded terrapin pulled over a swivel stool and beckoned his brother to sit. Spinning back around, he tapped the spacebar on his keyboard, prompting the arrangement of computer monitors to simultaneously illuminate. The largest, centremost one had a page already pulled up.

"What am I looking at, exactly?" Leo zeroed in on the awkward licence photo of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed man. He looked familiar.

"Kyle Hill's records," Donnie answered simply. Leo's frown must've been burning into his head, as he quickly followed with a: "Val's assailant?"

"Okay..." He finally had a face to put to the grisly attack that should've never, ever fucking happened... "What about him?"

"He has no criminal record," Donnie informed. "Not even a parking violation. No mental health diagnoses - nothing. This guy assaulted someone in front of dozens of witnesses, then had the cajónes to go back to finish the job. He either had a nervous break, or drugs were involved-"

"Or he was just one of those sneaky pieces of shit whose luck finally ran out..."

Feeling the guilt and anger bubbling precariously close to unbearable levels, Leo paused to take a breath. "...Sorry-"

"N-no, it's fine. Seriously. Go off-"

"Do NOT patronise me!"

The brothers shared an alarmed look, before rushing out of the lab. They found Raph and Val standing in the kitchen, screaming at each another.

"Well- fuck, Valerie! I gave it to you for this EXACT reason. Why didn't you use it?! Explain it to me! Make it make sense!"

"I didn't feel like I could-"

Raph scoffed. "That's bullshit and you know it! You coulda been raped! You coulda been killed! Why would you willingly do something so fuckin' stupid?!"

Leo attempted intervening. "That was uncalled for, Raph-"

"No, he's right," Val interjected. "It was stupid and I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted was to add unnecessary drama to your lives, but I've gone and done it anyway..." A tear escaped her swollen, bloodshot eyes as she slowly shook her head. "...I-I can't do this, Raph."

The colour immediately drained from Raph's face, and he reached for her. "Val..."

She stepped away.

The terrapin's hand limply returned to his side. "So, what you said this mornin' about givin' us a shot..." He bit out, struggling to look her in the eyes. "... Was that all bullshit?"

Val's eyes grew wide. "R-Raph-"

"-If you knew ya couldn't do this then why didn't you stop me?! Why'd you kiss me back?! Why'd we go back to your apartment?! You've made me look like a fucking fool, thinkin' we had a chance-"

"Because I love you, okay?!"

All three Turtles froze. Leo and Donnie looked to their brother, who'd grasped the back of a chair to avoid collapsing. Val continued, fighting to keep her voice even as tears continued falling.

"I screwed up, I know that. When I promised to keep you guys a secret, I wasn't expecting to... I could do it, back then, when I barely knew you - I can't now. It's too complicated... I-I'm sorry."

A tense silence fell over the group as the brunette’s words sunk in. Leo turned to her and she immediately lowered her gaze, guilt marring her soft features. A coldness blanketed him as realisation set in…

The only thing standing between them was him.

“Raph, NO!”

Leo snapped toward the terrapin in question. Raph was thundering toward him, fists clenched and fire in his eyes. He braced himself for impact.

Val leapt between the two, with Donnie immediately following to protect her. Raph stopped dead in his tracks as he came face-to-face with the brunette.

“Leave him alone!” She cried as the purple-banded terrapin yanked her between himself and Leo.

"Stand down!" Donnie snarled, pushing his brother back as far as his arm would allow. The red-banded terrapin glared at him, then over at Leo. He shook his head, scoffed, then turned on his heel and stormed up the steps, slamming his way out of the Lair.

---

Masterlist / Chapter 14

@android-cap-007 @happymoonangel @miss-andromeda

[bellysoupset]

oohh jonah said he’d tell vince so can we have an angsty one with 1. vince being mad a luke for not telling him 2. luke, already drained, crying 3. immediately apologetic vince who comforts luke

ps i love your writing so much! all your fics are so well thought out!

Anooon ❤️❤️❤️ tysm for the compliment!! You reached straight into my brain with this ask. I keep trying to comfort Luke, but his character doesn't seem to want to be comforted yet.

So the issue with having a tight knit friend group... Is having a tightly knit friend group.

------

Luke: Leo's super sick @ my place, can u bring us some soup?

Vince chuckled as he glanced at the message across his screen. Lucas' timing was impeccable, he thought, sending a thumbs up and pocketing the phone once more. The man had just been so lucky that Vince was already at the grocery store.

He had planned to cook Wendy dinner, but he figured she needed a moment to wind down after the hospital shift anyway, so it didn't matter if he did a small stop on his way.

Lucas', for all his mother-henning, couldn't cook to save his life. Vince made a mental note to come back to the grocery store tomorrow, to actually buy veggies and make them something from scratch, but for tonight canned soup would have to do-

His phone buzzed again and he fished it out while staring at the mountain of cans before him, trying to pick the flavor.

Jonah: Where are you? We need to talk about Lucas.

Vince frowned at the text, it was ominous as hell, but also it made no sense put next to the text Luke had just sent him. He seemed fine?

"Vince?"

He glanced up from the phone and then let out a huff, amused. Tonight was the night, uh?

Bella was in front of him, her mess of curls plopped on top of her head in a rat's nest, scarf hanging loosely around her neck.

"Hi Bells," Vince smiled, pulling her in to kiss her cheek, "what are you doing here?"

"Restocking my place," she pointed at her basket, which was mostly bottles of wine, "how are you?"

"Fine - Smart girl avoiding the bug a second time around, but I'll be real with you, Bells, I think you're doomed."

She frowned, confused, "What? What do you mean?"

"The flu? I know you're back in the dorms because Leo is at your place with Luke, but I don't think you can avoid catching it after last week."

Again he was met with a blank stare. Vince frowned, "Bella?"

"Uhm... I wasn't - Didn't Luke tell you?"

His stomach dropped, "tell me what?"

"We broke up, Vin..." Bella opened a painful, stretched smile, "Ten... Ten days ago," her voice cracked, blue eyes suddenly all overly sparkly.

"What- No, you didn't-" he swallowed in, watching as her smile promptly collapsed. This was nothing like Bella, he hadn't ever seen her cry, "what the hell, Bella?! What happened?!"

Groceries forgotten, he took her by the hand and Bella immediately collapsed onto him, hiding her face into his chest and bawling. Vince froze, before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly.

She sniffled, allowing Vince to guide her outside, both their baskets abandoned at the front of the store. Bella pulled back as they walked to the parking lot, then leaned against her car, taking a deep shaky breath that broke his heart in a million pieces.

The only thing running through his mind was what the fuck? Ten days ago? He had been speaking with Lucas this entire time, there was no way...?

"I..." she wiped the tears angrily, black mascara smearing all the way to her ear, "I have no idea what ha-happened," Bella shuddered against the cold, tugging on her scarf's ends, "we went out.. F-for dinner and suddenly it was like he wasn't himself?"

"What do you mean?" Vince frowned. The woman before him shrugged, wiping away a whole new batch of tears.

"He was being so weird, Vin. And then he goes and proposes to me."

Vince's mouth hung open and he looked at her in pure disbelief, "I- Lucas proposed?!"

"In front of all these people! In a fancy restaurant! Exactly what I said many many times I'd never want! With this ridiculous ring and- And of course I said yes, because I didn't want him to be humiliated in front of everybody..." Her face tinged red, "then on the drive back I tried talking with him and he started to get super pissed off and told him I didn't actually mean yes, he just put me in a horrible position! Then he goes, well if you don't- don't-" once more her voice got all choked up, "don't think we have a future, then you should just fucking leave."

"Bella, what the fuck?"

"And- and I told him to stop being stupid, that I wasn't breaking up over this, but then he said he was and then I asked if that was what he wanted and he said yes and-" she let out a sigh, rubbing angrily the tears, "I don't fucking know what happened."

"He didn't tell any of us," Vince scoffed, leaning next to her against the car, "I don't think he's actually realized you guys broke up, Bells."

"He can fuck off and die for all I care," Bella scoffed bitterly, wiping her face and Vince bumped his shoulder with hers, sighing.

"You don't mean that, honey."

There was a pause, and then Bella nodded, whimpering, "no I don't, but I wish I did... He hasn't told anyone?"

"Nope," Vince rolled his eyes, "Deep deep in denial."

"Or maybe he just doesn't care."

"You and I both know that's not truth. Imbecile or not he did just propose to you."

"Oh nonono, not to me! To some bachelor contestant, maybe, but not to me. It was like he had forgotten everything about me, about us- Like he was saying, it was fun dating, time to play fucking housewife. It was the most ludicrous, stupid, pathetic-"

Vince let out a snort and Bella interrupted her own rant, sniffling and leaning against him, "I'm sorry, Bells. But you'll be fine, okay? And I'll try and talk some sense into his head, at least understand whatever he was thinking..."

"Forget it," she huffed, rubbing a hand over her face, "I don't wanna see him anymore. I have zero intention of taking him back. Hope he dies."

"Bella."

"I do," she glared at him, "I... I hope we see each other still, Vin."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're my friend, not just Lucas' girlfriend," Vince rolled his eyes, "I'll text you, okay?"

She nodded, pulling him into another hug, tightly, "I think I'm gonna leave the bottles of wine."

"Good girl," Vince teased, pressing a kiss to her wet cheek, "really. Don't let this pull you down, Lucas is clearly out of his mind."

"Yeah, alright..." she paused at her car door, pulling on the scarf again, "what did you say about a bug...?"

"Oh it's stupid," Vince waved her off, "the stomach flu that's going around, it's hitting us all in stride."

Bella chewed on her lip, staring at him expectantly and Vince bit down a smile. Not taking him back, uh?

"Luke and Jon got it last week, was a whole thing. Leo has it now, he's at Luke's place. I'm heading there right now."

"Oh..." Bella stared at him, opening the door of her car, but clearly not wanting to leave, "and he's fine now?"

"Yeah, he'll live."

"Go- Yeah, good for him," she clenched her jaw, "bye Vin. I'll see you around."

"See you, Bells," Vince smiled, "and let me know if you need anything."

He watched as Bella drove off and pressed his eyes shut. Lucas, what. the. fuck?

By the time he actually made it to Lucas' place, Vince had already texted Wendy to let her know she should order in dinner. Clearly he was not going to get there until way late.

He didn't know what he expected to find in Lucas' place, but certainly was not everything the same as always. Leo was tucked in the couch, a bucket next to him, but empty and he raised his eyes tiredly when Vince let himself in, grocery bags under his arm.

"How are you, kid?"

"Dying," Leo scoffed, voice all hoarse, "feels like someone exploded a grenade inside of me."

Vince cringed, walking closer so he could ruffle his friend's hair. He couldn't help it, he was a touchy person, germs be damned, "when did it hit?"

"Work," Leo groaned, still lying down, curling up even more and pulling the blankets to his chin, "at least it wasn't court day, that would've been hell."

Vince smiled, "silver linings. You're still feeling barfy or do you think you can eat something? I brought soup."

"I think you're very nice pretending I'll have a choice on the matter," Leo rolled his eyes, "whatever, let me sleep."

"Okay," Vince grinned, "where's Luke?"

"Laundry room," the blonde yawned, closing his eyes once more.

Why Lucas was doing laundry at nearly midnight was something Vince did not want an answer for. He was already feeling like he'd need to shower in bleach if he wanted any chance at avoiding this bug.

Vince planted the groceries in the kitchen, before entering the laundry area of the apartment and crossing his arms to his chest, leaning against a wall, "brought you the soup."

"Thanks man," Lucas smiled, barely turning to look at him. He looked tired, but otherwise pretty ok, "Leo is an endless well of vomit. Who'd think a small guy like that would fit so much fucking liquid?"

"He's six foot tall," Vince snorted, "he's definitely not small, your perspective is just skewed."

"Maybe," Lucas grinned, "is he awake?"

"Not anymore," Vin took a deep breath, "Bella was at the store."

Lucas' hand froze around the bleach, but he quickly got moving again, "yeah? How is she?"

"As well as one would expect, given her boyfriend dumped her ten days ago," Vince raised his eyebrows, waiting for his friend's reaction.

Luke scoffed, finishing dumping the liquid inside the washing machine and slamming it shut, "that's her version of it, uh?"

"Is there another version?" Vince scoffed, "I wouldn't know yours, given you've been playing pretend it didn't happen."

"It's my relationship!" Lucas glared at him and finally Vince got a good look of his face. The exhaustion painted there sure was way more than taking care of Leo for half a day warranted, "not anyone's, you don't need to know about me breaking up!"

"You're my best friend, I'd sure hope you'd tell me things about your life!" Vince glared at him, "you're micromanaging everyone all the time, but god forbid we give a shit about the fact you just broke up with your girlfriend of four years for no reason at all!"

"She broke up with me!" Lucas exclaimed and then his voice cracked, "I didn't break up shit, she broke up with me!"

"That's not-"

"Then she's fucking lying, because I- I wasn't planning to break up anything, I wanted to marry her!"

"Yeah, this part I heard," Vince sighed, confused and more than a little unsure of Lucas' version of the facts, "you proposed to her."

"Yeah? And then she threw the ring on me and dumped me. Happy now?"

"You know I'm not happy that you're unhappy, Luke, c'mon," Vince rolled his eyes, "dude, what exactly happened?"

"I just told you," Lucas groaned, fed up with the conversation, "I proposed to her and Bella got furious and literally threw the ring back at me and then we broke up."

"That just... Doesn't sound like either of you..." Vince cringed, "don't you think you're blowing things a little out of proportion? I mean... Four years? You don't wanna-"

"I'm done with this entire conversation," Luke glared at him, "I'm done. It's over, we're done. She's not coming back."

"Lucas."

"And- And I don't want her back," he lied, not convincing anyone, not even himself, "I'm fine."

"Okay..." Vince nodded, deciding it was a lost battle, at least for tonight, "you still should've told us, dude. At least I wouldn't simply have let you be here all alone last week when you were sick..."

"It was fine, I didn't die," Lucas shrugged, then walked past Vince, only to linger as he reached for the cans of soup, "...She's fine, right?"

Vin sighed, weighting if he should tell the truth or not. Bella certainly hadn't been fine, "she'll be, when you get your head off your ass and apologize."

"I'm not fucking apologizing," Lucas glared at the can, "I don't have to."

"Okay," Vince pinched the bridge of his nose, already tired of this whole soap opera, "alright, don't."

He watched as Lucas ignored him entirely, starting to open the can, shoulders stiff with tension. Vince fished out his phone and texted Jonah.

Vin: already spoke w/ the idiot.

[lake-archive]

Chapter 30 - Upcoming Hiatus

AO3 Link

Fandom: Ensemble Stars

Series: Alte Liebe Rostet Nicht

Characters: Izumi Sena, Ritsu Sakuma, Leo Tsukinaga, Tsukasa Suou, Arashi Narukami, Anja-Sophia 'Ann' Wolff (OC)

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"Huh!? You want to take a break, Sena!?" It was the first voice ringing through his goddamn ears once Izumi made such an outrageous request, Leo staring at him as if he was some kind of bad clone or something. Surprisingly enough no one asked the young model if he was kidding around or if he was celebrating April Fool's Day a little too late. However, given that he had texted them on Hold Hands before and had mentioned that he wants to talk with them, it may not even have crossed the mind of the other unit members. And once sitting at a table in the lounge of the dorms he was staring at them with his 'I am not joking around' face… A face he used pretty often though so it was not all too uncommon.

But what had gotten him to change his mind like this all of a sudden? Honestly, it took a few days of debating with himself after having heard the words of a certain someone…

"I think you are confusing."

Excuse me!? I am confusing!? "

"Ah, falsches Wort! Confused, meant confused!"

"Right… Of course. Sorry."

Honestly, it had slipped his mind somewhat that Ann was still mistaking words sometimes. Ugh, maybe it's all of this stress recently that makes him snap like that for no reason… Wait no, he was known for stuff like that.

"It's fine." They didn't hold it against him though, not this time at least. "Anyway… Yeah, confused. What… Uhm… Would you like doing? Warte, das hört sich ni—"

"I don't know." He interrupted them quickly, before another German tangent could occur. It silenced them right away, just looking at him from what he could see in the corner of his view. He had not been facing them, staring rather into whatever space he could at that point. "I never had to think about it."

"Not think?"

"Yeah. I mean, Mama and Papa told me to pick up modeling from a very young age. No, more than that. They always knew what I wanted to do… I think, but…"

"So you do that because parents?"

"I already said that I never had a reason to think about something like that!" He responded as he turned back to face Ann. "But… Ugh, I hate to admit it."

"Then try things! You know! Stuff!"

"Like what? I don't even know anymore… Maybe this is what I want to do. Then trying things is just a waste of time. But what if it's not?"

Another moment of silence kicked in before he spoke while having a hand on his forehead. "Ugh, my head hurts just thinking about it. What am I supposed to do?"

"Maybe you need a break."

"A break!? I can't just–"

"You're confused, right? So just to clear your head for a bit." They interrupted, though sounding almost insistent. "Maybe you and Knights figure out a solution! You guys have to!"

With that conversation in mind Izumi had thought this through. They had a point. He needed to think about this in peace. The work of an idol could get in the way, somewhat. But even then, he couldn't just dip for a month or two…

"Yeah, if possible." He responded, still awfully calm.

"Oh my, how unexpected of you Izumi–Chan." Naru–Chan commented. So even she had been slightly caught off guard by this. "What happened? And why didn't you tell the big sister of the group?"

"Firstly, I don't have to tell you everything, do I?" Izumi argued, yet she made a fair point. He should've trusted Naru–Chan more. And yet, he didn't. But what's done is done. He can't really change it anymore."Secondly, it's… A lot more than you can imagine. "

"Oh my. Can you define 'more than you can imagine'?"

"Sorry but… I'd rather not. Besides, I need some clarity."

"Izumi–Chan…"

Naru–Chan's face looked troubled suddenly. Of course it did. But he couldn't put that burden on her. Or any of them really. Besides, he wanted to handle this himself. Yet the next move made everyone gasp in unison… Because it would be something Izumi had never done. Though in truth it was just to hide his face from them. He just couldn't look at them right now.

While sitting he suddenly bowed his head, him coming face–to–face with the table's surface. He then added with a slight desperation in his voice: "I’m begging you here! Allow me to go on a break for a while! Help me convince the higher ups! It doesn't have to be a long one! I just need some time to sort some things out! Please!"

He didn't really want to face any of the others right now. They must be in shock, somewhat, almost speechless. At least that was what he liked to believe. No, it would only make sense actually.

"Sena–Senpai…" Kasa–Kun finally spoke up which made Izumi finally move his head up, solely to face the current unit leader. "I appreciate that you're so honest with us right now, but–"

"Hey Suou, can I say something here!?" Leo interrupted. And despite the tension he seemed to be as cheerful as usual yet also… Awfully calm? At a time like this!? But that didn't really stop the former leader from speaking his mind at this moment. “If Sena needs his break, I think we should give it to him! he said that a lot has happened, right!? So take your time! We’ll keep up with the workload!”

“Tsukinaga–Senpai!”

"Hehe, sorry, sorry." It's your call in the end as our King. But think about it. Sena doesn't seem to be in the mood recently, he messes up more than usual. " More than usual!? The nerve… "If he asks us– No, begs us for a break, it's gotta be very serious."

"Yeah, I agree. Tsukip makes a good point." Even Kuma–Kun agreed, nodding. "It's not like Secchan to beg."

"I get your point but–" Kasa–Kun would try to argue but no one seemed to let him finish.

“We understand your concern Tsukasa–Chan, we really do. " Arashi first reassured him, but then she added: "However, Izumi–Chan had the courage to bring it up. I think we should at least try to help him. After all, aren't we friends?”

"Besides, a King should always look after his own subjects!" Leo argued with a wide grin.

All of that seemed impossible some time ago. And honestly Izumi was afraid to even bring it up, fearing that he would be shot down. But it was nothing like that. They were actually considering it, much to his own surprise.

“Secchan is changing… We should give him some space.” Kuma–Kun said, looking at Izumi with a light smile on his face all of a sudden. "At least that's what a little cat likes to meow~"

"A little cat? You mean–" Though he didn't even need to finish that as Ritsu just nodded, leaving Izumi close to speechless yet then couldn't help but chuckle, merely out of relief.

"Keep it up Secchan, alright?"

"Hah, no need to tell me twice."

"Uh… Alright, fine. I guess you're right…" It was reluctant yet Kasa–Kun seemed to give into the others' demands. "Since Sena–Senpai begged… Let's see what we can do for him."

"Really!? You will!?" Izumi couldn't hold it in, his eyes wide as he felt some sort of grin plastering on his face. "Thank you everyone, really! I'll use this time to reflect, promise!"

" Good. But we can only try, alright? No promises that it will lead to anything Sena–Senpai."

"Yes, yes. Don't think I'm not aware of that. I'm your senior for a reason~"

However, even if it had resulted in nothing, Izumi was grateful for them regardless.

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