#the lighting will give raph so much trouble though

[skullythefriendlyskullface]

I made fanfiction for the rottmnt 40th anniversary comic! You can read the full first chapter by clicking here, but I will be posting a little preview below, so SPOILERS AHEAD!

Time Forever Lost

Chapter 1 - Family Movie Day

Leo placed some breakfast on a wooden tray – toast with strawberry jam and a warm cup of tea – and walked it out of the kitchen and down the hall. When he finally made it to the dilapidated subway car that was Splinter’s bedroom, he stopped short of the door. Taking a deep breath, he put on a brave face and tapped the door with his toes.

“Hey, Dad, I’m coming in. You better be halfway decent in there,” Leo called. He gently kicked open the door and let the light from the hallway illuminate a path to Splinter’s bedside. The sickeningly sweet smell of flowers bombarded his nostrils, and he had to tread carefully to avoid knocking over the vases that lined the floor. At some point, he would have to water some of those roses and discard the wilting bouquets, he reminded himself. And at the rate that his family was receiving flowers from friends, he was going to have to find some more vases, too.

The bed was a mess of pillows and blankets – but no Splinter. Leo nearly dropped the tray. No matter how many times he and his brothers had told their dad not to get up and wander around the lair without their supervision, he did so anyway. It was as if he didn’t care that it gave them a heart attack. Or maybe it just was payback for all the times they snuck out of the lair and got into trouble when they were kids. Leo set the tray down on the bedside nightstand and rushed out of the room, sending a flurry of petals flying in his wake.

Thankfully, Splinter was right where Leo thought he would be: curled up in his favorite armchair in front of the TV. “Blue! There you are,” he said. His voice was raspy, and it was obviously painful for him to talk, but he spoke with enthusiasm nonetheless. “I think we should watch Enter the Tiger today, hm? How ‘bout it?”

Leo planted his hands on his hips. “I think you should stop with the vanishing act and just stay in bed until I get you.”

Splinter crossed his arms. “But it’s stuffy in there. It’s like living inside the perfume kiosks in the mall. I mean, the flowers were nice at first, but now it’s kind of overkill.”

“We can move them out if you want, but – hey, where are your socks?!” Leo asked, suddenly noticing his dad’s bare feet.

“The grippy socks? Eh, they were making my feet sweaty.”

“Dad!” Leo cried.

“What?”

As much as Leo wanted to be mad, he couldn’t blame him. If he were bedridden for months on end, he would probably go stir-crazy, too. But man, he’d be lying if he said his dad wasn’t driving him insane already. “Nothing. I’ll get your breakfast, and then we can watch that movie, ‘kay?”

He returned to Splinter’s bedroom and retrieved his breakfast tray. On his way back, he found Raph stumbling towards the bathroom, bleary-eyed and yawning. “Mornin’, Leo,” he said. “You taking care of Pop’s breakfast today?”

“Nope!” Leo said. “I’m taking care of Pops though.”

The scowl that crossed his brother’s face was almost as funny as his own joke. “Wow,” Raph said. “That was horrible, even for you.”

“Really? I thought it was pretty good.”

“Well, it wasn’t. Raph gives you a C minus for that one.” His tone grew somber. “Seriously though, do you need any help?”

“I got it covered,” Leo said. “Wait, actually, could you do me a favor and try to find Dad’s grippy socks for me? They should be around here somewhere.”

“He took them off again?”

“Apparently.”

Raph groaned. “Fine, I’ll look for them.”

By the time Leo returned to the TV room, the familiar sounds and images of Enter the Tiger was playing on the screen. Splinter was snuggled in his armchair and fiddling with the volume controls on the remote, as if he hadn’t obviously gotten up to put the movie into the VHS player in the first place. But Leo didn’t feel like reprimanding his dad for the umpteenth time, so he pretended not to notice. “One carb-heavy breakfast, on the house!” Leo said as he rested the tray on his dad’s lap.

“Yay, my favorite: flavorless toast,” Splinter said, rolling his eyes. He took a slice from the plate and nibbled one of the corners.

Over a year ago, when Splinter first cracked a joke about his food tasting funny, Leo had chalked it up to Draxum’s cooking. Although he wasn’t as bad of a chef as Donnie or Raph were, there was no telling what he put in their lasagna that night. In Leo’s opinion, it hadn’t tasted any stranger than it normally did, and his brothers all thought the same; Splinter was the only one who insisted that it tasted different. Everyone assumed that he was taking a jab at Draxum, but it should have been the first clue that something was wrong.

For the next couple of weeks, he complained that everything tasted bland, from his favorite froyo to Mikey’s homemade pizza. It wasn’t until he mentioned that he also felt pain in his throat and ears that Leo and his brothers realized that things were more serious than they seemed. It took days to figure out what was making him so sick; meanwhile, Splinter’s health worsened. His pain became unbearable, he lost his appetite, and he became even more lethargic than normal. Eventually, Donnie narrowed down the diagnosis: oropharyngeal carcinoma. Tonsil cancer.

None of the turtles slept much in the following weeks. Donnie often pulled all-nighters trying to develop a chemotherapy drug that would get rid of the cancer without being too aggressive on Splinter’s already frail body. Mikey started having nightmares, ones that usually made him wake up screaming. Raph and Leo threw themselves into vigilantism. If he were honest, Leo only went on nightly patrols to make sure Raph was okay. But if he had to guess, Raph went on patrols looking for an excuse to take out all his anger and frustration on whatever hapless crook crossed their path.

Then, slowly but surely, things started looking up. Donnie completed the chemotherapy drug and started treating Splinter with Leo’s help. The drug took its toll on his body, and his fur fell out, but when it grew back months later, it was a hopeful sign that he was improving. Mikey started getting more sleep and having less nightmares. Leo and his brothers started going on regularly scheduled missions again. Of course, Splinter’s health was still much worse than it was before, and they weren’t out of the tunnel yet, but at last they could see the light at the end.

To be continued...

[dandylovesturtles]

TREAT! 100 ft Away Mikey and Raph >:3

Thank you Wren for indulging me by asking about my babies c:

100ft is divided into two arcs, escape arc and recovery arc (you know, in the hypothetical future where I actually write the fic lol). Because Mikey and Raph are separated for escape arc, this is set in recovery arc. That means it's a spoiler but eh... I'm just releasing things about this AU when I feel like it haha. Skip it if you want to, though.

To give you a quick idea of where the boys are at coming into this arc, Mikey has been pretty aggressively asserting his independence from Leo (much to Leo's dismay) because he knows it's better for both of them, and Leo is also upset that Mikey is trying to get closer to Donnie and Raph, who he views as dangerous. Meanwhile, Raph and Donnie have gotten pretty close; Raph is still in a dissociative state where he doesn't talk and he still acts pretty animalistic, but he's improving the more Donnie, April, and Splinter interact with him.

Anyway no real warnings for this one.

---

Mikey stares at his ceiling, fingers tangled up tight in his blanket. The last tendrils of the nightmare curl cold around him, chasing away any hope of returning to sleep.

There's a steady drumbeat in his pulse telling him to go to Leo.

But he can't go to Leo. He can't, because having separate rooms was his idea. If he goes to Leo with every trouble he has, they'll fall right back into the same routine they've had the last ten years. They'll never move forward.

He knows all that. But he's scared. His heartbeat is loud and the room is so dark and he's terrified and more than anything he wants his big brother.

And it occurs to Mikey for maybe the first time that he has other big brothers here.

Leo wouldn't be happy about it. But what Leo doesn't know won't hurt him.

Slowly, carefully, Mikey crawls out of his hammock, dragging his blanket with him. The concrete floor of the sewer is cold, but it's not much different from the rock back in the facility. The familiarity doesn't really help with the terror in his veins.

He creeps out past his curtain and into the atrium. Artificial light streams in through the glass above, shining down on the big space and the swirling water. It's quiet in here, only the faint sound of Splinter's TV filtering in from the other room. It occurs to Mikey briefly that he could go there instead, but he still feels a little awkward with Splinter. And he doesn't want to worry him, anyway.

He creeps along the walkway, careful to be especially quiet as he passes Leo's room. He wouldn't be surprised if Leo is awake; he never looks like he slept more than a couple hours every morning. If he finds out Mikey is up, it'll be all over.

But he makes it past the blue curtain without attracting any attention; relief spikes through him, and he barely holds back a sigh.

The red curtain is next in line, and this one Mikey draws back.

Raph's is the biggest of the alcoves they're using as rooms; appropriate, since he dwarfs the rest of them. Even now, after a full month, Mikey's still shocked by how huge Raph is. He could easily crush any of them if he wanted to.

And yet he's gentle. He's never been anything other than careful with them. No matter what Leo thinks, their big brother is still in there. That, Mikey's sure of.

He creeps into the room, letting the curtain fall closed behind him, and surveys the room. Raph has a big bed, but he's laying on the nest of pillows and blankets they've made for him instead. He doesn't seem to understand the purpose of the bed, and they don't push it.

It's not unoccupied, though; Mikey can just see the tip of Donnie's snout where it peeks out from under a pile of blankets. He used to sleep buried in the mud at the bottom of his enclosure; maybe the blankets feel the same.

Donnie isn't afraid of Raph; Donnie sleeps in here more often than he does his own room. That gives Mikey courage, and he moves further into the room.

He freezes when Raph suddenly stirs, raising his head and opening bleary eyes, sniffing the air. He's not aggressive, just curious, trying to figure out who's there.

Mikey lets out a soft chirp, because Raph seems to understand that better than speech.

Raph sniffs a little longer, then lets out a soft chuff. Then he rolls onto his side, making space.

Mikey takes that as his cue to dive into the blanket nest.

Ever so gently, Raph settles back down on his stomach next to Mikey. He wraps one arm around Mikey, pulling until Mikey is cradled close to his side. He gives Mikey one more snuffle, making Mikey giggle, then chuffs again and lays his head back down.

Mikey feels warm and cozy and safe wrapped up under his big brother's arm. The last of the nightmare fades away, a comfortable drowsiness taking its place.

Mikey falls asleep hugging Raph's arm.

[beeceit]

That's Too Many Ghosts In The Shell

@amevello-blue chucking my funny little guys at your funny little guy :)

(Ghost is from Ghost In The Shell by Ame, the other two are from That's Too Many Leos, Put One Back by me :) )

(I hope I understood this boo-ing thing right lol)

Ghost looked down to find a ridiculously small turtle in a blue handmade dress staring up at him.

His Leo had been that small once. Where did the years go?

“Hi!”

“Oh, uh, hi.”

He kneeled down to meet the child’s eyes properly.

“I’m Leo! But everyone calls me Bitty cuz it’s confusing cuz Uncle Nardo was Leo first. Well, we were both Leo first, but he’s older and I’m not supposed to be in our world except I am cuz Uncle Mikey messed up, so he gets to be called Leo. Except they still call me Leo sometimes when I’m in trouble. Anyways, you should call me Bitty though.”

Ghost’s head spun from the rapid fire information spam.

“It, uh, it suits you. I’m Ghost.”

Bitty tilted his head.

Looking down, he saw a dinosaur hand drawn in crayon on what must have been a sticker label from some restaurant once upon a time.

“That’s a silly name, I like it. Oh! Gimme your hand!”

Ghost held his hand out palm side down, confused.

The little one’s tail wagged furiously behind him as he reached into his dress pocket. He pulled something out and pushed it gently onto Ghost’s hand, grinning so widely it almost looked painful.

“It’s a ankle- ann- ankle o saurous.”

Ghost chuckled.

“You wanna see my sticker collection? My Uncle Donnie helped me make it, he’s super super super smart at dinosaurs!”

“Ankylosaurus?”

Bitty giggled and nodded aggressively.

A familiar yet not voice shouted from across the room.

“I would love to.”

Bitty grinned and started to root around in his very full bag.

"Oi, creature!"

Ghost flinched and snapped his head up to see a goggles wearing Donnie searching the room. 

"Child thing, where did you go?" He snatched an oversized travel mug from a groggy looking Raph and peered inside. He handed it back with a disappointed huff and pointedly ignored the death glare he received. "I take my eyes off that kid for one second, I swear, and he's disappeared to Newton only knows where."

Ghost chuckled, knowing the feeling well. He patted Bitty’s head and stood up.

"That wouldn't happen to be your uncle, would it?"

"Hmm? Oh! Yeah yeah yeah, that's him! Hi, Uncle Donnie! I'm over here!"

Donatello pushed his goggles back on top of his head and looked over. He huffed, then smiled in relief once he saw Bitty. In a few long strides he crossed the room and scooped Bitty up, giving him a light toss in the air before he hugged him and gently boked his forehead against the boy’s head.

“Creature, what have we said about taking off without telling anyone?”

Bitty huffed, crossing his arms.

Donatello raised an eyebrow and looked at Ghost who suddenly looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but right there.

“That that’s how you get eaten.”

“Exactly, that’s how you get eaten. Do you want to get eaten?”

“But Uncle Donnieee, there’s no monsters here! Just a bunch of really sad old versions of you and my other uncles! And Mister Ghost, but I don’t know what Mister Ghost is, cuz he looks like Uncle Raphie except teeny but he’s wearing purple and I’m pretty sure that’s against the rules. Only Donnies are allowed to wear purple, you said so. And he can’t be a Donnie cuz he’s all sharp and circley shaped and you’re rectangle shaped and have eyebrows.”

He looked him over then shrugged and shifted his grip on Bitty to hold out a hand.

“Hamato Donatello.”

Ghost flinched.

“No, I mean I’m Hamato Donatello. And you are?”

Ghost relaxed and shook his hand.

“Psst psst Uncle Donnie,” Bitty ‘whispered’ loudly into his ear. “Mister Ghost is super smart about dinosaurs, too!”

“Ghost.”

Donatello squinted but let it go, deciding for possibly the first time in his life to mind his own business.

“I would expect as much. What’s your favorite?”

“Oh! Argentinosaurus for sure, they’re so cool.”

Donatello hummed, satisfied.

“Good choice. I’m partial to the Sauroposeidon, myself.”

“Uhh Uncle Donnie, I thought Argentino used to be a country.”

“That’s Argentina, and yes, it was. They named the dinosaur after the country.”

“But the dinosaur came first, though.”

“It did, yes. Alright, Bitty, say goodbye to Mister Ghost, Raph found us a table and it’s well past your dinner time.”

Donatello covered Bitty’s face with his hand. Bitty licked it, laughing when Donatello cringed and wiped the spit off on Bitty’s dress.

Bitty pouted and threw his arms up.

“What? Nooo I didn’t get to show him my book yet!” Bitty lit up. “Wait! Uncle Donnie, can he eat with us? Please please please please pleaaaaaaaaaaaase?”

Bitty giggled, triumphant, and turned his massive wet eyes to Ghost.

“Eugh, again with the puppy eyes, you master manipulator. I’m not the one you need to ask, though.”

Ghost checked to see that his kids were still doing alright, playing with a giant (slightly terrifying but apparently very safe and friendly) blue fox thing on the other side of the room.

“Please can you come eat with us and talk about dinosaurs with me?”

“You know what? I’d love to.”

Donatello mouthed ‘thank you’ and led him to the next room where the rest of his family sat, all a little worse for wear, but happy nonetheless. Bitty was welcomed to the table with big grins all around and a forehead bump from a little boy just barely older than him.

It brought Ghost some comfort to see that despite the circumstances, this little Leo was so loved and so well cared for even by a family that wasn’t strictly his own.

No matter what universe, it seemed the Hamato Clan would always have a thing for picking up strays. He hoped that would never change.

[itz-me-brett-duh]

His Harmony, Her Hope Part 2 ❤️🐢

(Side Note: I’m not that great at fight scenes yet😢. POV changes. Thanks again @rinksu-no-joo for the idea and being so awesome!)

063 POV:

A loud blaring alarm shook her immediately awake. Red blazing light blinked and flashed around room, as she quickly hopped out of bed to see what the commotion was all about.

One of the men with masks was calling out their numbers, “323, 458, 063, 917,…” unsure of what to do she made her way over.

“Sir, what the hell is going on?” One of her peers asked over all the noise.

The look he gave 801 made it clear she was speaking out of turn to a superior. “You all are being transported to Japan to meet Master Shredder, but first we need to give you an injection.”

It had been years since 063 had any injections. She wondered if she was strong enough now to take on the pain. But before she could think about it much longer, Doctor Stockman was already calling her number.

She quickly followed him into his lab. He always had so many cool gadgets but she knew better than to touch them. Still it was nice to look at them, especially to distract herself from the immediate and intense pain. His chemical filled beakers, test tubes, and other scientific equipment, usually grounded her when her world started to spin.

Today was different though, as she looked around to see the changes he made throughout the years, she noticed the box of neatly stacked syringes. The fluid in them was different in color and consistency than she was use to. She braced herself for impact, trying her hardest not to use her natural defense mechanisms. If she poisoned Doctor Stockman she would be in a huge heap of trouble.

But as he slowly pushed the needle into her soft flesh, she realized that despite a little prick she felt no pain at all. Actually, it felt fine…numb…and painless.

As she drifted out of consciousness, she could hear him shout: “She’s done…take her…917!” Maybe they were all being punished. Maybe this was the end…She felt nothing as everything, even her own thoughts, went dark.

…

Raphael POV:

“It appears the Foot Clan been building something right under our noses! Now they’re transporting it to their base in Japan.” Donnie typed away as a maps and diagrams popped up on his computer screens.

“Is this the same place that Shredder is hiding out at?”

“Yes Mikey…Look guys, their ship hasn’t left New York waters yet, we have to try and stop them-“

“And see what exactly it is they’re taking.” Leo interrupted, nodding in understanding.

“Mkay so what are we waitin for? Let’s go already.” Raph was already ready. As soon as he heard Donnie say Foot Clan he knew it was bad. And then they were on their way.

…

Every inch of the ship seemed to be guarded by Shredder’s henchmen. Nevertheless they were pretty bad at doing their jobs, each of the turtles quickly and quietly disarmed some of them.

“Cowabunga motha fu-“

“Mikey!” Leo whispered furiously.

But it was too late the others had already noticed their presence on board. “Great going idiot!” snapped Raph, already preparing for battle.

“Sorry dudes, I gotta little carried away.”

As they kicked, punched, and overall fought the Foot Clan, Donnie spewed information about where their precious cargo was located on board. “We’ll have to go down to the third level!”

“Guys! Check it out.” Leo gawked as he finished his opponent with a final thwack to the back of his head and pointed.

There, in the distance were more ships.

“More…?” Raph wondered why they needed so many ships.

“Let’s head down below, and figure out what it is that we’re dealing with. Then we can see if we need to tackle all these other ships” Leo stated, opening a hatch that lead below.

After fighting off more Foot Clan guys than they could count, they finally arrived to a singular box, on an otherwise empty level.

To Raph it didn’t look like anything they could open easily. “Well what now leader?” He looked over to Leo.

It still angered him sometimes that Leo was in charge, but Leo tried to give each of them, but especially Raph more leadership moments from time to time.

“Well whatever it is, it’s probably to difficult to open. But it looks like it’s an important piece of the puzzle for whatever they are building. We need to take it back to the lair. Donnie check for tracking devices, Raph do you mind?” Donnie finished up and pushed it over to him.

Raph grunted as he lifted the heavy metal box. He was surprised that it was pretty light for a metal box with supposedly something inside. But he decided maybe that was what Shredder wanted them to think, and didn’t say anything.

…

063 POV:

She was cold. It was dark. But she could…she could hear voices…? She wasn’t dead! Before she could get too excited she calmed herself and listened.

“Raph careful! We don’t want to destroy what’s inside!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.”

These weren’t voices she recognized. Who could they be? Why did they not know she was in there? Why was she in there? Where was there? She didn’t know. She stayed cautious. She felt cramped and alone, just as she felt as a child. She jolted as she heard the awful sound of metal being cut. Sparks and small pieces of metal pierced her soft skin. It surprised her more than it hurt.

Then she saw light. It was bright and her eyes had to adjust, but she was able to make out him…And he…peered down curiously at her…

[regretisstoredintheme]

Prompt! The turtle of your choice developing a sudden allergy, though he doesn't know what to, and all the rest trying to "help" him figure it out by exposing him to allergens.

Do do do d— OH??? What’s this??

A prompt?? 

*snatches paper*

“Prompt! The turtle of your choice developing a sudden allergy, though he doesn't know what to, and all the rest trying to "help" him figure it out by exposing him to allergens. 

Pt 2: I forgot to add is that the reader or oc is trying to get the others to leave the turtle in question alone”

A/n: ahaaa I seee, now this is interesting. What could it possibly be…? hohohoooo I’m so excited to see this one play out >:)

— Freakout (A Oneshot) 2018 Raph x Reader —

—

Raphael Hamato. The biggest in his living clan, the strongest, the gentle giant, who never— ever, got sick. Raphael, who played in the mud as a kid, who didn’t develop any concept of germs until Donnie nonchalantly went on a rant about it. 

So when Raphael invincible Hamato let out a sneeze, he didn’t bat an eye. You didnt either, until he sneezed again— and then a third time. 

“Are you okay?” You quirked a brow, setting down your DS to glance at him. He waved you off, “I’m fine, sweettart.” He smiled at your nervous look, “no need to wo—“ he cut himself off, shoving his face in his elbow to sneeze again. 

“Are you sick??” You shifted your knees beneath you for some extra height, a hand reaching to brush his forehead. Normal— thank god. “You don’t feel like you have a fever, so that’s good.” You muttered, fussing over him just how he did when you two were fighting villains. He laughed lightly, a hand lifting to your head as he smoothed down your hair— calming your nerves.

“Maybe I should get Donnie..?” You suggested, and suddenly Raph’s eyes were wide open— looking everywhere but you, blubbering apologies about the situation and how there was no need to bother his genius brother. As you looked closer, however, his eyes seemed to match his red mask, light pink curving around the edges a little more than it was supposed to. 

You shifted uncomfortably, and the thought suddenly occurred to you about his allergy. You began frantically looking around, inspecting the room for any invisible peanuts you may have had. You would have cried if you saw even a Reeces wrapper on your floor. “What are you looking for?” the red clad turtle chuckled, a nervous bite to his tone. “Peanuts.” You said quickly, interrogating your room as you decided to get up, lifting anything that may have been on the ground. “What? Why would those be here? You don’t even like peanuts!” Raph gave an incredulous look, and you whipped around, noting how hoarse he sounded. 

Biting your lip, you mulled over in your head how possible it was that your boyfriend would ask for help if he needed it. “You really think you’re ok? I mean— what if there was an allergen in this room?” You walked over to him, sitting back down on your bed and gently leaning against his shoulder. Raph’s arm gently held you closer, petting your hand with care. “if its re—“ he coughed away from you, then cleared his throat, “if its really bothering you, then we can go see Donnie or Leo.” 

You paused, wondering if your ears were playing tricks on you. “Leo?” Shock hit you as you realized he wasn’t joking. “We’re talking about your brother, right? Leonardo? The one who never takes anything seriously?” The terrapin just laughed, before getting caught in a coughing fit. “Y- er— yeah.” His smile softened, “Leo tends to get really ‘smart’ whenever Im in trouble, it freaks him out. don’t tell him I know, though— its a secret.” He held up a finger to his lips, shooting you a wink. You shook your head knowingly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Only for you.” you muttered, pulling him off your bed and to your door, “lets go— I sweat if theres anything in my room that caused this im gonna chuck it to the moon.” 

Raph gave a gentle smile, listening to you rant about him and how sweet he was. He felt warmth seep into his face, getting shy at how much you praised him. He hoped it was nothing serious… his brothers worrying about him always led to trouble. 

Without fail. 

-

As you explained the situation to Donnie, his eyes slowly widened, looking around for a quick moment before ushering you two to the living room, blabbering about how urgent it was you figure this out. You didn’t know why he brought you here, considering the ‘urgency’, but you quickly realized what was going on when he pulled up a PowerPoint, making a few calls.

“Based on past events, it has never been often that our dear Raph-a-La succumbs to sickness.” Donnie ranted, pointing to a graph that he totally didnt keep for all of his brothers in the event a health crisis happens “In the event that it does happen..!” He pointed to the side of the graph, labeled ‘level of pain.’ “Its always something bad.” 

The purple-clad turtle went on to his audience (consisting of all the family members he had rounded up) and as he showed his PowerPoint presentation, you felt Raph shift next to you. 

You looked over, and felt your heart break a little at the sight.

Raph was curled into himself, trying to take as little space as possible on the floor of the projector room. His mouth was crumpled into a wavy line, brows furrowed as his fingers drummed on his arm. Suddenly, you just wanted to know he was okay. You didn’t want to deal with Donatello’s theatrics— or Mikey’s questions, or splinter’s— or Leo’s serious stare towards your boyfriend. You just wanted to cradle Raph’s face in your hands and take all his worries away. 

You raised your hand.

“Yes, Y/n. As his partner you no doubt have questions.” Donnie mused, a hand on his chin. “Guys.. can’t we just focus on getting him better?” You gave a weak smile, hoping to draw attention to how uncomfortable the whole charade made Raph. 

The tech turtle scoffed, “Do you even know me, Y/n?” 

You knit your brows together, your eyes dilating as you silently pleaded for him to wrap it up. “Your ‘puppy dog eyes’ will not work on me.” Donnie rolled his pupils, adding his signature air quotations, “This stuff is important to know! We do this every time Raph is sick and it is mandatory everyone knows what to do in crisis!” 

“Its like uhhhh…” His eyes searched the roof, looking for the word, “Lockdow— no. Fire drill!” He gave a little satisfied smile at the end of his claim— you could see April wince at his use of the relation. You couldn’t agree, but you didn’t want to argue on similes, you wanted to rip into him for making Raph uncomfortable. 

However, because of your respect for Donnie and value for your non-biological kinship with him, you stayed calm. 

“Have you ever wondered if this..” you gestured to his PowerPoint and the gathered family members, “..is the reason you don’t have as many data points on Raph?” 

The snapping turtle seemed to sweat-drop, avoiding his genius brother’s accusing gaze. Splinter piped up from his place on the recliner chair, “Are you suggesting he..?” His voice drifted off, but it was clearly voiced as a question. 

“Only told you guys when he got really sick because you always freak out?” April checked her nails, having been unfazed by the entire thing. “Oh, yeah he does that all the time.” 

Silence.

Ear-bleeding screaming. 

The room had erupted, the family (except you two) all yelling at April and each other. “So all my graphs on him are just inaccurate!?” Donnie shouted while Mikey’s voice overlapped, “He’s been holding it inside this whole time that’s so SAAHAHAHAD—“ 

You watched as the blood drained from Raph’s face. Knitting your brows, you muttered a small apology to him, in which he stiffy replied “Raph’s okay… You only wanted to help..” while you felt bad, your eyes lit up, realizing his symptoms had gone away. He looked in perfect health, despite the small line of tears he had collected.

“Guys oh my god!” 

You yelled over everyone, feeling bad as most of them flinched at the loud noise. “Look!” You pointed at your boyfriend, who was trying his best to believe you knew what you were doing. “His symptoms are gone!” You clarified, and when the family went to crowd him — you stepped in front, wagging your finger. “Eh. eh. eh.“ you half-barked, taking a threatening step forward, pointing to Donnie, “Only him.” 

The purple turtle gave a smug look to his twin, who scoffed like he suddenly didn’t care. “You may be the best at maintaining his allergies, ‘Nardo, but I’m the scientist.” Donnie exclaimed proudly, before turning to you and his brother, dropping his metaphorical mask. He sat next to Raph, and seeing that they were no longer in crisis mode— everyone seemed to gravitate away, Splinter setting up a movie and Mikey challenging April to some game. Leo lingered a little, eventually walking to the kitchen to make something. 

Raph seemed to visibly relax, still fiddling with the edge of his bandana. “Okay,” Donnie said, “Where were you two.” 

“My room.” You spoke up, incredibly relieved that you had cleaned before inviting Raph over— you knew Donnie wouldn’t want the ‘crime scene’ fiddled with. 

You two worked together to find out what had set Raph off, working at a slower pace with the stress of sickness away. Your boy was mostly free to play with his brothers, except for when you two would test a possible allergen. You were there the whole time, even though Raph told you several times you didn’t have to worry. 

Eventually, Donnie noticed white and other dusts slowly falling from a cupboard of yours. He asked, and, upon opening, found a transparent box, different arranges and colors of sediment in little tins— some were spilling everywhere. “What’s this, Y/n?” He showed you the suspicious box, which had clearly been shaken up. “Ah— no!!” You called desperately, noting the containers knocked over and spilled loose. You took the box dejectedly, “My friend got me this.. its samples from different terrestrial planets..” 

Donnie furrowed his brow, noting the labels on the different sections. “And a few moons I see…” he noted, squinting at earth’s moon dust. “Would you mind it I took this to my lab?” 

“Wait— You don’t think..?” You half laughed, before looking to the fan you had in the corner of your room. “Oh shit.” 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Donnie announced to the imaginary audience, “I believe… we have our culprit.” 

Upon taking it to the lab, Donnie held the moon dust under a microscope, smiling to himself before stepping back to let you see. Your eyes focused in on the lens, and you saw tiny particles, with sharp, jagged edges. 

“Imagine having that in your sinuses.” Donnie mused, “you see, because of the jagged nature of Moon dust, most people are allergic, and it can cause many symptoms.” He rattled off, waltzing over to Raph to give the good news and perhaps a temporary respiratory medicine.

You, though?

You were just planning. Planning the absolute tear down of your room via vacuum cleaner.

——

A/N: HI!!! I took a lil creative liberty.. but hey! Thats what prompts are all about!! >:) I hope you enjoyed, Raph is the bestest boy and as someone who sees him like a big brother, I love writing about him. 

[4dudesfromthe0oze]

Hiii, you amazing person you!

I was wondering if you could do a Rise!Raph or. Rise!Leo x reader where They are in a secret relationship and Reader Gets into trouble, ie. Kidnapped, Extremely hurt, Ect.

Oh o///o you’re making me blush hddjbdjbddh Also yay my first request :D Gonna do Leo cuz I’m already working on a Raph fic 👀 edit: already posted the raph fic i was working on

Shush (Leo x Reader) Part I

tw: Kidnapping, violence, light angst

Romantic 💙 (confirmed relationship)

Part II

word count: 1,903

You’ve been friends with the turtles for a while and just recently got into a relationship with one of them. Your association with the turtles has gotten you into trouble countless of times but this time your life could have very much been on the line. Fortunate for you your hero in blue comes to save the day.

You’ve been in a relationship with Leo for about two weeks now. Neither of you have announced your relationship to the other brothers. It’s not that either of you are ashamed, Leonardo would definitely go on and on about you and him together if you’d let him. You don’t have much of a reason other than you want to take things slow and not announce anything yet.

You were in his room cuddled up beside him with your hands intertwined as you two watched Jupiter Jim clips on his phone before you notice the time. You give his hand a gentle squeeze to get his attention which works as he looks to you curiously.

“Wassup? You need something?”

He asks to which you shake your head.

“It’s getting pretty late, I should start heading back home.”

Upon hearing this Leo starts to pout, putting his phone to the side before suddenly becoming more clingy.

“Awww man. Can’t you just stay here for tonight?”

“I would but I have a bunch of stuff to do tomorrow. I promise once I’m done with everything I’ll come here and then I’ll spend the night.”

You smile warmly as you cup his cheeks in the palms of your hands, watching his pout turn into a warm smile before placing his hand on top of one of yours.

“Promise?”

Leo asks. You giggle a little before nodding, kissing him on top of the nose.

“I promise. So can you let me go now?”

You request to which he obliged, unhanding you and letting you sit up.

“Maybe I could walk you home? Just to make sure you get there safely.”

He offers as he stands up beside you, grabbing your bag and handing it to you.

“I’ll be fine, Leo. I don’t need a bodyguard. Plus I don’t want to risk you tagging along and then some villain tries to fight you. You turtles always bring trouble around me.”

You swing your bag over your shoulder and gently poke his nose. He smirks a little before grabbing your waist and pulling you close to him.

“I can’t help the fact that everybody wants me.”

His smirk widens upon seeing your blush, leaning down a little before you cover his lips with your hand.

“If you mean wants you dead then yeah, I agree.”

You joke with a small giggle as he responds with something muffled before moving your hand and kissing his cheek.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Leo.”

A faint blush tints the turtles cheeks as he feels your soft lips against his cheek. He smiles a little before taking your hand and kissing the back of it.

“See you tomorrow. Text me when you get home so that I know you got back safe.”

“Can do. Goodnight, Leo.”

You move out of his embrace and start to walk away with a small wave, him waving back in return.

“Goodnight, y/n.”

He watches as you disappear before tossing himself on his bed and returning to watching Jupiter Jim though was silently awaiting for your message, despite the fact that you only just left.

You let out a small hum as you shove the manhole to the side and slip out the sewer when you see the coast was clear. You walk out of the alley and walk down the streets of New York.

As you close in closer to where your home was you keep an eye out for the alley you take as a short cut and soon find it. You turn the corner and walk into the alley when suddenly you heard a thump behind you and quickly turn around, seeing the Foot Clan.

You reach to your pocket to grab your phone to try and quickly call any of the turtles, managing to hit call on the first contact you could find before suddenly one of the Foot recruits manages to sneak behind you and kick your phone out your hand. You quickly whip out a pocket knife and hold it defensively.

“St-Stay back! I’m not afraid to use this!”

Leo feels himself starting to drift off though forces himself to stay awake to await your message when suddenly his phone starts to go off, startling him as he thumbles with his phone. He looks at his screen and sees that it’s you, smiling warmly.

‘That was pretty fast.’ He thinks to himself before answering, opening his mouth to speak but falls silent went he hears what sounds like a struggle on the other end.

“…y/n…?”

You let out a small cry as you’re shoved to the ground, your pocket knife falling out your hand and sliding away. They try to restrain you but you kick them away. Suddenly you hear Leo’s voice from your phone and try to grab it.

“L-Leo!”

Leonardo hears you call out to him and just knows something wrong. Suddenly there was a loud thud followed by silence.

“Y/n? Y/n?! What’s going on?! Where are you?!”

He asks frantically, getting up out of his bed and grabbing his ōdachi’s. When he doesn’t hear a response his panic starts to raise, about to call your name again before hearing chatter on the other end.

“Bring them back to the hide out. The turtles could be anywhere so make sure you’re not followed.”

“Aye, sensei. And if we are followed I’ll make sure to crush those turtles beneath my feet!”

The voice of the female foot recruit speaks, a sigh from the other person follows after.

“Just… make sure you don’t lose the hostage.”

“I won’t let you down, sensei.”

Leo’s hand clutches on his phone tightly, his fist trembling as his expression was fixed with fear and anger. He knew he should’ve insisted on tagging along with you but didn’t want to be too clingy.

Right before he tries to rush to his brothers he’s greeted by them standing at his door. None of them looked very pleased.

“There better be a good reason for why you’re yelling this late, ‘Nardo.”

“Yeah! I was having a nice dream before someone woke me up!”

Mikey whines, gently punching Leo’s plastron. Raph sees the panic in Leo’s eyes and quickly his big brother senses went off.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Raph asks, the others falling silent to allow Leo to explain himself.

“Me and y/n was hanging out and then they leave to go home. After a few minutes I get a call and I thought it was them telling me they got home okay but it didn’t sound like that at all! There was silence before I heard that Foot face on the other end of the call and the recruit talking! The calls still going but there’s nothing but silence!”

Leo quickly explains, the brothers looking worried once he brings up the Foot Clan.

“…Alright.. That seems like a valid reason to be yelling. Hand me the phone.”

Donnie steps closer with his hand out, Leo handing him over his phone before he proceeds to walk out the room. The other three follow behind as Donnie leads him to his lab.

“What’re you gonna do with the phone?”

Mikey asks curiously, watching as Donnie plugs the phone into his computer and starts typing on his keyboard.

“I should be able to track the location of the call from y/n’s end. We’ll find the phone and figure out what to do from there.”

He explains before pressing the enter key on his keyboard and watches as his computer does the work.

“Did the Foot say anything important? Like where they could be taking y/n?”

Raphael asks, looking over to Leo who nods. His nervous frown was still there as he tries to recall the conversation.

“I heard them mentioning a hide out but didn’t mention where it is.. If I had just gone with them they would’ve been okay..”

He responds with a guilty expression before Raph places his hand on his younger brothers shoulder.

“Hey hey. It isn’t your fault, you couldn’t have known this was gonna happen. Right now lets just keep a level head and cut the unnecessary guilt, alright?”

Leo looks up at Raph as he gives him a motivational speech, smiling up at him before nodding.

“Right. Right now we just need to worry about getting y/n back. Donnie, did you find their phone?”

Leo asks, leaning over Donnie’s shoulder who quickly brushes him off before entering the coordinates into the device around his wrist.

“Of course I found them. Even an amateur could find the location of a phone through gps tracking. Lets go.”

Donnie gets up before noticing Mikey, Raph, and himself in pajamas.

“…Right after we change into our gear.”

Raph and Mikey also notice their pajamas before the two rush back to their rooms, Leo leaving Donnie’s room so he can change.

You felt a sharp pain in your head, your mind telling you you have to wake up while your sore body argues against. Eventually your mind wins as your eyes crack open, a faint groan escaping you. The room was dark and cold, no lights except the moonlight that crept through the window. You attempt to move but you find that your arms are restrained.

Suddenly a bright light is shined in your face but that girl foot recruit. You still haven’t really caught her name but that wasn’t important, especially not right now.

“Where are the turtles?!”

She wastes no time shouting at you, the Foot Lieutenant pushing her aside awkwardly before approaching you. You glare up at them, your hands still struggling against the rope around your wrist.

“What do you want?”

You asks with a low grumble. The smaller skinnier one glares at you before smirking.

“We’ve got questions. All you have to do is be cooperative and you’ll leave unscathed and alive.”

He speaks as he steps circles around you, your glare not leaving his sights the whole time. You let out a low chuckle but it was obvious you weren’t amused.

“Like I’d tell you anything.”

“Oh but you will. That is if you value your life. Recruit! Go stand guard outside.”

He orders to which the recruit salutes before quickly disappearing.

“Now, where is the turtles lair?”

The lieutenant asks. You keep your lips sealed which visibly annoys him. He lets out a low chuckle as the big one steps closer and cracks his knuckles.

“Fine. Have it your way. We have ways of making you talk.”

His face inches closer to yours. You kick your leg into his knee, him stumbling back and hissing in pain.

“Why you- Brute! Handle this brat!”

“Heh. Gladly.”

You felt your heart sink as the one he called ‘Brute’ towers above you. He punches you down, the chair you were sat on breaking its leg. You bite your lower lip, refusing to let out a pained sound as he stomps his foot down on to you.

“…I’m not gonna tell you anything.”

You hiss coldly, glaring up at the Foot who glare down at you in return. The big one grabs you by the rope tied around you and pulls you up to his level, smirking a mischievous smirk.

“Once I’m through with you the chair won’t be the only thing with a broken leg.”

He throws you back down to the floor with great force. All you could hope for was that the turtles arrive soon…

it’s becoming really buggy to type on mobile so i’ll reblog with part 2 when it’s done ^w^

[thedawningofthehour]

EVERYONE'S POKEMON THEMES

Because I'm bored.

Raph:

Bright and happy, but still intense. The theme exemplifies Leon's power, but also shows that the battle is fun. Everyone-the people in the audience, your Pokémon, the trainers, you'll all having a blast giving each other everything you've got. Leon's 'greatest champion ever' schtick is definitely annoying, but his battle style is wave after wave of unstoppable, insane amounts of power, and I feel like that's very Raph of him.

Plus he just looks like he'd be fun to hug.

Leo:

At first I thought this might be a little dark for Leo, but even in canon Leo is quite a bit more emo than he outwardly shows. The music is fast, the heavy beat in the background giving a sense of immense but guarded power, like you'd only see the full extent of Zinnia's power in the seconds before she killed you. And the, for lack of a better word, feminine riffs give the whole thing a very unique edge to it. I feel like that's perfect for Leo. Outwardly intimidating, yes, but his true power he keeps hidden away, and it runs very, very deep.

As a side note, I feel like Leo would use fairy types.

Donnie:

...Do I even have to say anything else?

For real, I love how this theme is so spooky and intense and the Recon Squad looks so intimidating, but every one of these guys is actually a precious cinnamon roll. They could absolutely murder you with their pinky finger, but that's not what they're about. Donnie is...maybe not so morally white, but at his core he will always stand for good. He's allowed a few villain arcs here and there, and by villain arcs he means he'll dress up and have a few villainous monologues before getting bored with the whole thing.

Mikey:

YES WITH THE DRESS TOO.

But for real, this theme goes so hard. The whole thing is poppy, bubbly, interspersed with a harder counter-melody with what sounds like bell tolls played over it. This is a very calculated sound. Iris is one of the harder champions to beat, made even more impressive by the fact that she's supposed to be eleven or twelve. She, like the player in every game, is a legitimate child prodigy. This theme is meant to hammer in the fact-yes, she's a child, she's silly and likes pink and poofy dresses, and she is immensely powerful. If you underestimate her she will steamroll right over you, and this is just the beginning for her-she will only get more powerful from here. That childlike zest, the overwhelming power in spite of people's expectations-that's Mikey.

(other half under the cut so it's not too long)

April:

I feel like this sort of intensity just matches April very well. It's super modern, it feels like city streetlights and neon signs, but there's this edge of lightness to it. We're going hardcore here, but we're still having fun! (It's fun because we're putting our whole pussies into it)

Splinter:

This version in particular! It gives a sense of spiraling at the beginning, an "oh shit" moment when you realize you're locked into battle with a leader that gave you trouble as a child-and they've only gotten stronger. The pace is fast, intense, almost overwhelmingly so, and even when the beat lets up it doesn't do it by much. Since it's a remix of the Kanto Gym Leader theme we've had since the very first game in the nineties, it has an older and almost nostalgic edge to it. But these are some of the final bosses of the game-you face these leaders as a Champion and they come at you like one.

I feel like that's pretty fitting for Splinter. He's old, but he's grown more powerful with age. If you face off with him, you will be very quickly thinking "oh shit."

Cassandra:

The theme is fast and chaotic, almost manic, representing Bede's lack of stability and family. He's desperate for someone to care about him, to fit in somewhere. This fits with the backstory I've given Cass-parents are both addicts, issues with growing up in poverty and being in and out of foster care. Even though her dad is still present in her life and does love her, he's not exactly a stable presence and their relationship is very strained, and that affects Cass a lot more than she wants to admit. She's straining to find someone to emulate and puts everything into impressing every parental figure she meets, first with the Foot Dads and then with Draxum.

Also the chaos just fits Cass's balls-to-the-wall personality.

Draxum:

Like. Ideology-wise, he's probably closer to Maxie and Archie, especially considering after you beat them they're basically like "well that sucks, guess I'm your dad now." But this theme was really the only thing dark and edgy enough for him.

This is probably how he thinks of himself; Season 2 Draxum would have a totally different theme.

Bonus! Bella:

Not that she would necessarily be the most powerful...but the vibes. These are absolutely her vibes. She goes hard and is smart about it. You should be terrified.

[nimble-stuff]

XIII. Hurt Caretaker || The Hamato Brothers Mikey steps up to care for his brothers after an accident.

Fandom: FE3H

Also on AO3

Request a Prompt here!

@badthingshappenbingo​

<< PREVIOUS || NEXT >>

“Get your feet off the dashboard, Leo!”

The yawn Leo unleashed on the world, cleaving his head in two, was exaggerated. Mikey could’ve fallen into it easy if he held it for a second or two longer, but instead, Leo put his hands behind his head. “We got a two-hour drive back home. I’m not spending it with my feet on the floor like a loser.”

Raph’s massive hands gnawed the back of the front passenger chair, eye twitching, the fabric stretching. Mikey hid behind his comic book.

“Putting your feet on the dashboard is a surefire way to break both your legs if we crash,” said Raph.

“Wow, you’re so negative. Donnie, take my side!”

“Donnie, tell him to put his legs on the floor where they belong!”

“I am DRIVING!” Donnie screamed. “If you don’t shut up, so help me, I’m gonna turn this car back around and take us back to Todd’s! If Leo wants to fracture his fibulas so bad, let him break them!”

“Are we there yet?” Mikey asked.

“Don’t make me reach back there, Mikey!”

“I was just asking, yeesh.”

Mikey skimmed his Jupiter Jim comic book, however the sick yellow glow of the highway streetlights made the images blur together, and Donnie griped every time he flicked on the interior lights. Perhaps they’d all gotten far too comfortable to the luxury of the Turtle Tank.

He and his brothers had spent the weekend’s up at Todd’s for a much-needed nature retreat, though Mikey suspected Splinter had suggested it get them out of his fur for a while. The trip was a resounding success, albeit Donnie spent most of the time on his phone and hissing at anyone who tried to take it from him, and Raph had a rather unfortunate encounter with poison ivy. However, there were highlights, and the highlights shone bright enough to cut through the gruff moments. Scaring unsuspecting tourists by pretending to be Bigfoot even got Donnie off his ass for a few hours, and Leo swore up and down that he’d seen the real Bigfoot lurking somewhere in the trees.

Regardless, Mikey wished they’d taken the Turtle Tank, which had ample lighting and entertainment to last them on the trip back, but Splinter had—perhaps correctly—pointed out that if they’d taken their preferred mode of transport, they wouldn’t leave the vehicle all weekend. Donnie had put up a fuss until they told him he could keep a stolen vehicle, and he and Leo went out and come back with increasingly impractical cars: sports cars, luxury vehicles, a classic New York taxi that Raph in no way could fit into. Finally, they’d convinced Donnie and Leo to steal a tasteful SUV that could accommodate Raph. Mikey was convinced that Donnie had spent most of the time on the weekend concocting plans to upgrade the boring SUV into something more to his taste.

The bickering settled, although Raph was still giving a churning, sour stink eye to the back of Leo’s head. Raph grabbed one of the Jupiter Jim comics on the seat beside him and hunched over. He had trouble fitting into most vehicles and even the SUV was pushing the comfort limits, so it was probably why he was cranky.

“Hey, Donnie, look out for that tree,” said Leo.

“The tree is on the side of the road, Nardo,” Donnie drawled.

“Yeah, but you could run into it.”

“Improbable.”

“What if the wind blows it over?”

“What wind? The forecast says it’s going to be a clear night.”

“Pft, are you gonna trust a weatherman over your own brother? I don’t think so!…Oh, look out for that rock.”

“What rock?!”

“The one on the side the road.”

“I swear in the good name of Grace Hopper, Leo—”

“Hey, maybe we can make a stop on the way back so we can stretch our legs?” Mikey suggested.

“The trip will take the whole night if we do that,” said Donnie. “It’s easier to drive straight home.”

“I wouldn’t mind a stop,” said Leo. “We drove past a diner on the way to Todd’s that claimed to have the best pancakes in the world and we absolutely need to verify that claim.”

“UGH. If we make a pit stop, will you stop being a backseat driver?”

“I, Leonardo Hamato, do solemnly swear to sit here quietly and not say a single thing if we stop at the best pancakes in the world.”

Donnie’s devious smile flickered dangerously in the rearview mirror. “Care to wager on that, Leonardo Hamato?”

“Oh, you are on. Okay, if I win, fix the Rock Band instruments like you said you’d do six months ago.”

“Those offensive musical abominations that offend mine ears?”

“Yup! You have to fix all of them, and then play with us.”

“I accept your terms. My victory is assured!”

Leonardo laughed, smiled, and mimed zipping his lips shut.

“Hey, what cover story do you want to use for this whole situation when we get to the pancake place?” Raph asked. “Comicon or off-duty stunt actors?”

“Naw, that’s just retreading old ground,” said Mikey. “How about: we are wild, rampaging college students wearing turtle costumes as part of our initiation?”

“You can’t pass for a college student.”

“Sure I can!”

“No, you’re too short.”

“I’ll stand on my tippy toes.”

“I think we could just stick to Comicon.”

“There isn’t even a Comicon all the way out here. No one’s gonna believe that.”

“I think we should pretend to be Bigfoot,” said Donnie, glancing behind him. “Think of it! We waltz in, take the eatery hostage, and demand—”

-

…

…

…

It came back slow.

Mikey’s whole body ached. Agony did clumsy somersaults throughout his body, his fingers tingled, and his toes twitched. He fumbled through a mental inventory of sensations that backhanded through his body in visceral heights, balancing on the edge of a skyscraper with the unspoken threat to throw him off. His breath clogged up in his too-tight throat. Panic raked one-by-one up his spinal column with a source he couldn’t place.

Minute flecks of light danced in the darkness of his vision. Mikey clawed at the black. His hands sank into something coarse and held tight to try to stop the world from heaving sideways. Fat red blotches smeared around him and he blinked to clear it, and he was looking…he was looking at the back of a car seat in front of him, his hands sinking deep into the fabric. The ceiling seemed far too close and a sudden, claustrophobic alarm finally let him go, and he was tumbling down the side of the skyscraper, and it took all his willpower to wake up before the pavement got too close.

He was upside down.

Mikey set his arms up—down?—to touch the ceiling.

He was upside down. In a car.

They were…they’d been on the road, hadn’t they? They’d been talking about pancakes.

He was upside down. Mikey felt his heartbeat all the way up to his head where blood pooled in his skull.

Mikey braced against the ceiling and fumbled for his seatbelt pinning him to the seat. He was a mounted butterfly trying to escape the curiosity of a morbid taxidermist, and it shouldn’t have taken as much effort as it did to release the seatbelt. His body fell with a thunk.

Adrenaline punched in, dulling the ache in his body, and he army-crawled over broken glass. Mikey shoved himself through the narrow opening of the shattered window. Out in the open, he realized they were in a copse of trees at the foot of a steep embankment. The SUV was turned over, a discarded child’s toy played with too rough.

They’d been on the road, hadn’t they? He was…they’d been driving. They’d been on the road. Memories fizzed together, hissing in his ear. World famous pancakes. They’d argued about a pit stop.

They.

Mikey swung around. Images of who sat where and when seared in front of his eyes. Donnie was driving. Leo in the front passenger seat. Mikey behind him. Raph beside Mikey. Around him presently was a mangled wreck not unlike the trash heaps he saw at the junkyard. The stringent stench of gas burnt his nostrils. Something liquid was trickling on the ground yet he couldn’t see where it came from or tell what it was.

Raph. Leo. Donnie. Raph. Leo. Donnie. Raph. Leo. Donnie. Their names repeated in his head like machine gun fire. The four of them, always together, always grouped together, dressed alike, watched the same shows, endured the same lectures from Splinter. In the car, together, like always, all four.

Mikey wasn’t even conscious of scrambling back to the car. “Guys?! Guys!”

He crouched by the front passenger window, terrified of looking, more terrified of turning away. When he peered inside, Leo’s wide, white eyes blinked back at him. His body spread out on the roof of the car.

“Leo!” Mikey exclaimed. “Leo, are you okay?”

Leo flashed a disarming, high voltage smile “Oh, would you look at that. I’ve been impaled.”

Mikey’s heart launched itself into his throat. There was blood spilling onto the ground.

The brothers never went far without their weapons. It was instinct. They were naked without them. Unfortunately, they’d never accounted for securing weapons in case of a car accident, and one of Leo’s katanas was wedged diagonally through his hip.

“Okay,” Mikey said. “Fuck. Leo, don’t try to pull it out.”

“Wasn’t gonna.”

“Leo, what should I do?! Leo?!”

Leo’s gaze went cross-eyed and tipsy-turvy. Okay. Concussion, maybe, and Mikey didn’t think have time to wait for Leo to pull himself together. Still pictures of cars exploding after accidents popped off in his mind, fireworks setting off one after another. He wasn’t so senseless with panic that he ripped the katana right out of his brother, but he felt close to it when he wedged himself halfway into the car to surve the damage. The hilt was caught somewhere in crushed-in dashboard. If he could just…

The moment he touched the katana, Leo cried out, eyes flaring.

“I’m awake!” Leo cried out.

“Leo, whatever you do, don’t move,” said Mikey. “And…sorry if this hurts.”

“Hm…incredible, horrible pain…Must be a Tuesday…”

Leo’s head flopped sideways, chest stuttering up and down. Mikey’s panic pressed hard against his eyes, threatening to pop them right out of their sockets. He tugged at the immovable metal keeping the katana’s hilt in place. Shit, if it had gone straight through Leo, he was pinned to the roof, too.

Mikey did a double take when he saw a body hanging from the driver’s side and realized it was Donnie, his gangly limbs jutting out like he was a tree struck dead by lightning. His face was slack, his eyes shut.

“Is that Donnie?” Leo asked. He sounded a little more alert.

“Yeah.”

“Is he okay?”

Mikey had to crawl on top of Leo to fumble for a pulse, but Leo didn’t complain. He seized Donnie’s limp wrist and found the pulse thready and weak.

“He’s alive,” said Mikey.

“What…What happened?”

“The car. It fucking crashed!”

“Were we in it?”

“Yup, we sure were. How do I get you out? I didn’t pay attention during any of the first aid stuff!”

“Don’t move me. Call for help.”

“Leo, we can’t call 9-1-1.”

“Oh. Oh, right. Mutant turtle thingys.”

“I think I need to get you guys out of here.”

“Don’t move any of us, you could make it worse…”

“I smell gas.”

Leo’s eyes sprung open. “Shit-fucking-shit! Alright. Well…if we can just move…move this…I can—”

Leo shifted a little. Then, a sudden, brief scream amped up through his body, skin blanching out to a light green hue.

“What is it?!” Mikey screamed too.

“So…funny story…Remember when Donnie said I could go ahead and break my legs?”

“Please tell me your legs aren’t broken.”

“Yeah, I think I lost the bet, too. So much for Rock Band.”

Shit. “Leo, where’s your other katana?”

“…What?”

“Your other katana. Where did it go?”

“I don’t…I don’t know. I can feel it, I don’t think it’s far.”

“Alright, I need you to teleport out of here.”

“Out of where?”

“Out of the car, bro. I think it’s the only way we can get you out.”

Leo’s teleportation was such a second nature to him that Mikey just saw his fingers splaying and knew it was imminent. Suddenly they were in the grass and Leo unleashed an unfettered scream that howled into the night.

Mikey scrambled off of him. Leo’s hand darted forward, and there was nothing in his eyes but raw instinct when his hands closed around the katana’s blade. Blood erupted from between his fingers. Mikey hovered in panic, divided between holding, waiting, and screaming himself, and all he could do was pry Leo’s fingers off the blade and hold him down tight until finally, blessedly, the scream faded into desperate breaths that jittered uneven through Leo’s whole body.

Mikey unwound the wrappings from his arm and packed them tight around the katana. On closer inspection, Leo had narrowly avoided being impaled, though that didn’t make the wound any less grizzly. The katana had sliced a few good inches into Leo’s hip and fell to the side the moment they were free of the car. Mikey shoved bandages onto the wound. Leo thrashed uncontrolled. With the hysteria Mikey felt came a simultaneous focus he wasn’t familiar with, and with it a nausea that made him want to fold into the earth.

Mikey didn’t realize he was whispering reassurances until Leo’s scream faded. “It’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay, it’s just a cut. Everything’s alright, you’re out of the car.” It repeated, over and over, and he couldn’t seem to get himself to stay quiet.

Mikey pressed tight on the slice on Leo’s hip, trying not to think about how much blood his wrappings were absorbing. After a few minutes, Leo got a funny look on his face and, with what seemed to take a lot of effort, he refocused.

“Press…Press harder,” said Leo. He adjusted Mikey’s positioning a little. “Right here.”

He did so. Leo’s whole body tensed up tight like he was preparing to dash for the last slice of pizza, but he didn’t let up even when Leo groaned.

Mikey surveyed the rest of Leo’s body. His face was bruised and his legs were immobile. One was busted at the ankle, while the other was swelling up. Both were bruised black and blue, and he could only stand to look for a moment before pulling his gaze away. He didn’t see any bones sticking out, at least.

Raph and Donnie. Raph and Donnie.

Mikey pulled off more wrappings and tied them tight around Leo’s hip, securing the bloody wad in place.

“I need to get Raph and Donnie,” said Mikey. “Can you—”

“Yeah, I got it,” said Leo. “Go.”

“Do not remove pressure from that.”

“Wasn’t planning to. I like my blood in my body.”

They were about halfway up the embankment where Leo’s second katana was lodge in the grass, thrown clean from the wreck. The moment Mikey twisted his body to sprint back, an unexpected pain wrenched through his upper chest, a pain that made his vision go spotty and his lungs contract hard on themselves.

“Mikey?” Leo said behind him.

Mikey ignored him. Ignored the pain. Ignored everything. He rushed back to the front of the car to find Donnie exactly where they’d left him, still and pale.

“Donnie!” Mikey jostled his brother’s shoulder. “Wake up!”

Nothing. The steering column jammed up against Donnie’s chest. The torn remains of the airbag was the only thing that protected him, and it hung loose like everything else. Pain jolted back into Mikey’s body when he tried to shove against the crunched up steering wheel and he knew he couldn’t do it alone.

Mikey’s stomach dropped hard when he peered into the backseat and it was empty.

“Leo!” he shouted. “Raph’s not in the car!”

“What?!” Leo called back. “What do you mean he’s not in the car?”

“He’s not here!”

He hated the strangled keening noise his voice made. When he crawled out of the SUV, Leo reflected his panic back to him.

“Was he wearing his seatbelt?” Leo asked.

“No. No, he—it wasn’t big enough, we couldn’t get it on.”

“Are you telling me that Raph—resident safety expert Raph—wasn’t wearing one?!”

“He’s huge, Leo! We could barely squeeze him into this thing in the first place!”

Fear made his vision flutter—or was that something else?—and it was only thanks to the full moon that Mikey saw the flattened path the SUV had taken down the embankment. A trail of debris and mud ripped up the ground. The breaths Mikey took were difficult, felt thick in his chest like drowning in dirty water. Raph was big. He couldn’t be far.

Mikey wanted to scream when he saw Raph’s arm sticking out from under the car. Two things stopped him. First, the intense pain plunging into his chest when he gulped down a breath to yell. Second, the intense focus from earlier. He thought about Donnie lying limp in the driver’s seat, then down at the arm under his car, worry ripping him in two directions at once. Mikey went for what was right in front of him. He dove for the arm, and hoped that the rest of Raph was attached to it.

Mikey’s fingers only had to brush the knuckles for the hand to twitch.

“Raph!”

Bare-handed, Mikey clawed at the ground. Recent rainfall made it malleable and the earth crumbled into mud in his naked hands. He was holding his breath. It was the only way he could convince his body to move, because breathing and moving at the same time ached too much, and his dread was such that it muffled all noise around him. Mikey bent down and found Raph pinned under the SUV, face-first in the mud, head turned to his side. He’d crawled right overtop his brother to get out of the car and hadn’t noticed.

Raph’s facial muscles twitched. He was coated in head to toe in mud so deeply coloured it almost looked black.

“…Mikey,” Raph said. His voice was faint.

“Are you hurt?” Mikey asked.

“What happened…”

“Car crash. Can you push yourself out?”

Mikey seized Raph’s hand and tugged. Raph’s startled cry made him drop it fast. White-hot agony rippled through Mikey’s upper body, piercing his bones.

It hit him. Something was broken.

Shit.

“Mikey, c’mere a sec,” Leo called him.

It was Leo’s command voice, the one that Mikey could not refuse. He staggered to Leo, who took one critical look at him and prodded all the way up his arm until he got to a point that made Mikey flinch and crawl out of his skin.

“Does this hurt?” Leo asked.

Mikey cried out when Leo brushed his collarbone.

“Your collarbone’s broken. I…I think.”

“I need to get Raph and Donnie out.”

“Mikey, I love and appreciate your Superman tendencies, but you gotta let me wrap this up. Depending on how it’s broken, it could be bad.”

“Gotta get them out.” Mikey fumbled for his phone. The screen was shattered. He reached for Leo’s instead and was relieved to see it light up when he pounded at the home button. “You call for help.”

“Mikey, I don’t want you—”

“I smell gas everywhere. I’m not leaving Raph and Donnie anywhere near that car.”

Mikey mimicked Leo’s command tone as best he could and the results scared him when he saw Leo balk under the tone. He would do this. He didn’t know how, but he would.

He returned to Raph and pushed desperately at the SUV. There was a small tendril of smoke rising out of the rear, yet no flames. Not yet. Something else felt wrong, something other than Raph getting crushed under the car and Donnie being unconscious in the driver’s seat. Sweat beaded on Mikey’s arms as he shoved against the metal wreck.

“Mikey, you can’t lift a car with your bare hands,” Raph said hazily. “Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“Then use your mystic mojo and get bigger.”

Raph’s eyes rolled into the back of his head.

“Raph, don’t pass out!”

Too late. Raph was gone, faded into unconsciousness.

Mikey’s senses lashed out. He perceived things he knew shouldn’t be able to: the molecules in the air, the energy of the surrounding forest, the electric taste of ninpō on his tongue. Orange tendrils erupted from his hands. One coiled around the body of the car and fastened around a tree trunk, the other around Raph’s upper body. Adrenaline made one hell of a painkiller, but he screamed in agony anyway when he gave the chains a tug and the car lifted.

Fuck, was it heavy. His arm was going to be ripped out of the joint. Leo said something incoherent, something that didn’t get past the pain-pain-pain screwing tight through his limbs. The impossible weight shoved his heart into his head. Then, Raph inched out from underneath the car. His eyelids shuddered. He opened them. On instinct, and barely awake, Raph’s heels dug against the ground and he helped him push out. Urgency overpowered the painful creak of Mikey’s collarbone, which he felt stressing and cracking in the confines of his body.

The moment Raph was clear, the car crashed down with a heave. Mikey made it two steps before he felt like he wasn’t on the ground anymore and he fell.

Leo called his name and didn’t stop. It filled the background as Mikey writhed and fought against the agony, lost and senseless in his mind. Reality was ripping away from him, only flickering back when Raph touched his hand.

“Thanks,” Raph murmured.

Raph was okay. Raph was out.

It was enough.

Almost.

Mikey struggled for air, and he couldn’t hide it, only able to take increasingly shallow breaths.

“Let’s…Let’s get you…um…over here,” said Mikey. “Lean on me.”

“Mikey—”

“Not taking no for an answer. Lean on me.”

“You want me to lean on you?”

“…Try not to lean too hard?”

Raph laughed a laugh which Mikey interpreted as agreement.

It took several tries before they found a comfortable way to move Raph. Well, comfortable enough. Leo was only a few yards uphill, but it may as well have been the summit of the Empire State building and all the elevators were out of surface. Raph didn’t complain, however his legs trembled underneath his massive body, and he had to support one arm on Mikey, and the other on the ground in a weird gorilla-walk to even move an inch.

“Take it slow,” Mikey urged him.

“Where’s…” Raph grunted. “Where’s Donnie…”

“He’s still in the car. I’ll get him out.”

“I…I should…”

“You need to move out of the way.”

“When’d you get so bossy? Is this a new doctor?”

“More like a rebranded version of Doctor Delicate Touch.”

“Man, everyone knows the spin-offs aren’t as good as the original.”

It took far too long to get to Leo’s side. The moment they were close enough, Raph collapsed and crawled the rest of the way.

“I lost the signal, but I got a hold of Dad,” Leo reported. “He said he’s gonna send Todd out to look for us and drive up in the Turtle Tank.”

“Better than nothing, I guess,” Raph murmured.

The moment Raph was safe, Mikey rushed back to the car. Two brothers down, one to go.

Ninpō flowed through him with natural ease—a life-giving energy that surged into his veins, and it followed him when he inched back inside the car. Donnie was still unconscious. Splinter had taught Mikey breathing techniques to use in meditation, but his breathing was short, reality was loosening its hold on him, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before he faded. Free Donnie. All he had to do was free Donnie and he could let go.

Mikey raised his hand, and a liquid, orange energy enveloped the steering column. It was so easy that Mikey wondered why he’d never done something like this before, feeling no different from reaching out with his hand to push it aside. The metal creaked aside and finally, finally, Donnie was at an angle where Mikey could reach up and pull him free from the seatbelt. He used his own body to cushion Donnie’s short fall to the ground.

“It’s okay, Donnie, Mikey’s got you,” Mikey said soothingly.

He did his best to be gentle. However, gentleness was secondary to the smouldering smell from nearby, and he used the last vestiges of adrenaline to pull Donnie out.

When they hit the night air, Mikey was shaking all over, and terrifyingly Donnie was so still that he had to check for a pulse a second time. Still there. Still weak. Mikey yanked and hauled Donnie into his arms, ignoring the sharp, bone-crunching pain that speared through his upper body. What Donnie lacked in sheer weight he made up for in long limbs, and his hands and feet dragged against the ground as Mikey carried him back up the embankment.

Mikey collapsed next to his brothers the moment he set Donnie down on the grass, cradling his head. Out of the car, the thick blood saturating his mask was obvious. Leo checked Donnie over, face knitted together in concern, then dragged Mikey close.

“I’m wrapping your arm now,” Leo told him. “Does your neck hurt?”

Mikey was too breathless to answer with anything but a nod.

“It’s whiplash. Gives a good punch to the senses and you’ll hurt a lot tomorrow, but you should be fine. Just hold still.”

Leo wrapped Mikey’s arm tight around his body, and it felt a lot better once secured in place—less grating, less distracting. Once it was wrapped, he helped Leo do the best they could to tend to Raph and Donnie. It mostly involved keeping Raph still and calm, while Donnie didn’t need to be told at all as he lay unresponsive among them.

“We crashed?” Raph said.

“Kudos to Raph for pointing out the obvious,” said Leo.

“…Why? I thought Donnie was a good driver…”

“It’s not his fault. Another car crossed the centre line.”

“I didn’t see another car,” said Mikey.

“Yeah, I only saw it for a moment, and I think it drove off afterwards.”

“Dude! We got hit-and-runned like in the Simpsons?!”

“Yeah, and we were the NPCs.”

Mikey stared down the length of the highway, searching for a familiar set of headlights. He knew when help arrived when he saw an RV round the next bend, and propped on top of it were a set of alternating red-and-blue lights which were not street legal.

Even though he was light-headed, Mikey didn’t think he was so light-headed that he was imagining it when Todd hopped out of the RV decked out in full nurse’s gear.

“Have no fear, Paramedic Todd is here!” Todd announced. “Everything’s gonna be hunky-dory. I brought My Little Pony band-aids and a whole lot of love to snuggle the hurt right out of you.”

“I’ll take all the snuggles I can get,” Mikey said thickly.

“Nevermind, I want to go back in the car now,” said Leo.

Mikey laughed. In fact, he laughed so hard that he passed out on the spot.

-------

Mikey woke up to a blinding white light shining directly in his eyes.

“Morning, sleepyhead!”

Mikey squinted. Todd enveloped all of his vision and there was something over his mouth that he blindly slapped at.

“Ah, ah, ah—keep that on,” said Todd. “That’s life-giving oxygen you got there, the good stuff. Take deep breaths, little guy.”

He took Todd’s advice and the breaths came much easier than they had before, though his shoulder and arm throbbed. It took him a moment to realize that he was lying in Todd’s stupid RV, which had somehow been converted to a full-on trauma centre. There were four cots lined up on either side. Mikey kept the mask on, however sat up a little too quickly to let his legs dangle over the side of the bed.

Leo gave him a wave from one bed, and Raph was sitting in the aisle separating Mikey from Donnie, holding Donnie’s hand. Despite being bruised and muddy, he’d never seen Raph’s smile reach so wide.

“Are we all alive?” Mikey asked.

“Well, sure you are!” said Todd. “You took good care of your brothers. I’d offer lemonade but the most I can offer is some good ol’ fashioned intravenous fluids. You know, if you boys wanted to stay an extra few days, all you had to do was ask. Stay put now!”

Todd hummed on his way out of the RV, chipper as ever.

“How long have I been out?” Mikey asked.

“Few hours,” said Raph. “We’re back at Todd’s rescue.”

“You missed all the calls from Dad,” said Leo. “He’s called like five times already.”

“And he’s probably breaking a bunch of traffic laws while at it.”

“I told him to get some world famous pancakes on the drive up. He better deliver.”

“Is Donnie okay?” Mikey asked.

“Sure he is,” said Raph. He nudged Donnie a little. “Donnie, Mikey’s asking about you. Show him you’re alive.”

Donnie was still a moment. Then, his head turned slightly and one eye cracked open, bleary and delirious.

“Don’t want more s’mores…” Donnie slurred.

“No one’s gonna make any more s’mores for now, Dee,” said Raph. “Todd says he’s got a skull fracture and a broken wrist.”

“Will he be okay?”

“Of course he will. Donnie’s huge brain definitely gave it extra padding.”

“What about you?”

“Oh, well…cracked a few ribs, and I’m bruised basically everywhere…But my shell absorbed most of the damage.” Raph indicated an IV running into his arm. “Todd’s got me covered. Basically I feel like a car landed on me.”

“That’s exactly what happened to you.”

“And the feelings are lining up with the expectations. It all works out.”

Mikey’s gaze travelled to Leo next.

“He’s gotta set my legs, which is gonna suck big time,” said Leo. “He’s gonna wait until Dad gets here before doing that. On the bright side, I’m thinking of getting a litter for you guys to carry me around on for a few weeks.”

Of course he was cracking jokes. Mikey didn’t know what to say, so he just sat there in shock, then went to stand.

“No, no, don’t get up,” said Raph. He gently set Mikey back onto the bed, putting him into a lying position. “You need to take it easy. Todd says you broke at least a few ribs and your lung might’ve collapsed.”

“What?” Mikey said.

“Yeah, when you broke your collarbone, you were doing all that stuff with your hands and getting us out and, and it kind of…” Raph mimed a jabbing sensation. “Basically, you’re lucky to be alive.”

“You pulled a lot of mystic stuff back there,” said Leo. “We’re proud of you, but also worried.”

“Science is better,” Donnie mumbled incoherently.

“Donnie, you use mystic stuff now,” said Raph.

“…Science…”

“Whatever you say, Dee.”

“But seriously—are you okay, Mikey?” Leo asked.

Mikey answered by pulling Raph into a gentle, non-bone-hurting hug, unable to shake the image of the smouldering car and his brothers lying prone on the grass. They were okay and alive and solid in front of him. His body felt shaky all over. He felt hollow, like the panic and adrenaline of the moment had carved out a massive hole in his insides.

The discomfort binding his lungs fluttered in and out. The oxygen masked helped, pushing life back into him. His brothers had the same effect.

“You held it together back there,” said Raph. He tightened his grip. Just a little. “But if this ever happens again, promise Raph you’ll take better care of yourself. You got lucky his time.”

“I’m not sorry,” said Mikey. “I had to get everyone out of the car and I was the only one on my feet.”

“Yeah, and you were very nearly the one who almost died. Todd says…he says it could’ve been really bad. Like, real, real bad.”

“I’m not sorry.”

“Yeah, I know. Won’t lie, that kinda scares the heck out of me.”

“I’m not out to get myself hurt, I just did what I had to do to make sure you guys didn’t get dead. Looking out for each other goes both ways.”

Leo and Raph didn’t have a rebuttal to that. He couldn’t reach Leo to join the hug from across the aisle, so Mikey made a mental note to give him a big squeeze later when he’d been dosed up with enough pain medication. The hollow space in his chest filled in a little.

Of course, all of that was interrupted when there was a loud, snotty sniff, and Mikey realized that somehow, someway, Todd had ended up in the middle of his and Raph’s hug.

“This is so heartwarming!” Todd sobbed. “You boys are an example to Todd Scouts everywhere! Bring it in!”

Raph and Mikey screamed when Todd pulled them in for a very-bone-crunching hug.

[ducknotinarow]

❤️ for Rasey 2k12

| Send ❤️ to grab my muse and kiss the HELL out of them.

Oh sweet sweet freedom at last! Was Raphael's first thought the second he stepped foot out in the alleyway he was making how way into now from the manhole cover. He took in the biggest, deepest breath of smoggy, cool city air he could. Slightly coughing right after. Hard enough for tears to pickle at the corn of his eyes. He continued to scrambled his way out. Not wanting to waste a second or chance a change in Splinters mind about freeing him from grounding. He may be 18 and by human logic an adult. But by Splinter's logic he was still in his teens, a child and that meant when he broke crew few he was grounded. Well not to mention the bit of trouble he got into that caused him to break crew few if it had just been that? Then yeah Raph would have likely only just gotten a restriction on the crew few over not being allowed to leave for two weeks. And no visitors allowed either.

Raph started to scale up the fire escapes to make his way up to the roof, happily loving the feeling of the metals vibrating under his feet god he missed this. Fine it was only two weeks but that had been the longest he has gone with out the feeling of freedom! Though it was also the longest he has gone with out Casey. The worst part of that grounding period. Checking his phone for where they were meant to meet up. Just a couple blocks away. They wanted to make up for loss time, likely they would just tag some walls, maybe play some stick hockey. Well Raph was hoping for a different kind of hockey game as well. Didn't take him long to get to the run down little city park they were planing to be their meeting spot for the night.

Casey of course that big fuckin' sap was there already waiting up for Raphael. The turtle paused just looking out at his boyfriend. Bike resting up against the bike rack as they were doing the same against the play set. Raph just smirked to himself as he was about to jump right down to them, deciding to instead quietly make his way down to Casey. Foot steps light to avoid the slightest sound to give him away as he made his way up the play set. Stomach against cheap wood as he crawled over to the edge. Smirking at Casey from above reaching down to snag their bandanna sift and quickly jerking his arm back as he pulled it free from their head.

"aw bandit, ain't ya just cute there waitin' up for little 'ol me." casually twirling their bandana around his finger as he taunted them a little. "man you're so whipped." as if the turtle had any room to talk. He finally moved up to sit in the edge of the playset, before pushing off against it to drop down beside them. "Jeez someone might just think ya missed me or somethin' was only two weeks but I know hard to go with out me in yer life uh?" As if the turtle hadn't darted right out of the lair the second Splinter said he had served his time. Holding up their bandanna for them to take back. Only to jerk his arm away keeping just out from their reach.

Okay, he was still feeling just a bit in a mood to mess around with Casey. Blame it on going stir crazy locked up in the lair. Worse because all his brothers were able to go out all they had wanted too, and rubbed it in his face. He wasn't even allowed to train in the dojo outside daily practice! so pent up was also how he felt. And well Casey was his favorite person to mess around with which was why he was picking a fight already. Going to put their bandanna on top of his own head. Not out right calling attention to what he was doing more focused on poking fun at his boy friend. Moving in closer to them needing to lift to his tip toes as he took hold of Casey's hoodie tugging them down. Man he missed them so much, but he didn't go for a kiss nah he was still in a mood. Waiting for a sing that Casey was expecting the kiss as he grinned wide and with just so much grace, let out his tongue and licked it across Casey's face. Chuckling as he let them go and step back, in all fairness it was a bit of a show of affection just not very romantic.

Fingers moved to open up his mouth as he let his tongue hang out "what's a matter lover boy looking for a smooch? come and get it then." just a playful game of chase going on now as Raph was keeping just a bit of way from Casey's grasp, till tripping back over a balance beam on the playground falling back on his shell. Casey having him where he wanted. Raph paused to look up at them face slightly tinted with a blush as Case clambered over him keeping them down to the wood chips they were meant to act as padding for the place. Raph hand to wonder how humans thought wood chips were soft enough to fall on, as he was sure a few were jobbing him right now. Luckily his mind was taken off how uncomfortable they were, as Case got his hands on his face and started to plant kiss after kiss on to him. Raph could help the laugh that was working out from his shell right now. A soft low churr bubbled out from the back of his throat as he soaked in the affection. A near enough purr leavening him as Casey seemed to press his lips to every open spot he could on him. Raph Reached up to take hold of Casey's face in turn now. Sighing out as green eyes grew soft looking at them. "I miss ya too." moving to sit up now going in for a kiss when he once again took the chance to swipe his tongue up across Casey's face "Bleeh" he went on to say to add to the action unable to start how he laughed after, as he fell back on the wood chips with a laugh.

[fictional-love-is-my-life]

RISE!TMNT Drabble

*So I absolutely love the idea of turtle piles, and also that after the movie they all have trouble sleeping. Then I’m like, a mixture of two? Where they can only sleep if all together? So I wrote this along with my OC with them too. If you read it thanks in advance*

Leo headed to the kitchen, finding most nights when he can’t sleep he would just get something to eat instead. Passing by Mayas room he noticed the light was still on.

“Knock knock” He called before slightly parting the curtain and poking his head inside. Maya was laying in her bed, reading a book.

“Hey Leo, can’t sleep?”

“Nah. I can’t sleep when I have way too much stuff to do!” He smiled and leaned against the wall.

“Like what?” Maya asked in return. Leo bit his lip, unable to think of any good responses he just countered with a different question.

“What are you reading?” Maya suspected why he was awake. It was the same reason she was up; she couldn’t bear to sleep after what they had been through. Being alone, with your thoughts only going to one place, only showing you the fearful images that they had all witnessed over and over. She knew Leo probably wouldn’t want to talk about it, so she just played along.

“It’s a book about Pirates, and the many adventures of the sea.” She answered. “I know it’s late but I am just so enthralled by it.”

“You know I fought real life pirates!” Leo boasted.

“Really? What was that like?” Leo sauntered over to Maya’s bed, sitting at the foot and recanted his tale of saving his brother from portal pirates. He waved his arms giving actions along with his words.

“Have you ever been back to Tahiti?” Maya asked after he finished his story.

“No.” Leo paused. “But I think maybe we should go there, maybe soon.”

“I’d love to see it, I bet it’s amazing.” The two smiled at each other. Then there was silence, a slight tension in the air from the pair knowing what was behind them and how it seemed hard to look into the future.

“Well, I guess I should let you get back to your book.”

“Oh. Sure.” Leo was about to get up, but hesitated.

“I know it wouldn’t be nearly as good as my story, but I would be interested in your pirate book. Maybe you could read it to me?” Leo asked coyly.

“Yeah, absolutely.” Maya beamed. Glad she now had an excuse not to be alone. She scooched a bit closer to the edge of the bed, then patted at the now bigger space beside her. Leo laid himself down on his side in the empty space, propping his head up with one arm. Maya gave a brief retelling of the first part of the book, getting to where she was before she stopped, then continued reading this time aloud.

A few pages later there was a sound of footsteps, they paused outside Maya’s room. The curtain pulled aside to reveal Mikey eyes wide with intrigue. Maya and Leo looked at Mikey.

“Whatcha doing?” Mikey asked.

“I’m reading a book about pirates.” Maya replied, she then leant forward and patted the bottom of her bed.

Mikey had no hesitation, walking straight into the room and jumping onto the soft mattress. Mike positioned himself on his stomach, arms crossed over Maya’s legs and his head looking up at her. Maya waited for Mikey to get comfortable before continuing.

Within a minute later Raph moved the curtain aside.

“Uhh, what’s going on?” His face was scrunched in worry when he first appeared, but it soon relaxed upon seeing the three.

“Reading.” The three reptiles replied in unison. Raph was silent for a few seconds.

“Can I join?”

“Of course!” Maya stated instantly. Her tail, which was now wrapped around Leo, tapped its tip on the empty corner of the bed. Raph entered, about to close the curtain behind him. “Actually, could you just leave that fully open?” Raph nodded, then stepped forward. He knelt on the floor about to position himself to just lean against the bed.

“You can get more comfortable than that buddy, I’m glad I chose a King sized bed.” Maya laughed. The turtles laughed with her, and Raph moved more onto the bed. He laid on his back, though only his upper half leaving his legs to hang off the edge of the bed. He laid his arms over his chest and closed his eyes.

A full chapter later and Maya was beginning to get tired, her reading had become slow but she kept on. After living with the boys for so long she knew their sleep schedules and she was expecting another body any moment now.

It wasn’t much longer when a plodding of steps echoed through the hallway. Donnie appeared at the doorway, holding a glass of water. He looked in on the room, inspecting the situation.

Leo was now laying his head down on the bed, both arms under him and Maya’s tail around his shell to keep him from falling off the edge of the bed. His eyes were drooping but he was not yet asleep, he kept trying to open them as if he was fighting to stay awake. Mikey had sprawled himself completely over both Maya’s legs (which were going a bit numb but she didn’t mind), and he was deep in sleep. Raph had also moved, he was now fully on the bed, his head leaning against Mikeys shell and he was snoring away. Maya was looking up at Donnie, she yawned then smiled.

Donnie never had a proper sleeping pattern before, and even though seeing him awake was not unusual there was something different about his aura. Maya could sense it.

“You can join us if you like, we are just reading.” She said softly, then patted a small empty space right in the middle of the bed between all four of them. She didn’t expect him too, and there would be no hard feelings if he didn’t. Maya allowed him to make his decision and just kept reading, this time a bit livelier. The interaction with Donnie had woken her up slightly.

Donnie contemplated the idea, then walked away. A minute later he returned, this time without the water but instead holding his own blanket.  He paused at the door again, then crept in. Donnie halted at the bed, staring at his sleeping brothers and scanned the bed for the perfect place to lay. Maya noticed his thinking face, still reading she used her tail and pulled Leo close towards her. The half asleep turtle put up no fight, instead he embraced it. Leo nuzzled against Maya’s soft scaly side, giving a deep sigh before finally falling to sleep. Without words Donnie took the now empty space on the bed, lying down on his side facing outwards his shell just barely touching Leo’s shell. Donnie draped his blanket over himself and stared at the wall.

Maya smiled. Not long after Maya was now yawning after every sentence. Her eyes becoming so heavy the words were getting hard to read. In the end she had to call it quits. She looked over at the four turtles, wanting to make sure all of them were completely asleep before she put the book away. The brothers were out. Even Donnie. Maya closed the book and placed it on the table beside her, out of habit she went to turn off the lamp, but stalled and instead decided to leave it on. She laid her head against the wall and closed her eyes, allowing sleep to finally take her. She felt at peace, knowing right then, with her best friends beside her she was safe. And that even if the nightmares came, for any one of them they would all be there for each other.

[turtle-go-brrrr]

Scratch my shell, I scratch yours

A/N: Heya! So remember two posts ago where I said I wouldn't write fics because I'm not confident enough in my writing to post it? Yeah, me neither. I started writing this at 6 am because I couldn't sleep and kept working on it during the day, so enjoy ^^(I got a little tired at the end, and i think you can feel it ;w; hope it’s good enough anyway!)

Also, I’m a sucker for platonic intimacy, and there is a severe lack of platonic x reader in this fandom

Fun fact: the Shell is both the Dorsal (part on the back) AND the Plastron (part on the front).

Requested: No

Pairing: None, platonic

Word count: 2500 +

Triggers: None

Summary: You make an embarrassing suggestion that they surprisingly accept.

_____________________________________________________________

The idea came to you in a random conversation you had as you sat on their couch.

"But wait, you can really reach everywhere? Like if I touch here-", you point to a crevice in the middle of his shell. "You're telling me you can bend your arm enough to get here?"

Leonardo gently takes your wrist and pull your hand away. "I mean, we have some of those telescopic scrubs to help, you know? Or we can just ask each other to get to the hard places if it's really complicated."

Oh.

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense."

You have been asking a few questions about their shells after Raphael started showing off some of his scars, fascinated by the intricate patterns you could see on your friends. The topic of cleaning has be brought up, and as your curiosity took charge, your brain decided to embarrass you as much as it could.

"Do you think I could help?"

Only the faint background music Mikey had set up earlier could be heard as your mutant friends looked at you, eyes wide open.

Oh, that came out wrong.

"Wait, that's not what I-", you start to explain your line of thoughts when you get interrupted by the smug look Mikey sent you, as he harbored a teasing smile.

"Oh? I didn't realize that's what you meant when you said you wanted to hang out more," he wiggles his eyebrows as your nervous laughter fills the room.

"Hold on, I can explain."

Silence again.

"Oh, you're actually listening?"

"I mean, I think we're all dying to know why on earth you'd want to take a shower with us. You're not usually this upfront with your affection," Donatello chimes in. He's not even looking at you in the eyes, but doesn't really try to hide that stupid smirk.

Bastard.

You take a deep breath, trying to focus on not letting the embarassement take over, but your voice shakes imperceptibly, and you can feel youself start to sweat. Great.

"Okay, so I was thinking : you guys always do so much for the city and never get anything in return. I remember Mikey told me that you guys love shell scratches, and now I can see that you have some trouble cleaning it, so maybe I can help with that ? Kinda like a massage sort of thing, it doesn’t have to be weird if no one makes it. Now obviously we’ll be wearing swimsuits, we’re not close enough for… you know… actually taking a shower together, " you try clearing your throat discretly. You hear a muffled laugh from Raph.

"Anyway, I think Casey knows where to buy the best animal care product. I think human stuff might not be suitable for your shells, and I read somewhere that water was the best way to clean a turtle shell anyways, but if you have suggestions just let me know what you usually use. Do you even have swimsuits ? Doesn’t matter, I’m sure we can find you some-"

As you rambled on, the slight shame started to wear off and you were able to explain your line of thoughts more clearly. The awkwardness of the situation seemed to settle down, even if your friends were absolutely going to tease you about it later. Leonardo seemed hesitant, though.

"I don’t know, man. Are you sure about this ? I don’t want you to feel like you have to. We can take care of ourselves, you know."

"I’m not gonna force you if you don’t want to, I’m just offering because I want to do something nice for you guys. You can’t really take a break, but you could at least relax a bit."

"I’m up for it." You didn’t expect Raph to agree so quickly, but maybe you should have anticipatd that as you look at the bags under his eyes. "I mean, the worst thing that could happen is falling asleep while getting a massage from a friend. Kinda sounds like a dream if you ask me. "

‘Well that was easy,’ you think as your face lightens up.

"Besides, we can laugh at them for wanting to shower with us. Didn’t think you’d want to be so intimate, " he purrs as he gives you a side glance.

Oh. Bastard number two.

"Alright. Sure. You know what, fair game, " you laugh it off. Mikey puts a reassuring arm around your shoulders as Donnie places his legs on your laps.

"We do have swimwear, so you don’t need to worry about that. And you were right about using only water to clean it, as human products tends to make us itchy afterwards. There are some types of oil we use sometimes to nourish our shells, however. I think the only thing we might need to look into is new brushes. The ones we have are, hum, barely hanging on."

You send a quick text to Casey and April to let them know about the plan after making a short list of supplies with Leo, who ended up agreeing.

It didn’t take that much convincing.

____________________________

Saturday came fast. After getting all the necessary supplies with Casey, you both made your wait to the lair to join April. They had both agreed to help you in your task, because 'damn, they really need some appreciation'.

"When do you think they'll be back?" You ask Splinter as he offers you a cup of spiced tea.

"Usually around one in the morning, unless they were delayed."

Unless something went wrong.

But those dark thought quickly faded away as you heard the faint echo of Mikey's laughter as he recalled their night. Light chatter filled the room as they took off their gear and put away their weapons, and April hushed them to get changed and take a quick shower so they could get started and finally have some sort of a break.

You could see they were excited as they each went their own way, waiting for their turn to the shower.

When you live in the sewers and try to turn it into a living space, you have to do what you can with what you have. And sometimes, what you have is a large space that you can turn into a huge bathroom, with multiple showers and a large bathtub; but what you don't have is privacy. So big communal bathroom it is.

In this specific case, it's a good thing, because it means you can all chill together as you get to work on their shells. Once everyone was settled in, April motioned them to sit on some of the chairs you put up. She opens the bag Casey and you brought and starts getting the multiple brushes and bottle out.

"You have to understand that you guys are, uh, gigantic. So try to stay at our level, okay? And stay put, please. Anyway, here is what we've got for you: there are multiple brushes - one of each type for each of you - and some are harder than the others. Don't worry, we'll try not to scrub your shell off of you," she winks at that, and holds back a laugh at Raph's worried expression.

She continues. "We also found the oil Donnie told us about, and we bought multiple bottles. You'll have a stack for next time." She then gets one last bottle out that she puts aside.

"That one is for Splinter. To make his fur all soft and shiny," you butt in with an innocent smile. The old man deserves a treat too.

Casey laughs at that and says, "So, there's tree of us and four of you. Who is okay waiting for his turn?"

Silence.

After a solid minute, Leonardo sighs and volunteers to let his brothers enjoy a well deserved spoiling session. Mikey, instead of sitting on a chair like a normal person, choose instead to lay down on the bathroom floor.

"You said it was basically a massage, right? Now it really feels like it!"

"Oh, good idea. I'm this close to getting a pillow and having the nap of my life," Donnie says, putting his fingers together.

"Your fingers are touching."

"I know," he gives you a side smile as he starts to get up, but you quickly bring him back to reality. "But there's gonna be water everywhere?" You sit down next to where he just was and watch as he goes back to where he sat, sending you a disapproving side glance.

"Let a turtle dream, will you?" He lays down on his stomach, puts his head on his arms, and scouts closer to you.

You watch Raph get settled on a chair next to Casey, putting his arms on the backrest as April hands you one of the harder brushes. Leo makes a quick trip to the kitchen and brings back some water, a few snacks, and a copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne.

"Again," you start. "There's gonna be water everywhere. Are you sure bringing a book here is a good idea?"

He gives you a sly smile. "Gotta live up to my name."

What?

"What?"

"You know," Mikey interrupts. "Fearless."

"Oh. Right. Well, don't come crying when you drop it into a puddle then." But you offer him a plastic bag anyway, to hold his book with it in case he wets his hands.

"You sure you're okay waiting?" Casey asks him as he starts pouring water over Raph's back.

"Yeah, don't worry. I have things to keep me busy anyway."

______________________________

It took one swipe of the brush from April for Mikey to start... what was the word? Churring.

A low rumble coming from his throat that had kind of the same function as a cat's purr, Donnie explained. It was an expression of contentment or happiness, that sometimes even happended when they needed reassurance.

Adorable.

"I can't believe you guys can purr and never told me." Raph doesn't even bother opening his eyes when he answers you, "We knew you'd take advantage of that. Didn't want to be babied by the tiniest human we ever met."

Asshole.

You went back and forth with the gruff turtle, always in good spirit though. Conversations flowed, laughter were exchanged, and everyone managed to lighten up. Master Splinter joined the group at some point, and was just glad to spend some time with his family - all of it. He also started to take cared of Leo’s dorsal, to his delight.

You don't exactly know when, but some time after Donnie started to let go some soft churrs as you scrubbed the dirt off of his shell, you stopped listening to the current topic and started to really focus on your task.

Scrapping the dirt hidden in between every crevice, rubbing the largest scales, you were surprised by the look of the bare shell of your nerdy friend. You never really stopped to observe this particular feature the four brothers harbored, not only out of decency, but also because it was always covered. Gear and clothes, backpack and tech, dirt and blood, there was always something hiding the intricate patterns of their shells.

You unconsciously slowed down to really take in what you were seeing, your fascination and curiosity taking over your wish to help.

"I don't know why, but I never expected your shell to be so colorful," you say after wiping away the dirty water from the left side of his back. You didn’t mean to say it at loud, but he doesn't answer you. However, you do get something from Mikey.

"Man, you should see mine! Don helped me create an organic paint so I can paint my shell without hurting myself with a bunch of chemicals, and it looks sooo damn good-"

"Shh!"

"... Did they- Did you just shush me?"

"Shhh!" You whisper yell this time. You then give a side glance toward the sleeping turtle under you.

"Annw. Good luck waking him up."

"Yeah, I'm... not doing that. He needs his sleep," you laugh quietly.

______________________________

It took the three of you around an hour to deep clean their shells. Even Raph was finally letting go and softly churring at the end. Mikey was loud enough to have trouble speaking, and Donnie was still asleep. Splinter was still working meticulously on his son, who, he could tell, had a hard time holding back the content churrs that threatened to spill out.

You get up and strech, feeling your joints crack and already anticipating how sore you’ll be tomorrow. The muscles in your arms were burning, and you couldn’t feel your butt anymore, but it was worth it. You’ve never seen the four mutants so relaxed before.

Remembering the oils, you went toward the towels to dry your friend’s back and give the final touch to, what you’d grow to refer to, your work of art. You gave a few head scratches to Raph, who was dozing off with a lazy smile, and went back to Donatello. You slowly dried his dorsal when you felt him shift under your hands.

"Hey buddy," you speak softly. He whispers a ‘hey’ you can barrely hear.

"I’m almost done. I just have to put the oil, then you can let it dry and go to sleep, okay ? " You open the bottle and get a paintbrush, with which you start coating his shell with a thin layer of oil. You can hear his soft churrs start again.

Casey accidentally dropped the bottle of oil on Raph’s back and was desperatly trying to gather as much as he could. "Shi- Fuck, wait-"

"Here, give me some. Thanks to you, I don’t have to open mine, " April said with a smirk. She helped him clean up before going back to Mikey, who raised himself on his forearms and watched the scene unfold with a tired smile.

It took only around twenty minute to put the oil on their shells and get it almost dried up. Once it was done, you helped Splinter and Casey clean up as April let her dizzy friends hold onto her, guiding them on their way to their room. Once it was all done, you waved Leo good night as Raph ruffled your hair and went to sleep. Mikey gave you a big hug and thanked you for the ‘bonker idea’ and made you promise to do it again soon, which you agreed on.

April was already sleeping in the big armchair next to the couch, Casey in a sort of little nest of blankets and pillows at her feet. As you made your way to the couch – your makeshift bed for the night – Donnie was passed out cold on it already. And, boy, does he takes up a lot of space.

You felt a hand on your shoulder and turned to see Splinter standing next to you. "I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you borrowing his bed for the night. "

"I– are you sure ? "

"He stole yours. He’ll live. " A gentle smile tugged at his lips as he guided you to your friend’s room, offering you a spare blanket and pillow. "Have a good night, Y/N. You know where to find me if you need anything."

”Thank you, Master Splinter.” You can feel your eyelid close on their own, and decide to finally call it a night. You got settled as best you could in the bed, and fell asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow.

A warm breakfast would await you in the morning.

[bootyyy-shaker9000]

Trouble Sleeping?

Characters: 2012! Raph x Gender-neutral! Reader

Content + Warnings: Romantic, Slight cursing, Cuddling, Humour/Fluff, 1117 words.

MASTERLIST, RULES FOR REQUESTS

Tonight, you had been blessed with an effortless and relaxed sleep, the chill of the air and the blurred out traffic from outside aiding you so. Dreaming peacefully, you were free of all your worries and problems for the next heavenly six to seven hours. Your bed was cosy and your quilts were soft, the only that could be made out was your content breathing.

Although, Raph was on the opposite end of the stick. Sleep didn't come easy for him as he tossed and turned on the mound he called a bed. His mind was running a mile an hour, his eyes refusing to stay closed despite the irritation that burned behind them. This wasn't normal, him being the one to usually nod off the quickest out of the four.

Sitting up, Raph half-assedly pulled on his gear and adjusted his mask before going to grab the over-sized jacket you had left behind from your last stay.

Reminding him of where exactly to go when he couldn't sleep. To you.

There was just something about you that kept the turtle relaxed, whether it was your soft voice or the ora that you held, you made him feel content. Always managing to find peace in your company. Maybe because of how close you two had become over the two years you had known the guys, or how he had become more and more aware of the lingering warmth he had in his chest.

He made haste to your apartment, the cold air whipping past him as he skillfully weaved through the alleyways. Tucking his hands deep into his pockets, he wrapped the jacket closer around him, trying to contain as much heat as he could before he made it to your room. Though the tighter he held the material to his body, the more your scent caught in the back of his throat, only urging him to get to you faster.

Eventually, he arrived at your fire escape but cursed under his breath when no lights peaked out from your curtains. A part of him regretted coming and causing any ruckus just by waking you up, but the desire to be with you was just too tempting to back away from. Not if you're just on the other side of this thin glass.

Gulping down his nerves, he tapped at the glass lightly with the tip of his finger, just a small drum enough to get your attention.

You could faintly make out Raph's knocking, though your brain refused to act on it, your foggy state begging you to continue your slumber. So you did, closing your eyes once again as you snuggled further into your duvet. The tapping proceeded, soon turning into an annoying tune.

Releasing a drawn-out groan, loud enough for him to hear it from where he stood outside, you got up when you heard that familiar snicker. You reached to lazily yank at your curtains, the moon's glare giving away the turtle's silhouette in the dark of the night.

You fiddled to open the window, finally flinging it open with success, the frosty wind hitting your face as you caught a glimpse of Raph's shy smile.

Raising your brows, you spoke up: "Hey, dickhead. Nice jacket."

"I wanted to bring it back to you," he kept his voice quiet, hand coming up to rest on the wooden frame. "Plus, I couldn't sleep and you were always able to help with that before."

"So you came to my place at one in the morning with my jacket in exchange...for cuddles?" You snorted, giving him the space to climb in.

Grumbling something under his breath that you couldn't quite hear, you took his large chilly hand in yours, leading him into your quiet abode.

You watched your friend remove his gear and place your jacket beside your bed as you scooted to the far side, giving way for the appropriate amount of space he needed beside you.

"I gotta say, you looked pretty snazzy in that."

Perching on the end of your bed as he discarded his mask, he replied, "Mnn, you pull it off better."

"Look at you. Sweet talking me before getting in my bed. You're really stepping up your game, man."

"Oh my God, shut up," he heartily laughed under his breath, remembering to keep his voice hushed as he huddled under your swaddle of blankets.

Raph reached out for you, drilling a finger into your side while receiving a whiney and fed up "whattt". Rolling your eyes, you did what he silently asked for and snuggled closer beside him, laying your head on the space between his shoulder and collar bone.

A smile tugged at Raph's lips while he watched you tangle your legs with his, purposely rubbing his icy foot against your exposed ankle.

"Do that again and I'll sucker punch you."

The boy sucked in his bottom lip as to contain his giggle and instead moved to wrap you up in the gentle hold of his arms. Hands absentmindedly wandering, he traced random patterns into your hip, giving it a little tap here and there too.

Your eyes growing heavy, your body sunk lower into him as sleep crept up to take you away for the second time tonight. But before you could fall back into your deep slumber once more, you heard Raph's hushed voice.

"I love you so much," you felt his heart thud through his plastron and into your ear faster at his own words.

Under the illusion that you were asleep, he felt it deemed necessary to get the words that he been pondering over and over out into the open, even if it was only in the serenity of your room. Like hell would he have enough courage to tell you fully awake. However, he stiffened when he felt you shift in his embrace, lifting your head to meet his gaze. He was sure he shit himself there and then.

"Red..." Never would you have thought that Raph would've been the first to admit his feelings for you. You had no idea how to reply.

Sensing your silence, Raph's whispers promptly turned into panicked rambles. "I uh... you don't... it's alright if you-"

The touch was so delicate he could've sworn he would have missed if it weren't for your hot skin against his own. But here you were, placing a kiss by the corner of his jaw, lingering by his ear as you whispered to him, "I love you, too. So much."

And with that, you cuddled back into his side, letting the turtle's thumping heart lull you to sleep.

Raph fell asleep, a wide smile on his face and his mind finally clear.

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 2)

[Donnie x fem reader]

Sfw, part 1 here

Intellectually, Donnie was the best matchup for their leader as today was sparring day. He'd gone against his oldest brother many times, sometimes even coming out the victor himself, but today was just not his day.

He held his staff with that iron grip of his and waited for Leo to come at him. Donnie was more on the defensive than any of his brothers; he had to be. Out of all he was weakest physically but superior in calculations, but he was missing range in this matchup. Leo had a hard time disarming him as his katana could sometimes get lodged in the solid wood staff, giving Donnie leverage to perform the finisher in the short time it took him to dislodge his sword. He thought this time would be how that would happen.

"You're slow today, Donnie," Leo said as he lunged at his brother with a swing of his katana, forcing Donnie to step back. He was too focused on blocking Leo's rapid succession of attacks to respond.

Leo reeled back to swing his blade again but Donnie parried and struck his arm with his staff, shoving it aside. For a split second, Leo actually thought he was fixing to go down by this move if Donnie could hit him again quick enough. But his brother hesitated in thought, and without any reluctance himself, he used his other katana to put him in a compromising position. The match was over and Donnie was forced to stand down.

"Why did you hesitate?" Leo questioned him, lowering his blade. Raph watched from the sidelines with Mikey as they prepared to go up next. Since Leo was the winner, it was Raph's turn next to spar in his younger brother's place.

Donnie huffed and dropped his stance, putting his staff away. "It's just an off day," he replied. Splinter wasn't there to dictate today's training session and tournament, so Donnie was already on his way out to go to his lab by the time Raph stepped up to spar. But Leo sheathed his sword and put a hand on Donnie's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"You've been pretty eager to run back to your lab lately," Leo said matter-of-factly. He was wondering what was going on, why Donnie seemed weirdly distant the last couple of weeks. He had gone through a very withdrawn phase in earlier times upon entering his teenage years, but now, he was legitimately making everyone guess. He didn't snap at his brothers, and he wasn't any more impatient than usual. But something was different. He'd been spending a lot more time holed up in his lab, which everyone began to notice. Leo wanted to know what was wrong.

Donnie shifted and shrugged, "Like I said, I've been busy with some projects. Also, it's not like I have much to do out here beside training and patrol."

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Mikey jumped on between them. "You missed game night last week! You never miss it," he butted in. Both Donnie and Leo gave him a look as if to say really? and he added in, "Well, uh...not usually."

Gently moving Mikey aside, Leo wanted to continue, but he saw Donnie staring at him expecting a follow-up when he didn't really have one. Whatever this was, Leo knew that coming at Donnie with questions was not the way to go about it. So he stepped back and gave his brother some space.

"We all have off days," Leo said finally after an awkward moment of silence. "Just work on your speed, Don."

"Got it."

With that, Donnie turned to leave, and Raph entered the ring to go against Leo in the last match of the night.

Once Donnie was gone, Leo got ready to spar with Raph. As they got into position, he contemplated bringing this recent development up with the other two, but decided against it in the end. He didn't want to incriminate Donnie, especially with Raph's assertive approach to handling things. Donnie could be somewhat flighty at times when it came to resolving matters of emotion, at times a little too introspective, but Leo couldn't fault him—he had his own struggles with that very thing, too.

Done, finally, Donnie thought as he skirted into his lab and started up the game. He was late to the party quite literally; training lasted longer than he'd thought, and he was disappointed to see that his newest friend was online, but not responding to his invite. Did everyone get together and play without him? After a few minutes, he almost decided on giving up. The instance made him contemplate whether he even wanted to continue this. Perhaps he'd been too eager.

He sighed. And then the menu pinged, and he was there reading the message in an instant.

Hey, sorry I partied up without you, I just didn't know if you were gonna be on or not :/

Without even thinking, he licked his lips typed back, repeatedly deleting and retyping his message to make sure it was casual but not too casual, apologetic but not desperate—

It's okay, don't worry about it

Likewise sorry it took me so long to get here.

That would do. He'd be lying to say he wasn't feeling that flutter in his stomach; the excitement of something new got to him in a way that only a discovery in his research did, or how he felt when he mastered a new technique in his training.

Let's get started then :)

They started the game, and this time he kept the mic on, as she did. They talked back and forth as they fought creatures and enemies and looted things, eventually coming to learn that she herself was in New York City. He was surprised; suddenly, the world felt a lot smaller, and he couldn't concentrate on just playing after that. The time they spent became more of an opportunity to converse than to play a mundane game for hours on end.

At some point, she switched the topic to his whereabouts. Donnie's breath hitched.

"I'm...not anywhere near. So it doesn't really matter," he told her, cringing. If the guys found out—if Splinter found out—he would be in such trouble.

"Oh," she paused for a moment, trying to find something to say. "That's alright, I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me, you know?"

He'd muted his mic to release a deep breath. He got lost in thought thinking about how in that moment, he wanted to be human. If he weren't a giant mutant turtle, he could actually form a connection with someone. It was a very "Mikey" thing to think, he reckoned, but at times he wanted friends just like his brother did.

"Yeah, sorry, I just…"

"It's really no problem, dude."

He felt as though he could hear the smile in her voice. What did she look like, he wondered. He wanted to see her, but he couldn't ask for that when he could never do the same. If he could get her name, he'd be in the clear to do some preliminary lookups on this person, but so far, she'd been dodgy about sharing info about herself as well. He couldn't blame her. They were two strangers online, one with a huge secret and the other completely in the dark about who he truly was. For all she knew, he could have been a creep, looking to stalk her online and perhaps do even worse. The thought made him feel almost nauseous, how she could be considering that about him as a possibility as they spoke. But she seemed comfortable enough. Unlike him, who was still slightly skeptical of the entire thing, because after spending his whole life in practical isolation, he was at a loss as to what to say or do after a certain point. The conversation died off and both of them thought simultaneously about how weird the sudden silence between them felt.

She hummed, as if searching for something to bring up. When she spoke, he was taken aback—"Hey, I'm gonna be honest, I really like talking to you but this game is getting boring. Do you wanna chat somewhere else?"

"Uh…" he trailed off, mind shooting blanks. Oh, was it just a horrible idea. He couldn't keep the jig up forever; the truth was bound to get revealed somewhere down the line. He was fixing to reject the proposition, tell her that he didn't want to take it that far. She could be anyone. The likelihood of it being a clever ruse on account of the Foot Clan was slim, but the paranoia still worked ambiently in the background noise of his mind. But his other doubt stopped him—when would he ever have a chance at this again? He wanted to have the strength to say no and leave it at that. The loneliness that crept up on him from time to time had something else to say.

"Yeah," he answered after a terribly long pause of mumbling, fighting with himself all the way as she told him where to add her. He could have kicked himself had it not been for the fact that he knew how to encrypt data, and that as long as he didn't leak a word about his inner circle or life, it would be okay. It didn't feel okay, though.

"Nice! I'll text you, see you later, Bo. I had a lot of fun tonight," she chirped.

Before he could respond, she was gone from the party, and the mic went silent. It happened so fast. He was barely caught up with the fact that he was now receiving messages and prompts to talk, but he couldn't bring himself to answer right away. He had to refocus his logic; how could this be used by the enemy as a way to get to them? Could they have somehow anticipated he'd download this game and find this random on there? The more the thought about it, the more glaringly obvious it was that it was not the case. It was just too improbable.

"The probability of the Foot being able to simulate such a specific scenario in order to get intel on us is so slim, it is practically non-existent," he told himself as he finally pulled up the messages. He read through them. "Approximately a zero-point-zero-zero-zero..."

My name is (Y/N), by the way :)

Well, that was easier than expected. He figured that somehow, the name suited you—a fitting name for such a personality. But it also gave him a glimmer of hope. It made him want to ask why you appeared to trust him, as he could be anyone on the Earth over the screen, not his benevolent self. Which she had no way of proving, technically. But he soon came to realize the screen painted him in a whole new light that it casted on him. It hit then that he could be anyone. He didn't have to be himself; not necessarily. She'd never have to know, as he could wear a human mask and she'd be none the wiser. Problem was, the lying made him feel guilty, and slowly would develop to be the thorn in his side.

Donnie thoughtfully stared at the screen. Now that he was here, some of his anxiety began to fade. He found himself actually able to talk, someone to listen to his tangents and even build upon them. They spent hours texting back and forth about anything and everything until it was almost time for him to put the phone down to leave for patrol. He felt giddy, like a kid, all over again.

________________________________________

Had you ever been able to talk to someone this easily?

You asked yourself that question as you exchanged with the faceless and nameless stranger over your screen, chatting from afternoon to night. Time flew by in an instant, with him, and you loved every minute. He was someone intellectual, but funny and so easy to talk to that it was as though the conversation carried itself. After some time he came out about his age after you revealed yours. Oftentimes, he'd just present to you a random question when the subject tapered off and run with it, like now:

What do you think of reptiles?

Puzzled, you took a second to reply. Odd question.

Why do you ask? Do you have one?

I was just curious

What do you think of them?

The chat indicator flip-flopped between "typing" and "idle" a few times before a message finally popped up, and you smiled. You'd learned over this short time that he was a dork in a cute way.

Well...I think they're pretty cool.

They've got natural armor and you would be surprised to know just how fast a turtle can be

You laughed a little to yourself. It was such a random thing to bring up, yet you were endeared. Deciding you'd go along with it, you asked him what else he knew about turtles.

Well...

__________________________________________________

Donnie was wondering what he was talking about just as much as she probably was. Stupid, he thought, facepalming. His first time really speaking with a human as an equal and he starts talking about turtles. Of course he knew a lot about them, he was one himself—but for some reason he found himself wanting to dispel myths and misunderstandings about turtles as if they reflected on him, when as far as she knew, he was just a human guy like herself.

He groaned lightly and typed, thinking up a fact that wasn't too conspicuous.

Red eared sliders are semi-aquatic.

As he typed the next part, he caught himself writing "we" instead of "they", to his dismay. He quickly fixed the error and continued, feeling weirdly exposed as it was almost as though in sharing this information, he was putting himself under a microscope for her to inspect.

They can hold their breath for up to thirty minutes, usually

Holding his breath was something he'd tested numerous times before. He and his brothers had actually made a game out of it on a few occasions, with Leo leading at thirty-three minutes, Donnie in second at thirty-one. Raph broke at twenty-nine minutes and Mikey followed behind in last at just twenty-seven. The ability could be trained, nonetheless.

That's interesting, I wonder what it's like to be able to go underwater so long?

It's kind of cool, you should try sometime

For THIRTY MINUTES?

Shit. He promptly replied:

No—not like I can hold my breath that long, I just mean you should try to see sometime I guess

I tested it just for the fun of it.

Looking up how long humans could hold their breath on average (between thirty seconds and two minutes), he bumped the number up a little bit and added:

Personally, I'm at two minutes and forty-five seconds

He was embarrassed, partially covering his face as he waited for a response. Such a foolish slip-up; he couldn't afford to say anything cryptic. But he still was fairly sure that he had recovered that alright. He couldn't help but think about how awkward or weird he seemed to her. Who talked about this?

I don't think I could hold my breath for more than a minute, kudos to you haha

Anyway, sorry to switch gears all of a sudden but if you don't mind me asking, what's up with your family? You have any siblings?

He told her no. He would not bring his brothers into this, lest it be the slim chance of a ploy, after all. He said his family situation was unconventional and left it at that.

With that, he said to her goodnight and put his phone away, getting up to go get geared for patrol. It was only then he noticed the figure leaning against the doorway.

Chapter 3

[teenage-mutant-ninja-freak]

Can we please have April introducing their friend, the reader, to each of the brothers(separately). Like they were on a lead about mutagen being distributed to some shady people and they would’ve almost died if it weren’t for the turtles. When asked who were those guys, April sets them up to meet one of the brothers as to not overwhelm them. Besides a bit of hysterical laughing and self rambling “Giant ninja turtles. Okay sure!” They take it all like a champ. Sorry if this is too much. 😅

I think I understand this one and it’s not too much at all, just sorry if I misunderstood and get it wrong

Leo

Obviously, April introduces you to Leo first

you had snuck into one of the shadiest places you think you’ve ever been in order to find out who was distributing this mysterious mutagen which had half of the city looking like animal farm and the other half scared out of their wits

but things took a turn when you asked too many questions

that was always your mistake, bad guys don’t ask questions.

But Leo was the one who helped you up from the floor when you hid behind the sofa

they’d blown the lights out before they came in so you didn’t really get a good look at them other that noticing they were big, big boys.

so before April introduces you she warms you that they’re not..of the human variety.

You didn’t understand until she opened the door and sat at the breakfast nook was a very large turtle man wearing a blue mask

“Holy fucking shit. dick, fucking fuckery” you say in a low, almost expressionless voice

you’d gone full circle from being so intensely surprised that your voice came out as bored

Leo looked up at you 

“I’m sorry” you say “that was rude, what I meant was: holy fucking shit, dick, fucking fuckery” but this time you say it with feeling.

Leo gives a kind smile and a small chuckle. it wasn’t the worst reaction he’s had from a human before but it was one of the funniest.

that’s when the mumbling starts.

“I mean if you’d said giant turtles I would’ve- well, no, I wouldn’t have believed you but come on how is Kachhapa over there even real I mean seriously and is that? Ye-yep that’s a sword, he’s a giant turtle with a sword. Not sure if that’s cool or irresponsib-LOOK AT HIM!”

then you just start laughing, which gets a nervous laugh from everyone else in the room before a long silence

Leo finally talks

“...Well, I’m glad I could see you again in such different, less dangerous circumstances. I hope you’re staying out of trouble”

April decides you guys should leave it at that, if you’re gonna be weird then you should see Mikey next

Mikey

Leaving Leo to go see MIkey you mumble “What does he mean ‘stay out of trouble’ he’s not my dad”

so April hurries you along faster

you stop her before she knocks on the door to Mikey’s room

“so there’s another one? Of them? Ok just let me gather myself”

you half attempt some prayer hands together yoga pose thing before April just knocks anyways

when you walk in, you don;t know what you were expecting but somehow are surprised all over again that another mutant is in front of you

but you keep it together this time

Mikey is so cheery and happy to have company that isn’t April or his brothers

he waltzes up to you and does a little half bow with a small “Hey there, lovely. How’re you?”

all you can do is turn to April and ask “The turtles flirt?”

 she widens her eyes as if to say “Stop fucking acting this way” 

you sigh, look back at Mikey and smile

“Hi! Thanks for saving my life before, really appreciate that and all, being alive is-is kind of my jam so .....”

he beams at you, now he remembers you

you exchange a few more sentences out of politeness before excusing yourself to use the bathroom

Inside the bathroom you give yourself a much needed pep talk in the mirror that starts with “you dumb bitch, act casual!”

when you hear a voice from outside the door say “Normally pep talks are supposed to be motivational, not self deprecating but go off, I guess”

Donnie

That voice belongs to the one and only: Donnie

you open the door and immediately just say “holy shit, I’m so sorry you had to hear that”

he’s so nice about it, though

all smiles and “It’s ok, we’ve all been there. Who are you trying to act casual for? If I may ask”

You explain that this is kind of awkward, but being around mutants isn’t really something you grew up accustomed to so this is a whole new world for you “And I called your brother Kachhapa!” you blurt out

which makes him really laugh

“Don’t worry, I bet that reference was lost on him” he reassures 

you compliment his glasses

because that’s what normal people do, right? Point out stuff they like about each other

this one has a more calming affect than Mikey did and you appreciate that so much, but he warns you about his final brother

says he’s a hot head and you should watch what you say a little

finally April finds you “So I see you’ve met Donnie now” then leans in closer to you “Hope you’ve got all of that out of your system before you meet Raph”

you reassure her that you’re a perfection functioning human being now and both Donnie and April walk you to the gym to see Raph

Raph

you get to the gym and the biggest turtle of them all is bench pressing the biggest weights you’ve ever seen

you gulp

mental pep talk time since the purple one interrupted your last one

“ok, he’s big, he’s strong, he could rip you in two so easily. why does that sound kind of good right now, though? stay on track, brain! Ok, just tell him like a gym pun or something?”

“Hey!” you call over to him, Donnie and April widening their eyes at your boldness “you hear about that guy who asked the receptionist at the gym which machine he should use to impress women? She pointed to the ATM”

he cracked a smile!

you couldn’t believe it!

this big badass guy who you could see as you got closer was lifting 450lb cracked a smile at a dumb gym joke

you soon discovered he didn’t say much but at least this wasn’t anywhere close to the interaction of fire and death you had pictured when Donnie and April talked about how ... Difficult this brother is.

eventually Mikey and Leo come join you in the gym and now that you’ve become accustomed to these oversized turtle men, not being weird is getting easier, you even got invited round for dinner the next night to meet their dad 

April leaned in and told you their dad is a giant rat and all you replied is “of course, why wouldn’t he be?”

in the end, They all commend you on taking this meeting like a trooper and not freaking out entirely

even though you feel as though you could have been a lot cooler than you were about it

[memes-in-a-half-shell]

Business AU - Working Late, Part 7

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 6

sdfsfdgdfgf

^^^^^ my actual thoughts after writing this.

There was no denying that he was still thinking about that Saturday night. The feeling had been extraordinary. It’s been some time ever since he felt like this, but there was also something more. And he couldn’t quite place his finger on it.

First thing he did on Monday when getting to work was to lock himself in his office, his thoughts empty as he repeatedly drummed a pen against his desk, his gaze hardly focusing on anything. He did call for someone though at some point, taking this waiting time as an opportunity to collect his thoughts into something comprehensible.

Some knocks were heard at the door, a single “yes” escaping Donnie, an approval for the newcomer to come in. Next came into view another turtle adorning a red do-rag, this one much more massive when compared to the bespectacled mutant. It was none other than Raphael, the muscular terrapin a rare sight in the building as he was often more out to meet clients than stuck behind a desk.

“What’s up?” he started, closing the door behind him. “I’m on a tight schedule, so it better be important.”

Raph did frown a little as he noticed his brother’s composure, the purple clad mutant’s eyes speaking volumes.

“I, uhm... I need some advice,” finally said Donnie.

“What kind? A client’s giving you troubles?” added the other, taking a seat.

Donatello tsked, quickly waving that query away: “No, I know how to deal with those. ... It’s more of a personal matter. A... relationship one.”

Raph’s eyes widened a little, then relaxing his stance with an amused smirk.

“Well, well, well... back in business, I see? I thought that receptionist situation would keep you out of the market for quite some time.”

“Oh please, that girl was crazy. I’m just glad she moved out of the city. ... It’s been more than a year, I’ve moved on.”

“What’s the matter then?” added the red clad terrapin. “You forgot how to socialize or somethin’?”

Donnie quietly chuckled, leaning back in his chair, then thoughtful.

“Oh no, I’ve been socializing, alright... I just don’t want to fuck it up, you know? Things have been going so well now and on this last Saturday we took it a lil’ further-”

“How much further?”

“We kissed.”

“Bro, that’s nothin’.”

Tension was broken for a moment, both brothers snickering. That did help Donnie and calmed his thoughts a little.

“Who is it though?” next asked Raphael. “Someone working here or... ?”

“She’s a project manager for our creative team. She got here from Montréal a couple months back and we met one night by pure coincidence as we were both working late. Her name’s Véronique, but I call her Vee.”

“Oohh, already on a nickname basis, now that’s a feat,” teased the other.

“Please, she asked me to call her like that on the first night we met.”

“Ay, you know I’m just pokin’ some fun at you. ... What’s the matter, then? Why aren’t you talking about that to Leo or Mikey?”

“Because,” started Donnie. “Leo would try to dissuade me into pursuing this relationship, and Mikey well ... you know him. He’d say: ‘Invite her to my place and have her swim in the pool. Girls love pools!’,” mimicked the purple clad mutant. “... You know he’d only want that so he can have a look at her as well. I ain’t having none of that shit.”

Raph laughed once again, acknowledging those statements.

“And, to be frank,” added the bespectacled one. “I value your judgement. You get straight to the point and that’s what I need right now.” He leaned foward a little on his desk, hands joined. “So my concern is; what should I do next? We have interest for one another - we openly expressed as much. We obviously have a good chemistry together... but how do I know she’s the one? ... She feels different from anything, anyone, I’ve ever been with before, may it be in terms of relationships or not.”

“Easy,” shrugged Raph. “Have sex with her.”

“Raph!”

“I’m serious! ... You wanna know if she’s the one? Show yourself vulnerable before her. If there’s something more between you two, it’ll click.”

Donnie sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing them in slight annoyance.

“Okay so what, I just have to sleep with her, no strings attached? I hope you’re not suggesting for me to force myself upon her.”

“Hell no, stupid. I said be vulnerable, not a psycho,” frowned the red clad mutant. “Look ... you wanted my opinion, there it is. I believe in deep connections, and if right now you’re already feeling something special between you two, I don’t see what’s bad about wanting to explore that and see if there’s truly something more. ... Also, people can fuck for the fun of it, I hope you know that?”

Donnie exhaled sharply, half of a smile next on his lips: “I suddenly regret asking for your opinion, but I do see your point.”

“I’m sure you can be a gentleman about all of that.”

“My brain turns to goo whenever I’m with her. I try not to show it, but damn... I don’t think she’d get to that point though, I don’t know...”

“As long as it naturally gets there, that’s what matters. ... Those things are felt, Donnie. I’m not saying to rush it, but rather to not be scared.”

The purple clad one conceeded, lowkey admiring his brother’s wisdom about the matter. He finally rose from his seat, inviting Raph to do the same.

“Alright, I won’t take more of your time. You’ve given me enough food for thought.”

“‘Bout time, I have to go Uptown, I’ll be late ‘cause of you,” Raph teased, playfully nudging his brother’s shoulder along the way.

“Har, har, very funny,” added the other, opening the door so both could exit the room.

As they were about to say their goodbyes, a voice rose, followed by the light clicking sound of hurried heels against the floor.

“Donnie, good timing!”

Both turtles turned their attention to a woman coming their way; Vee. She was holding a pile of documents, already taking some apart and then handing them to the tall terrapin when she was next to him.

“I’ll need you to sign some of these before Wednesday. Some designs for an upcoming project need an approval and I thought you’d be the best for that task. And I- ...” She stopped, finally noticing the other mutant. “Oh, I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“Absolutely not,” smiled Donnie, properly holding the documents now. “We had just finished our small meeting, actually.” He gestured the woman to his brother: “Raph, this is Vee, our newest project manager addition.”

The red clad turtle grinned, extending his hand to the human in a proper greeting.

“Ah yes, Donnie mentionned you a couple of times.”

“Oh dear, I hope it wasn’t in a bad way,” lightly laughed Vee, shaking Raph’s hand.

“I would never,” reassured Donnie gently, his free hand instinctively resting at the small of her back.

A faint blush appeared on the woman’s cheeks, next adjusting her hold on the documents as her handshake with Raph ended.

“Not to be a party pooper, but I’ve gotta run,” she said with a smile. “I have a lot of stuff to hand out. Have a good day you two!”

She made sure to cross Donnie’s gaze before walking away, wanting to express her small longing to him. As she was back on her way, Raph did not hesitate to follow her frame, judging her for a moment. He finally looked back at Donnie with a look of approval.

“... Brother, you got taste.”

Donnie only replied by hiding his face with the documents he was holding.

***

Raph had said to not be scared, but Donnie couldn’t help still feeling that way. A part of him wanted to spend every moments with Vee, but on the other hand he didn’t want to appear too clingy or demanding. Gotta savor it like a fine wine, he’d try to reason. ... But frankly he just wanted to chug the damn bottle.

It was a Thursday afternoon, and so far he had only exchanged some words with her on Monday, then Wedneseday when he handed her back the approved documents he reviewed. Then he’d retreat to his office and think. And think. And think.

A ping from his computer got him out of his reverie, noticing a direct message notification.

His heart skipped a beat, his lips forming a thin line as he thought about what to answer.

Hey, wanna bang? Gosh, he felt dirty thinking about that... Keep it natural, Donnie, you don’t have to think about that for now. See where things go from there, naturally.

ABORT MISSION. ABORT MISSION. ABORT!!!! He felt so goddamn cheesy after sending that.

If it were up to him 100%, he’d get on his feet right this instant and sweep her off to anywhere she’d want to go. But he tried to keep it cool:

You’re the best one so far...

More like I’ll be lying down on the floor, a blushing mess. He couldn’t erase his smile, rereading again and again this conversation. He’d definitely have to think of something!

***

Later in the afternoon, as people were finishing their day, Donnie had reclused himself back into his drawing room, continuing some work on the Lowline plans. He was so focused that he did not hear Vee come in, the woman calmly making her way to his position.

“Hey...” she started softly, leaving a hand on his shoulder.

Donnie gasped, his hand holding a pencil jerking and leaving a long mark on the paper. Both froze, eyes wide as they witnessed the horror.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you that much!” apologized Vee, already on the look out for an eraser. “Here, let me help you with that.”

“No it’s alright. I, uh...”

Donnie’s sentence died as the woman was now hunched close to him, already removing traces of that nasty mistake.

“I could’ve done it. I...”

His voice was hushed, having a hard time to keep focus on Vee’s movement, prefering to look at her features instead.

“I ... I could do it,” he added.

Vee slowed her movement, finally looking at Donnie.

“Do what?”

He paused, his heart drumming in his chest.

“This...”

He delicately placed a finger under Vee’s chin, not even needing to move much in order to bring them both closer for a soft kiss. The woman was surprised at first, but she quickly melted, not even denying that she had been craving the feeling as well since that Saturday night... She dropped the eraser, her hands prefering to trail along the mutant’s scales. As they broke the kiss to breathe, Donnie brought her closer to his sitting position, Vee now standing inbetween his legs. No words needed to be said, this sudden electrifying feeling passing through them. The terrapin’s hands couldn’t get off of her, either lost in her hair or tracing her back. The more they joined in a kiss, the more they wanted to be closer. At some point the turtle acted on instinct as he rose up, his hold on the woman’s hips as he laid her against the inclined drafting board. The paper crinkled underneath, but he gave no care in the world about that. Their kiss was heating up, a low pleasured churr rumbling in Donnie’s chest as he stood close to Vee’s core, feeling her desire as strong as his.

The distant sound of people talking and laughing, still around and about to exit the building, brought them both to a stop - looking at the room’s entrance, as if afraid someone would pop in at any second.

Both were lightly panting, their smiles shy after what happened. Donnie took that moment of grace to study Vee’s features, gently brushing away some wild strands of hair off her face. He straightened his stance back up afterward, helping the woman back on her feet.

“Welp, and here I came only to wish you a good evening,” chuckled Vee, adjusting her clothes.

“I’m sorry,” added the mutant in a similar tone.

“Don’t be ... I liked that.”

She rested her hands on his chest, slowly rubbing the fabric of his shirt over his plastron.

“I can’t stay late tonight, but I won’t prevent you from doing so. ... Just don’t stay here too late though.”

“No promises.”

“Please, don’t overwork yourself,” softly pleaded Vee.

“Don’t worry...” he reassured with a smile, a hand cupping the other’s cheek.

They added one good evening kiss. Nothing more, nothing less. A pleasant omen for feelings to come...

((Part 8))

[sylvain-writes]

Doors Will Open (Donatello x Reader)

Rated: G

Gender Neutral Reader, pre-relationship, movie night, tenderness, cuddling, supportive brothers

You surprise Donnie with lembas bread for your Lord of the Rings movie night.

for @blancoluna

Donatello is holed up in his laboratory of mischief and oddities when you arrive at the lair bearing treats. But Mikey is there to greet you, jumping out of the Pit to graciously unload the deep tupperware of cookies from your hands. 

His eyes twinkle as he leans in to stage whisper, “You’re my favorite, know that?”

April walks up behind him with a gasp of indignation. “I’m gone five minutes!”

“But, but...” He lifts the box in his defense, “Cookies!”

“Ooh.” April’s eyes go wide and warmth floods your cheeks at their enthusiasm. She rubs her hands together with delight. “Can I grab one for the road?” You nod, of course, encouraging her to take as many as she likes. “You’re my favorite too,” she says with a giddy bounce.

Your laughter draws Raphael and Leonardo from the tunnels, and your excitement for the evening mounts. Rising to your toes hopefully, you try to capture a glimpse of Donatello behind them. The tunnel, however, is otherwise empty. Your heart sinks just a little.

Everyone gathers in the kitchen, welcoming you and trying to convince April to stay, but with each passing minute, the absence of your best friend grows harder to ignore. 

“Wheel of Time is in my bag,” you mention to Leo half-heartedly. It’s a book series he’s been begging to borrow for ages. You’re proud of yourself for remembering to bring it, and you don’t want to get distracted and forget. 

“Thanks!” Leo unlatches your messenger bag immediately, diving into a confession that only serves to prove what a nerd he is. Apparently, he sped through the Lord of the Rings this week in his excitement for the weekend movie marathon. You nod along with an amused smile. You're usually overjoyed to have the fellow bookworm to talk to, but your attention keeps drifting to the empty tunnels. 

A lull in his rambling gives you an opportunity to ask, “Is Donnie coming?” You have trouble meeting Leo's eyes, but you try your best to keep the question sounding casual and light. You don’t want Leo, Raph, Mikey, or April to feel like you don’t value their company, but you brought down supplies for Movie Night under the impression Donatello would be joining in; you don’t want to start without him.

“Oh, I’ll get that knucklehead,” Leo says, stacking the books to carry. “He probably just lost track of time.” 

Turning from Mikey's final, futile plea for April to stay, Leo heads toward his room to drop off the books, then to the workshop to gather their missing brother.

The muted sounds of tools and machinery come through the heavy door in clanks and whirrs. But Leo knows Donnie won't mind the intrusion.  He raps a knuckle against the small frosted window and gives his brother a shout. 

Donatello raises his voice over the buzz of a circular saw to ask, “Emergency?” But the sound of the blade cutting through metal continues without pause.

“No.” Leo won’t lie. He won’t test Donnie’s nerves with trickery, not even when the reveal is something his brother has been looking forward to all week. 

“Password?” Donnie counters next.

Leo screws up his face, searching his memories for the right answer. “I don’t know, dude. There’s cookies? And, like, ten hours of movies, so-”

The saw goes silent before the 'shop door opens with a snap. Leo takes a step back to give his brother room. 

Donnie’s face pops through the gap, his eyes looking unnaturally large through the magnifying lenses perched atop his beak. “What day is it?”

“Uh, Friday.”

“Y/N is here?”

Leo's exasperated answer hisses through the tunnel. "Yes." 

Donatello lets the door swing wide as he pulls off his goggles and hangs them on their hook. “Why didn’t you start with that?” he asks as he tidies up his station. His hands fly over the tables, reorganizing the space for his return. He fumbles his wrenches into their case in his rush. "How long have they been here? Why didn't anyone get me sooner?"

Leo doesn’t hide his grin, so happy to see Donnie this close to admitting his crush. “Oh, so they’re the password, huh?”

Donatello’s blush starts at his neck and rises up to his ears. “That’s not…” He gives a little huff as he rolls his tool cart to its place against the wall. “Shut up, Leo.”

Slinging an arm around Donnie's neck, Leo drags him into the hall. He grinds his knuckles over his little brother's head with a light chuckle.  Though Donnie easily squirms free, Leo knocks him with a shoulder, a tease and a mark of support. 

At first, Leo had been reticent to encourage his brother's feelings for you, but over time it's become obvious that Donnie’s affections are far from one-sided. Being what they are, that came as somewhat of a shock to him, but it was the best kind of surprise.

Donnie's lucky to have you in his life. And Leo hopes that one day soon, the two of you will get your acts together. It's about time you two admit just how happy the other makes you.

*

You're picking at the edge of the countertop, stomach in knots, when you hear the echo of footsteps draw near. Leo and Donnie enter the main living space pushing and shoving, but there's not a hint of anger on their squabble. Laughter stretches their smiles wide. 

You bite your lips together, anticipating the moment when Donatello finds you. There's become a shared second of pause when you meet, though you don't know when that began. You try to prepare yourself for it each time, but it always leaves you breathless. 

When Donatello’s eyes fall on you, his laughter peters out and his smile goes soft. Your lungs ache with the breath you've forgotten to release until Donatello breaks the spell. "I was told there would be cookies?"

You gesture to the box, hoping the slight tremor in your hand isn't obvious. "Lembas, actually." It's silly, your newly developed nervousness around him. Donnie is the person with whom you feel safest, most free to be yourself. He's your best friend in the world. 

Your crush on him shouldn't change that. But it does. It could change everything.

Donatello's eyes slide to the box and his jaw drops comically. "Are you kidding me? How did you-? Why did-?" His long strides bring him to the table before he has a chance to form a full sentence.

"It's our weekend," you say. A blush colors your cheeks as you catch your choice of phrase. "I mean, Lord of the Rings weekend. Remember?" You fiddle with the ring hanging from your neck, your fingers running back and forth over the elvish script. 

"I didn't. I do now! I didn't realize it was Friday until Leo… But Lembas!" He's probably the biggest nerd of you all.

"Go ahead." The mess of crumbs on the counter is evidence Raph and Mikey have grabbed their share. Thankfully, they left some for the rest of you. 

Leo skirts around you to take a cookie for himself while Donatello inspects his square of pastry with care. Turning it over in his hands, Donnie hums. "It smells like citrus and almond."

"There's lavender too," you supply gently. It took a few tries and a few tweaks of the recipe you found to get it just right, but you're quite proud of the end result.

"Yeah," he gives a slow nod. "And lavender. I was getting to that." He looks at you in awe. "This is really… it's so cool."

"You didn't even try it." Your racing heart switches gears from nervousness to anticipation for Donnie to have a taste.

"Oh, right." Donatello takes his first bite, follows it quickly with a second, and the cookie is gone. "Wow." Crumbs fall from his lips and you chuckle at his enthusiasm.

"I can make more," you offer as he reaches for another, "if you guys like them so much."

Donnie nods and drops his gaze as he seems to consider it. "...maybe you can make them here," he says finally. "With me, y'know? Show me how it's done."

Your blush returns at the suggestion and you find yourself hesitant to agree to the plan. 

Donatello's eyes blink wide and his almost pout is irresistible as always. You can't fathom why you'd give up the chance to be the one teaching Donatello something for once. 

With a leap of your heart, you give in. "Yeah, of course. We can swing by my place later and grab the stuff. Could be fun."

"Could be," he agrees quietly.

Donnie meets your eyes again and the moment of stillness between you stretches long--

Until Raphael speaks up from the couch with an exaggerated groan. "Can ya please get over here already? There's a whole mess of movies waitin' for us and you're busy yappin'."

Donatello grabs the box of cookies and rummages through the cabinet for Pop-Tarts while you make your way over to the TV. Of course, not even lembas can fill his appetite for sweet pastry. 

In the Pit, the lighting is dim. Title screen music rises and falls, drawing you into the fantasy world of Middle Earth.

Leo has taken a seat atop the back of the couch to give Raph and Mikey room on the cushions below. At the sight of your approach, Mikey scoots toward his brothers to make you a place by the armrest.

It's a comfortable fit, even for your favorite position, sitting with your legs pulled up, criss cross. But when Donnie comes in, there's no real room for him. He doesn't seem to mind. He places the plate of lembas and box of Pop-Tarts on the coffee table. Then, without hesitation, he takes a seat on the floor in front of you.

Mikey starts up the movie and the epilogue scenes cast the room in shadows and flashes of light. Donatello settles in against your legs and everyone's eyes focus on the screen.

The film plays and the temptation to reach toward Donatello increases with his every shift. Though he hasn't complained, you think he must be uncomfortable down on the floor. If nothing else, the way he rolls his shoulders probably means he's feeling stiff. 

It's dark enough, you could lay your hands on his shoulders, work the knots out of his muscles and neck, without attracting the attention of his brothers. But you don't. As you indulge yourself in fantasy, Donatello shifts once more.  He slides into position between your knees and the tails of his bandana catch on the hem of your jeans. 

You stare for a moment, unsure if you're allowed to touch. Then, Donnie leans back and smiles up at you and you could swear your heart stops. It only lasts a second before his eyes return to the screen, but it fills you with comfort, confidence, and calm.

Careful not to tug, you take the tails of his mask in hand and lay the long strips of cloth over your lap. With steady passes, the fabric runs through your fingers. It's soft and worn. Stained and fraying on the ends. The movie plays on, but as far as you're concerned there's only this. 

You twist the tails of Donnie's mask around your fingers. You tie them into loose knots, losing yourself in the quiet intimacy of having Donatello so close. 

Donnie tips his head to the side as you play, turning his body just enough that he can rest his head on your knee. 

You bend at the waist and drop your voice as quiet as it can go to avoid being overheard by the others. "You OK?"

Donatello nods, nuzzling his cheek against your knee just enough for you to notice. "It's nice," he says, and you drag the tails of his bandana through your fingers again. 

As you sit up, you spare a glance at his brothers. Raph and Leo are sitting forward, elbows on their knees, enraptured by Arwen's race on horseback. But Mikey's watching you through the corner of his eye. He gives you a small, knowing smile before turning his attention back to the screen.

When it's time to switch DVDs, everyone agrees it's time for a stretch. 

Donnie's the first one back to the Pit. And he takes it upon himself to lie across all three cushions of the couch with a lazy grin. Mikey doesn't even bother with him, ducking out to meet up with April and leaving his older brothers to fend for spots on the broken recliner and floor.

Donatello makes grabby hands as you return from the kitchen with a pair of sodas. You think he'll sit up, make some room. But to your surprise, Donatello exaggerates his sprawl. He takes the drinks and places them on the floor, then extends his hands toward you again.

You only have a second to register his request before he takes your hand in his and gently pulls you onto the couch with him. 

Cuddled up between the couch and your back, Donatello gives a little shimmy and a wistful sigh. 

Your heart is racing and you're tingling from your hands to your toes, but fitting against the curves of Donatello's bent knees and soft embrace takes no thought at all. And once you're there, you can't imagine ever wanting to leave.

*

The second Fellowship DVD comes to an end, and Donatello's breath tickles your neck, "One more?"

You shrug into the feeling of his words ghosting over your skin. "I'll fall asleep," you admit regretfully. You're so comfortable in his arms, you don't want to go home. But it's precisely that warmth and safety that are making it so hard to stay awake.

"I won't make fun of you if you snore," Donnie teases. There's soft pressure on your scalp and you're sure that's the feeling of him snuggling into your hair.

"I make no promises," Raph chimes in from the recliner. You'd long since forgotten you had company. The sound of his voice should come as a shock, should have you scrambling out of Donnie's arms. But it's only Raph, and he's picking on you the same as always. And there's a kind of approval in that -- the kind you never dreamed of receiving.

You try to shoot him a scowl, but you're grinning because you can't help it. 

*

You were right about having difficulty staying awake. The film isn't on for five minutes before your eyes drift closed.

"Are you asleep?"

"Still listening," you mumble dreamily. Donatello's arms tighten around you and his chin tucks over your head. It's enough to send you adrift into a deep and peaceful sleep.

You wake up in the morning alone but wrapped in a purple knitted blanket you recognize from Donnie's room. You pull it snug around your shoulders as you sit up to check your phone.  There's a text from your roommate and emails that can be ignored, but one notification stands out. You touch the media message from Raphael. 

Though you roll your eyes at the blurry thumbnail, your curiosity has you pressing play. The video is only 20 seconds, anyway. 

It loads immediately and the image clears. You smile at the closeup of Donatello asleep on the couch. The audio is low but you can clearly make out the snuffling rise and fall of his snores. You allow yourself a little laugh as you watch the video play through again. And you don't miss the way Raphael panned to show you and Donnie together dozing comfortably -- your limbs entangled and your face tucked into the crook of his neck.

You're unsure where you two stand and where your relationship will go, but your stomach is full of butterflies and your heart is content.

"Did you sleep OK?" Donnie asks as he comes in from the kitchen. He's brought tea and toast -- a simple but sweet gesture. 

You take a moment to enjoy the sight of him bringing you breakfast 'in bed' and tuck your phone away with a smile. "I slept great."