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7spaceace7 · 3 years

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Secrets (A Donatello x Reader)

This is incredibly self-indulgent and was really just a fic for me to obsess over tesla coils, but my girlfriend convinced me to post it- so here it is! It got kind of long too, but I hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 3236

Reader is given feminine terms in this one

Mild cursing (thank you Raph)

Absolute fluff attack, the sweetness will rot your teeth

Singing was your greatest passion. From a young age, you had been roped into music, the emotions it could represent with just a few notes and some relatable lyrics. It was happiness, it was sadness, it was anger and excitement, and it was everything you couldn’t express well enough with just words. Being a writer, sometimes that would get frustrating, but music helped you overcome the most challenging spots in a new piece or story. This is why you would constantly have earbuds in as you sang along to every song you’d memorized on your Spotify shuffle.

And Donnie noticed this. Every time you would enter the turtles’ lair, he would see you unplug and pack-up your headphones. Hell, he was even able to detect your singing from the sounds of the sewer tunnels echoing with every step you took closer. He’d hear you talk about the music or soundtracks of your favorite games and movies, analyzing what every slight twinge or reprise would allude to. And he loved every part of it. He loved getting to see those moments where music was all you could focus on. Your heart rate rose exponentially in anticipation and excitement. Your eyes would screw shut while you broke into a grin. Your hands would mimic motions to the beat as you played on invisible drums, or strummed a nonexistent guitar.

It was adorable to him, to say the least. But he never told you so. He never said a word, in case this might scare you off for coming across as “creepy” or weird. He knew most people probably didn’t pay this close attention to little things like that, but then again, he also knew that most people weren’t madly in love with you.

Which Donatello was.

He couldn’t tell you, because once he started rambling about you, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop. And if he didn’t stop, then he’d run the 89.07% chance risk of telling you how he’d been in love with you since the day they met you. That was way too high for him to be comfortable. No, he couldn’t tell you, no matter how badly he wanted you to know.

“Okay, so what if you just show ‘er you’re interested instead?” Raph asked, half paying attention to his brother’s predicament, half pounding the punching bag before him into the ground. Leo was in the dojo meditating, and Mikey was playing video games in the living room, which left the two middle brothers to their own devices. For Donnie, this was literally. His three-fingered hands fiddled with his latest electrical circuit. It was bound for sending the right amount of voltage into his inventions without needing four power strips and a generator all on their own. Unfortunately, he was too distracted to actually delve into its components, and settled for breaking and piecing it back together again.

“Show her? How would I do that?” Donnie’s voice trembled at the thought.

“I dunno, you’re the genius here,” Raph huffed, “There’s gotta be somethin’ in this place that you think she’d find cool. She loves music, right?”

“Yeah, like a lot, she even-”

“Rhetorical question, Don, heard the rant plenty,” His brother cut him off. Pausing his violent onslaught of the dummy, he turned to face him. “You’re nervous ‘cause you ain’t ever done somethin’ for a pretty girl before, I get it. So do somethin’ you know you’re good at. That’ll take the nerves off, your plan works, and then I won’ have to listen to you babbling about whatever new fuckin’ thing she did today. Win win.”

The younger turtle paused. “That was...actually pretty sound advice, thank you, Raph.”

“Anytime,” Raph nodded, a smug smile tugging at his lips from being able to help. Problem was, now he was invested. He’d listened to his brother’s rants and rambles and failed plans of possibly confessing for weeks now, what was gonna happen once he finally did it? Raph plopped onto one of Donnie’s bean bag chairs. He didn’t bother to pick up the training dummy. “So what ya gonna do, smart guy?”

Donnie blinked a few times, glasses twitching on his nose as he pushed them up. He didn’t know it, but you coined this his “brainstorming face”. He fiddled with the circuits once again.

“Uh...I’m not sure,” His tongue went dry. A million ideas fly through his brain each minute, and this decides to be the time that he can’t think of a single one good enough. Figures. “I could build her something? Maybe a new stereo, or upgrade the one she has.”

Raph made a noise of disapproval. “You can do better, any old fix-it guy could do that.”

“Fair. Maybe I could- ow!”

A short buzz of the air cut him off as his fiddling paid off. To the world’s great irony, a light bulb several inches away lit up.

“You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good, I…” Donnie trailed off. The purple-clad turtle’s eyes widened as he registered what happened. “I’m better than good, I just had an epiphany!”

“Epipha-what?”

“An epiphany, sudden realization, an idea!” Donnie flicked his goggles back down, enhancing his vision with the magnifier on it. Wires were tugged in and out, and a transmitter was displaced. With a snort of triumph, he raised it to the air for his brother to see. “This is the answer!”

“A tiny board thing. Just what she’s always wanted,” Raph rolled his eyes, but Donnie was prepared for this.

“Not just a tiny board, a tiny board with this!-” With great haste, Donnie was next to Raph, holding the board out properly. “My side-side project, this little thing, look at the coil here, this is it! This is a tesla coil, capable of transmitting thousands and thousands of volts of energy surging through the air, powering anything within its radius, which is perfect and exactly why I needed to reconfigure it to power my lab and this one new machine I’m working on, but that’s not why this is the perfect idea!”

“Wow, please continue, professor, I’m dyin’ to know.”

“Glad you asked! Watch this!” One aux cord, T-Phone connection, and light-dimming later, the lab went dark in anticipation. And suddenly, with the press of a play button on Donnie’s shuffle, music started to fill the air. But it wasn’t coming from his phone. It was coming from the coils, surging and creating not only electric energy that was visible to the human eye as it sparked, but music. Sound. The beats and notes of the song playing sprouted out in the form of electricity.

Raph’s green eyes became transfixed on the sparks flying out. “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit is right!” Came the squeals of utter nerding out, “This is only a tabletop version of an SGTC circuit, my own type of it anyway based on Tesla’s original designs, but if I reworked it, made it bigger, made it lifelike and maybe four or five of them, I could create the most advanced musical performance this city has ever seen!”

“I’m gonna pretend I know everything you just said because clearly this is your nerd thing,” Raph started, utterly confused. Even still, a reassuring smile framed his features. “But this looks pretty damn cool. This right here? Exactly what ‘m sayin’, Don. This is you.”

“Do you think she’ll like it...?” Donnie asked in a hopeful voice. He wasn’t just asking about the invention.

“Course she will.”

~x~

A couple weeks had passed since that fateful conversation with Raph. He’d been in and out of the lab since then, but between patrols and the mandatory bathroom breaks, there was hardly a time he wasn’t working on his great new project. You weren’t even allowed to go into the lab, per his request, for all his time there.

However, he always made sure to make at least one movie whenever you’d come hang out at the lair from work.

Finally, one Friday night, the set up was complete. Pride swelled in Donnie’s chest as he looked at his creation: six symmetrically placed tesla coils sprung up from the ground and walls all around his lab space. The coilings wrapped around metal frames, spiraling into a beautiful arrangement of engineering, if he did say so himself. Mikey said it looked like the lasers out of a DC comic, which was also not a bad thing to be. He just hoped that you would like it. All of it was for you, of course, but over the weeks that he’d been preparing it, he found more beauty in the music of tesla coils than he ever had appreciated before.

Donnie thought he might thank you for that, if he could get his nerves around it.

God, he was so nervous. Anxiety rushed through his body like the electric pulses he was perfecting. They were already done, but it was all he could do to distract himself while waiting for you to arrive. Maybe the frequencies weren’t in the right key. What if they sounded better this way? Or maybe the firing power wasn’t enough? Trajectory looked alright, maybe it just-

“Donnie?”

“Gh! Y/N, hey!” Stammered the surprised terrapin after knocking his head against the top of a coil. His goggles were on the setting of night-vision, but that didn’t account for night-spatial-awareness, it seemed.

“I got your text to come,” You tried to smile at him, but the dark laboratory proved to make that difficult. “How come it’s so dark in here?”

“Uh, well, that’s p-part of the surprise! Eheh. Gimme just a second-”

You waited patiently outside of his lab, vision still applicable, but grew concerned the more strange noises and clangs you heard coming from inside. This was definitely a whole new level of “Donnie Surprises” just by how nervous he seemed about it.

You yelped when his hand grabbed your arm and dragged you back inside the darkness.

“Okay, uh,” He started, before clapping his hands together for the lights to switch back on, “This is what I wanted to show you.”

Your gaze spun all around the lab. After adjusting to the light, you could clearly see giant mechanism after mechanism placed strategically around in a dome-like setup. Coils that protruded like round-edged spikes circled you both, and in the center was a metal cage.

“Oh my god…” You almost whispered. A large grin broke out onto your face as you stared in quiet marvel at the scene. His plan was working, and Donnie lit up with an outstretched arm in presentation.

“These bad boys are called tesla coils-”

“Tesla coils!” You squealed in imperfect unison to what you assumed was the start of an explanation. “You made tesla coils, Donnie, holy shit!”

“You’ve heard of them?!” Donnie exclaimed, eyes widening behind his glasses.

“YES!” Your hands began to wave around excitedly, “Oh my god I used to be OBSESSED with these things! I heard about when I was a kid from that old movie, oh what was it, it was like the apprentice’s-”

“Sorcerer’s Apprentice!”

“THAT! Yes!”

“I haven’t seen that movie in years!”

“Me neither! All I remember is that Hiccup’s voice actor totally nerded out and programmed his giant tesla coils to play music for the girl he wanted to impress, and it was the coolest thing because these giant machines were playing music, music out of nothing but sparks of electricity at different frequencies, which to be honest probably would have caused more of an energy problem than the movie suggested because goddamn do they take up a lot of power, but I was like six and didn’t care!” You laughed in an energetic burst of word association, practically bouncing on the balls of your feet.

Donnie could have kissed you then and there for that alone.

A grin crept onto his lips as he watched you ramble on about the movie, leaving all anxious thoughts to fall from his mind. For once, someone actually understood one of his passions. Better than that, she was explaining the process to him of all people! Sure, she was intuitive enough to know he didn’t need it, he literally had just built them after all. This was just out of pure excitement. Someone in his life was talking about science and technology like they were the most fascinating things on the planet, just as the purple-masked turtle believed it was. Well, second only to the ecstatic girl in front of him.

“-And so, I randomly remembered it again not that long ago, so I looked it up and found so many videos on YouTube about it. I kid you not, I listened to tesla coils and tesla coils alone for a solid week.”

You breathed heavily, a little winded after such an intense info-dump. God, he always loved when you got excited about something.

“This is kind of surreal,” Donnie chuckled a bit, pushing up his glasses when they tumbled down his nose, “I had no idea you’d get what these were, much less have known so much about them.” Donnie’s eyes widened at his own panicked-fueled blabbering. “N-Not that I think you’re stupid! I just-- I mean it’s not-- common? It’s more of-”

“A niche interest, yeah. No worries,” You finished for him, signaling his stuttered words hadn’t fallen on offended ears. Donnie quietly sighed in relief. Time ticked by in seconds, but even that was much too fast for this martial artist to grasp. If he could have constructed a device to pause the fabrics of time, he would have long ago, simply to relish the moments with you that meant everything to him. It wasn’t your fault your eyes captivated him more than any element he’s worked with.

“So,” You began eagerly, startling him out of his thoughts, “Are we gonna listen to some zappy poles go brrr or what?”

Donnie snorted at your juvenile word choice. “Yeah, totally. Now, ah,” He walked over toward the large cage in the center, stepped inside, then poked his head out with a dorky grin. A large, green hand stood outstretched towards you. “I think you’d better step inside my cage.”

“If you keep quoting the damn movie like this, I am going to explode from excitement, and it will be your fault!” It was a wonder how you hadn’t caught onto his plan yet, honestly. You made no sense of hesitation before grabbing his offered hand (even though your hands were small enough that they hardly matched his palm’s size), and clambered into the cage in front of him. This was a great excuse for you to be close to him without it being weird. And now, with your back brushing up against his plastron, the butterflies in his chest told him it was totally a good call.

Donatello would take this secret to his grave, however.

“Put your hands on the rail here, yep just like that,” Donnie nodded after your hands found the safeguard rail. A couple buttons tapped into a laptop later, he settled his own hands next to yours. “Let the magic begin.”

Magic would have been the understatement of the year. A coil in front of you quickly shot out its first spark. Familiar music breached the sound barrier to your ears. The one behind you both caught it instantly. Spark after spark sent back and forth between the coils, soaring through the lab like the most incredible game of electric catch.

“Whoa!” You laughed when the sparks would bounce off the cage itself, pressing closer to the turtle behind you (much to his surprise every time). Your shining e/c eyes never left the electric bolts shooting out. “This is insane!”

“Heh, glad you like it!” Donnie watched you closely that entire time, more entranced by your excitement and wonderstruck self than anything he’d created. He could power up the tesla coils anytime of day, but this was a special moment he’d never be able to recreate in a controlled environment. This was no experiment, this was real and it was happening right now.

The only thing left to do was tell you how he felt.

“Y/N, I have to tell you something,” He began, stepping away to give you a bit of space. His heart rate was increasing by the second. The way you turned to look at him wasn’t helping, either.

“What is it?” You spoke softly, somehow able to be heard over the music. Donnie could hardly meet your eyes, so he took your hands in his instead.

“I...I don’t know how to say this exactly,” He started, “I’ve been trying to do it for months, going over every possible conjuncture of words, something that would be heartfelt and honest, poetic even? But the truth is, words aren’t my thing, th-they never have been. I’m a science guy, I take things apart and put them back together again, I figure out what makes them work, I see life as a million tiny parts to analyze.”

He paused his quickened speech to take a breath. Your hands squeezed his larger ones as an offer to continue.

“And so, I’m...bad at feelings. I see it all as chemicals and components used by the brain to create action and reaction. But now I’m not so sure if that’s all they are, and really the only thing I am sure about is that it’s because of you that I’m questioning everything I ever thought I knew. Maybe, maybe life is more than atoms and chemicals, and instead it’s about..moments. Moments like this. Moments that...that I..that I really want to keep forever and play over and over again.”

“Donnie…” You spoke. This time he squeezed your hands.

“I know I’m rambling and I should really get to the point, so what I’m trying to say is,” He took another breath, steady this time. His gaze met yours again. “I want to live these moments with you every day. You’re special to me. You’re part of our family, but this is more than that, this feeling is-”

“Love.” You finished for him. Both of your eyes widened as you realized the other felt how you each did.

Donatello nodded slowly, hesitant to be so certain, but knowing it was true. There were no more words to be exchanged after that, only actions, only movements so soft and gentle that the large terrapin was certain he’d break if they could fit in his hands. Your hands left his and instead reached up to grab the long ends of his mask, and tugged gently for him to reach you. He leaned down without a thought. A three-fingered hand found your waist this time.

You kissed. Soft, human lips connected to his slightly chapped reptilian ones. The turtle had waited for this moment since he realized the attraction he felt towards you was not just powerful chemical reactions, but true feelings. It wasn’t biology, it was chance and fate and one-in-a-million all at once. As the sparks continued to (literally) fly, Donnie let his eyes close. This was the present. He was here, he was holding a great new adventure in his hands, and there was a brilliant future just around the corner.

The song may have finished, but this is what would last forever.

#tmnt #tmnt donatello #donatello x reader #tmnt x reader #tmnt 2014 #tesla coils #tmnt raphael #donnie and raph are good bros #tmnt donnie x reader #tmnt 2016 #donatello #raphael #donnie #raph #donnie x reader #fanfics

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nostalgiaruinedme · 3 years

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Monster

Prompt: Mistreated by Authorities Fandom: TMNT 2012 Ao3 link: here Summary: After the Kraang and the Triceratons and the Shredder, the world is finally safe, save for the scars left behind. But humanity is looking for a scapegoat to blame all the tragedies on, and their gaze lands on the mutants. Now, every government in the world is after any and all mutants, but first and foremost, they want the turtles. And then the EPF capture Donatello.

First I’d like to thank the amazing @morikothehalfangel for beta reading this for me <3

I put way too much effort into researching the effects of torture by asphyxiation for this oneshot wow. I now know more about asphyxiation than I ever wanted to know but ~accuracy is important~

I mean I think it's accurate. I DID MY BEST OK and also I've been in the hospital because I couldn't breathe (asthma not torture i promise <3) so I based some of it a little on my own experiences, just amped up a billion percent.

Also I know a lot of people are like "THEY'RE TURTLES THEY CAN HOLD THEIR BREATH FOR A WHILE" but like- that's a great headcanon that I love reading about but considering they nearly did suffocate in that one episode where that one triceraton released all the air from their cell, I don't think it's canon. And even if it was canon I wanna write this so I'm disregarding it pff

PLEASE mind the warnings in the summary. Don't read anything that will trigger you, take your safety first ok? That's more important than reading a fic.

Okay, that's all. Please enjoy! and suffer.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: - Self hatred - Depression - Asphyxiation - Torture - Briefly mentioned suicide attempt -

Everyone is good at heart.

If you asked April 5 years ago what she thought about the inherent good or evilness of humanity, that would've been the answer she gave. A typical one, maybe, full of clichés and misplaced optimism, but it was also one she truly believed. Sure, sometimes that goodness had been shoved deep down and locked in a cage. Sometimes it was so long gone even its owner would forget it existed. Sometimes it was buried so deep not even god could tear it from its depths and bring it to the sunlight... but regardless, it was there, somewhere. To be good or not was just a matter of choice. Everyone was good at heart.

But that was then. And this was now. The time she believed in the goodness of all was before a time before a seething Casey Jones had marched into her apartment and shoved his phone into her face, a time before he said nothing as she read the article on the screen, her confusion slowly morphing into absolute horror.

"Mutant Responsible for Destruction of City Finally Apprehended", it read, and below that deceptive headline was a photo of someone she knew all too well. His mask was gone, one eye bruised shut, and a hand outstretched towards whoever was holding the camera in a last ditch effort to hide his face. It had been a fruitless endeavor, unfortunately; five more photos followed, and April had no doubt in her mind that there were plenty more in circulation elsewhere. Every news station in New York—no, scratch that; every news station in the country was rushing to cover this story, and probably a few hundred more channels across the world as well. It was big news after all. After years of trying to catch the so-called evil mutants the public had taken to blame for all of their problems, they finally got one of them. It didn't matter how wrong the stories were... the people who caught him were going to be praised as heroes.

"They got Donnie."

Casey's words weren't necessary—April easily recognized who was in the photo—but hearing them still made her breath hitch, all hope of this being a dream or imagined crashing down around her. This was all too real. Humans capturing the four brothers had always been a danger, they knew that, but to actually have it happen to one of them...

April guessed that after Tokka returned to Earth three years ago, they should've seen it coming. Bishop had tried his hardest to repair the Utrom's relationship with humanity, specifically the Earth Protection Force in this case, and had very nearly succeeded too. But the officials he was working with were stubborn, and after seeing the turtles in action themselves, they were terrified. It didn't matter that they had been working to save them or that they weren't the bad guys; those damn officials only saw a powerful threat they couldn't control.

They were evil men. And evil destroys what it can't control.

So they shattered what was left of the Utrom council's relations with humanity, and ensured the rest of the world did too. And then they used Earth's real saviors as scapegoats.

Aliens coming to Earth, capturing humanity countless times and mutating them into mindless slaves? The mutants' faults. The destroyed buildings and sounds of fighting and screaming all night long? The mutants' faults. The increase in robberies and kidnappings by inhumane creatures and robotic ninjas? The mutants' faults. Giant alien turtle lighting New York on fire? Mutants' fault. Dinosaurs invading? Mutants' fault. Ghosts rising? Mutants' fault. Cultish whispers? Mutants. It was all their fault.

And at the front of it all, they blamed the turtles specifically.

The four brothers pretended they didn't care. All of them. Mikey just joked about it, claiming those humans were clearly just jealous they couldn't save the Earth like they did. Raph got angry, obviously, but he pretended it was because of just 'humans in general', and that the accusations weren't hitting as hard as everyone knew they were. Leo used this to reason that they just needed to try harder and save more people... If they did more good, he said, people would speak up to defend them. He never quite managed to hide the hurt that came when no one did.

And Donnie... Donnie took all the allegations right to the heart.

He buried himself in inventions, the only one of his brothers who didn't seem to suffocate from the isolation, and never spoke of it. April tried to talk to him and Casey did too. Both were all too aware of the thoughts Donnie had about himself. While his brothers had their own insecurities, Donnie held the worst ones about just what he was. A Monster, he believed, despite their assurances he was anything but. This situation just made it all worse.

And then Donnie left the lair by himself. He'd gotten himself captured.

"What about his brothers?" April whispered, eyes still locked on the article. Casey sighed.

"They're obviously panicking... Leo's planning a rescue mission tonight, and Raph massacred his punch dummy and Mikey's trying to keep both of them from going on a suicide solo mission right now, in the daylight. It's not looking too good, Red, this isn't like any other time..."

It wasn't. They'd all been captured by the enemy before, but that was by underground organizations and alien terrorists and chaotic mutants. This was more than that. Donnie had been arrested by the EPF, a military organization... if you could even call it an arrest. He sure as hell wasn't gonna get a lawyer, that was for sure, and he'd probably be turned over to scientists the second he refused to tell them anything useful. This wasn't something they could just sneak into, fix, and then be on their way.

This was the entire United States government they had to go up again.

"We gotta get him out of there," April said, pushing the phone away. She couldn't look at it for another second. "He's barely been gone a day and his face is plastered everywhere online, we don't have a lot of time. When are the guys planning on going?"

"Right before sundown, so in about an hour," Casey said, returning his phone to his pocket. "I don't know what Leo's got planned, but we have just enough time to get ready and I told them we'd meet them there."

April nodded firmly, without even a hint of hesitance.

"Let's get going."

***

When Donatello was little, he liked to pretend there was a monster living under his bed.

A common nightmare among children, he knew what it was. Most children feared what lived under their bed, and when they did think there was one hiding there... it wasn't because they wanted it there; it was because they hated the idea. They would beg their parents to run into the room and shine a flashlight underneath, to hug them tightly and assure them that monsters weren't real, it's all in your head. Some braver children might even get up to check themselves, armed with a foam sword or a plastic spear, bravely embarking on a quest to kill the monster, for it was an enemy.

But to Donnie, the imagined monster under his bed wasn't hated. It was a friend. It was someone like him.

The fear of being a monster had started within the turtle when he was small, when he first started learning about the world above him. His brothers had found mankind interesting, sure, but it was he who wanted to know everything about them. What were their kids like? What did they eat? Why did they live so close to the sky? How did they look? How come they couldn't meet them? These were the questions that he'd sneak into Splinter's room for answers to long after his brothers had gone to sleep.

Because Donnie wanted answers, and his curiosity would never be satisfied until he knew all there was to know.

But as Donatello's knowledge grew, so did his own insecurities. He now knew what human children were like (different from him). He now knew why they couldn't meet them (they would be terrified). Because Donnie was a mutant. He was the scary monster they imagined under their beds, the one they wanted their parents to protect them from... He was what they feared.

So he took comfort in imagining his own monster under his bed, one that was even scarier than him. But he never hated or feared this monster. No, he wouldn't be like the human children. It didn't matter how scary this monster was, he decided, he would befriend and love it no matter how it looked. Because he was a monster too, and monsters had to stick together, right?

It only took a few years longer for Donnie to stop pretending he had a monster hiding under his bed (though he still took comfort in the thought every once in a while), but it took him much, much longer to stop thinking of himself as one. So many nights of sitting beside Casey and April, both assuring him he was anything but, and so many long years of doubting his place in their lives. It took determination on all three's part but eventually, he even saw himself as something normal, someone who could actually fit in their tiny group of three instead of the monstrous invader they swore he wasn't.

"We want you in this too," April had sworn, and Casey confessed the same only moments later. Donnie had cried. A day later, he finally believed them, and the three started the happiest relationship of their lives. He finally found himself fitting in, and finally, finally... he thought he had defeated his thoughts.

But that was then, and this was now.

He stood still as dozens of curious, terrified, and disgusted eyes watched him, some trying to get the best look while others tried to distract themselves from his existence. Never before in his life did he feel more like a monster than he did now. All of his progress had been destroyed.

Donnie stared at the men surrounding him on all sides, cursing the glass prison they kept him in. They didn't even let him have enough dignity to keep him in a normal, dusty, dirty cell with corners, did they? No, they had to keep him in a round glass one like some animal, one they could keep a constant watch over from all sides. He couldn't hide anywhere. He had to stand there in the silence.

Donnie wanted nothing more than to hide in his shell just to get away from the prying eyes. But that wasn't normal, was it? He knew that'd only make them stare even harder.

He wished they'd say something. The EPF had taken him, fair enough—Donnie knew they had been after them for months now. But instead of the torture, lifelong prison sentence, scientific experiments, or questioning he had expected, there was... nothing. After the tranquilizer they had shot him wore off, he'd been shoved in this stupid cell and left there for at least 6 hours now. Guards and various EPF staff watched him, spoke in hushed whispers about him and made a few phone calls, and even took a few photos, but that was it. They hadn't spoken a word to him.

Donatello didn't know whether to be relieved or horrified about that. He just wanted to go home.

"Come on, guys..." Donnie muttered, eyes focused on the single window in the room. It was starting to get dark out; his brothers should be coming soon, right? They were at least ready to go by now, if they weren't already on their way. He just had to be patient. "Please hurry..."

"There you are."

Donnie quickly turned around, cursing himself for not realizing that someone had snuck up behind him. To be fair, he had felt watched from all directions since the moment he had woken up, and still did, so one more set of eyes hadn't been much different, but even so... He was a ninja, damn it! He should have realized that someone had approached his cage before they even said anything.

There stood one of the EPF officers, clearly one of their higher-ups, judging by the many many badges he wore on his chest. He had a grim look on his face, yet a hint of satisfaction was hidden in his eyes behind the frown on his lips. Though Donnie didn't know him, he could tell just by looking at him that this was not a good man; he was a man out for power and without sympathy.

Donnie folded his arms across his plastron defensively and met his eyes. However, he was still upset about being given the silent treatment for three hours, so he didn't bother to reply.

They hadn't answered him, so why should he answer them?

"Not a big talker, huh? That's alright." The man said, voice matter-of-fact and calm as could be. "As long as you answer my questions, we won't have a problem, mutant. You don't have to talk any more than that, I promise."

Donnie clenched his teeth. The man smiled.

"You and those other turtles have been on the run for quite some time, haven't you?" He continued, hands behind his back. "I understand you four may not have much experience with the law, as you have been completely disregarding it for years now... but that's not something that's allowed.

"You're wanted by every government and legal system in the world for your crimes against humanity. You've nearly caused the extinction of mankind a dozen times over, yet you refuse to face consequences for your actions. On one hand, I see why you'd be scared to get caught for that, but it's still quite dishonorable, avoiding justice like that. You're running from the law. What should one make of that, mutant?"

'That you're all ungrateful pieces of shit,' Donnie thought, but managed to keep to himself. They nearly sacrificed their very lives just to save this stupid planet, yet here they were blaming him for it. He couldn't keep the scowl off of his face as the man continued to stare, though, no matter how hard he fought to keep his expression blank.

"It's not safe to let you continue to wander the Earth on your own. You'll try and kill us all again, and that's an international threat we can't let slide. But," The man leaned forward slightly, placing a hand over his heart as a sign of trust that Donatello knew better than to believe, "I am a very powerful man. You tell me where we can find the rest of those responsible, and I'll make sure you and the other mutants live a decent life. In captivity, of course, I can't change that, but it will be relatively peaceful."

Donatello tried to calm his breathing, keeping his mouth firmly shut. He didn't give a damn what this man would say; he'd never give up his brothers' locations—who did he think he was? He wouldn't tell him where any of the other mutants he knew were either. The EPF could do whatever they wanted with him... He'd never speak a word.

"Of course, there's other ways to get information out of you," The man continued, voice overbearingly calm and carefree. "Maybe not on where those other freaks are hiding. But there's plenty to learn from mutants' very existence, isn't there?" He grinned. His teeth were white and clear, just perfect enough to hide the rotting soul inside.

"We released your photos to the press already. Can you believe how many labs have offered hundreds of millions, one or two even billions, for you? We're still getting calls and emails as we speak."

Donatello was no idiot, he could have guessed that had happened already. But hearing it... He tensed, hoping the man couldn't see the fear he knew was already apparent on his face. He just had to ignore him. His threats wouldn't mean anything; his brothers would be there soon to save him, way before they could even consider doing that for real.

Besides, the EPF had spent months searching for and trying to capture him. Surely, they wouldn't just sell him off to the highest bidder that easily...

Right?

"Still not talking?" The man's expression darkened, "You don't understand just how much trouble you're in, do you? You're going to pay for what you and the rest of the mutants have done to humanity; I don't care whether you actually feel guilty for it or not. You will be sorry, Mutant."

"Donatello."

"What?"

"My name's Donatello," Donnie hissed out, too angry to even care that he broke his attempt at silence. "Stop calling me that when I have a name."

"I can call you whatever I damn well please, freak," The man replied, pointing a finger at him as though he were lecturing him, "You're lucky I'm even speaking to you right now. Everyone else I spoke to figured said it'd be pointless, and we should just ship you off right now. Mutant, I don't think you realize just how lucky you've been because of me. In fact, you oughta be thanking me."

Even the damn Foot Clan called them by their names, Donnie realized bitterly. Even the Foot treated them with more dignity than these people.

"The decision hasn't been made yet, but the Earth Protection Force is still deciding what to do with you. We've recently built a new high-security prison for mutants specifically in mind, and that had been the plan all along. However, we could always use the money we'd get from your bidders to upgrade it and arrest more-"

"We didn't do any of it!" Donnie couldn't take it anymore. He knew arguing was pointless and he knew it was probably what the man wanted, but he didn't care. "We saved the world, you- my brothers and I were the ones who stopped all that shit from happening! We saved Earth when you and the entire Earth Protection Force couldn't!"

"That's not how I remember it."

"Bullshit! You know you're all lying!"

"Memories are subjective," The man said, "However, the general consensus among the government, public, and us has been that the Kraang backed off due to our brief but effective alliance with the Utrom. The Triceratons-"

"You just want a damn scapegoat because you kept failing!" Donnie exclaimed, slamming his fist onto the glass walls in anger, teeth barred in rage and desperation. He knew his words were falling on deaf ears, but he couldn't take these lies. "We beat them! Not the EPF! We brought all the humans back from Dimension X and saved you all from the Kraang's mind control while you guys did nothing! We stopped the Triceratons! Me and my family nearly died—no, actually some of us did die—just trying to save the planet! The humans who did help us had nothing to do with you guys and it's because of us that you're even breathing right now! We-"

Donnie choked.

While he was shouted, the man had pressed some button, and it turned out the cursed dome he was in had more uses than just keeping him in one place after all. It started with a hissing noise from above and seconds later, a burning in his lungs. He gasped as the air turned frigid, the oxygen escaping from his grasp before he even realized what was happening. His hands flew to his throat. He couldn't breathe.

He fell to his knees harshly, ignoring the pain that came with it—all of his gear, including his knee pads, had been taken before he'd woken up—and clawed at his neck. Out of the corner of Donnie's eyes, he could see the satisfied gleam in the man’s eyes as struggled, gasping for air that just wasn't there. The edges of his vision flashed black.

But just before he passed out, the hissing changed and the air came back. Donnie gasped and inhaled with relief, savoring the feeling he hated that he still took for granted after how many times it had been taken away from him. He could breathe. He didn't bother rising from where he knelt.

"Tell me, Mutant," The man's voice was cold, and Donnie felt a shiver run down his spine. "Why would a monster sacrifice all that for the human race?"

Donnie didn't know.

"Well?" The man said, "That wasn't a rhetorical question. Answer me!"

"Earth's... it's ours too," Donnie hissed out, clenching his fists, "It's... it's just as much ours as... as yours."

"Is that so?" Donnie wanted to nod, to say yes, but he was frozen. Or at least, it felt like that. Humiliated and weak and terrified, Donnie wondered if they had paralyzed him when he wasn't paying attention... But he knew the only thing keeping him from moving was his own damn mind.

"I think you know as well as I do the Earth wasn't built for freaks like you," The man said, "And we sure as hell aren't going to let you just steal it from us. Not while I'm here, and not anytime soon after, you hear me? Earth's ours. It always has been."

Donnie felt a wave of relief wash over him when he turned, preparing to leave. He was still trapped in hell, but at let no one would talk down to him more if the man wasn't here... no privacy or not, it was better than nothing.

But then, the man stopped, tilting his head in thought. He turned back around and addressed another person on the other side of the room.

"Lower the oxygen percentage. Keep it just high enough so it doesn't pass out, but I want it as low as possible without that happening."

He walked away just as the hissing began, and Donnie couldn't help the tears from forming.

***

Two weeks.

Casey couldn't believe it had already been two full weeks since they'd last seen Donnie. How could they have let this have gone on for so long? They should have gotten him back days ago! But no, the calendar didn't lie; it had been fourteen days.

Fourteen days since they'd seen his gap-toothed smile. Fourteen days since the EPF had so cruelly snatched him from his patrol. Fourteen days since they kidnapped him and did who knows what with him. Fourteen days since they'd locked him away.

Thirteen days since they had first tried to get him back.

Casey grimaced at the memories. The first mission had been a failure, as had the second and third ones. Each building had been a fake one, framed as the place where they imprisoned mutants but really only a distraction. Donnie had never stepped foot in any of them... and with each trap they landed in, the team grew more and more desperate. Angrier and angrier. More and more heartbroken.

Casey hated it.

"What do we do, Red?" He asked April one night, sitting on the ledge of a roof and tossing a pebble off of it. It landed on a trashcan below with a satisfying clink, a sound that usually would've elicited a grin from Casey if it weren't for the circumstances. How could they have failed so much?

"I really don't know," April sighed, shaking her head, "We've searched everywhere in the city. I don't think they've sent him off somewhere, since I can still sense him in the city... but I have no idea where. I can't pinpoint him."

Casey looked out across the city, eyes sweeping over every building lining the distance. Though he knew it wasn't exactly true, it had felt like he'd searched every single one of them by now from top to bottom. Why couldn't they find Donnie? How many hideouts did the Earth Protection Force have anyways? So many in the city seemed excessive. Surely, they couldn't be hiding too many more.

Casey's gaze turned towards the water as the sun hovered over the horizon, casting beautiful crystals of light over everything it touched. It reflected off of the waves and met Casey's eyes, lighting them up gold.

And as they did, an idea lit up in his mind.

"April," He said, spinning around to face her, eyes wide and jaw slack, "What if we're looking in the wrong place?"

April frowned, folding her arms across her chest. "What do you mean?"

"They already know we know about all their buildings and hideouts in the city," Casey said, words tumbling from his mouth in a rush, "So why would they hide him somewhere we could find him? I'd guess they took him out of the city or even country, but you said you still sense him here. You know what that means?"

April shook her head. Casey rose to his feet, standing tall as he raised his arm and pointed towards the waters surrounding Manhattan.

"I bet they're hiding him out there, on a ship."

***

Donnie lost track of the days.

He'd tried to keep count, he really did. But there were no windows and no visible clocks, and each second spent in that damned dome felt like years. The circumstances inside didn't make it any easier to keep his mind clear.

Yes, the man had been true to his word and kept the air as unbreathable as was possible. His limbs were weighted and every movement took so much effort; speaking wasn't even an option. Even something as simple as thinking seemed nearly impossible when one was suffocating, and Donnie had no idea how to escape, not with how thick the walls were and how guarded he was. It wasn't normal glass, it was something special, something he couldn't break. All he could do was choke on nothing.

But he wasn't stupid. As impossible as the situation was, he tried to make do. He sat still and folded his legs, staying still and remembering the breathing techniques Splinter had taught him, just like they had when the Triceratons had tried to suffocate them.

At first, it had worked, but then the men caught on. They lowered the amount of oxygen he was getting even more and spoke loudly of their plans for him as a mutant, purposefully destroying his concentration with panic and anxiety. Meditation was impossible.

And even if it wasn't? Even breathing techniques couldn't save him from suffocation that lasted for hours on end.

So Donnie would gasp and claw at nothing, pleading internally for the air to return yet being met with no answer but amused chuckles. The sides of his vision would flash black and slowly grow until he was this close to passing out and ready to feel the sweet release of unconsciousness—Donnie started looking forward to that time when he could get a few short seconds of nothingness before he felt like he was dying again. Just take him away already!

But then, the second they noticed he was unconscious, the air would return all at once. Donnie would fling up from where he was laying and inhale the precious, beautifully crisp air with more appreciation than he'd known was possible. He knew it was just to keep him from dying on them and to keep him awake to suffer even longer, but he could never keep the relieved sigh from escaping his lips.

"So," The man would always approach him around this time, the same disgusting human every time. "Are you ready to tell me where the other mutants are?"

And every time, Donnie would only reply with an adamant shake of his head and narrowed eyes filled with false confidence. The man never stayed much longer after that. He would only shake his head in disapproval, mutter something along the lines of "those damn mutants..." or something about them being criminals, then he'd turn and walk away. The hissing would start not too long after that.

And the process would repeat.

On the fifth day, he really did pass out, and they were forced to give him a few hours to breathe properly, lest they gain a corpse replace their hostage. He didn't bother moving from the floor, feeling nothing yet too much all at once. He didn't think, only longed for his family's rescue.

On the tenth day, the man opened the cage long enough to walk inside and slap him once, twice, and scream in his face. 'Monster!' he screamed, 'Murderer!'

Donnie didn't react. The man was out of shape and old, someone Donnie knew he could normally take out without breaking a sweat. But after four days of struggling for a single breath, he didn't have the energy to do anything but stare.

At least he couldn't think enough to agree with his accusations.

On the thirteenth and fourteenth days, Donnie didn't bother moving once. Most of those 48 hours were spent zoned out and unaware of the passage of time. You could tell him it had only been an hour, or even that it had been three weeks; he'd have believed you either way.

On the eighteenth day, Donnie realized they weren't coming.

The men gagged him before he could bite his tongue hard enough.

***

It should have been obvious.

Staring at the ship now, April wondered how the hell no one on the team had thought of it before. Of course, the EPF would expect them to search their usual hideouts! Of course, they'd be ready for that! They wasted so much time searching the places they knew about that they had just... forgotten that this was more than just another gang or mafia or clan. This was a government agency with resources beyond imagination, they didn't have to reuse the same locations again and again and again.

April was just thankful they had stayed in New York.

"We go in, but we're focusing on stealth," Leo instructed his team—Mikey, Raph, Karai, Shini, April, and Casey—and pointed towards the ship, "We're not trying to take them out. Getting Donnie out is our first priority."

"No objections there," April replied, holding onto her tessen tightly. Casey scoffed from behind her.

"Yeah, definitely agree," He said, "But the second he's out, I'm burning the whole ship down."

"And everyone aboard responsible," Raph added on, eyes dark. Karai nodded in agreement while Shini grinned with delight.

Neither Leo nor Mikey had anything to say against that. Neither did April.

***

The air came back sooner than usual for Donnie this time.

He wasn't entirely sure why, usually it took a lot longer for them to give him a break. Or maybe it had been longer than he'd realized? Time was a strange thing, after all, and Donnie knew that he'd been out of it for a while.

He should probably stop questioning it and just be thankful for the brief break.

But now hands were on him, shaking him by the shoulders and screaming in his ears. What were they even saying? Donnie didn't know; tuning them out was easier. He was just tired of hearing the threats against his brothers and his family and friends and accusations. They could do what he wanted with him—he didn't care anymore.

But then they screamed again, and Donnie tried to focus, because the word they were saying over and over again was so foreign, yet so familiar. It was something he hadn't heard in a long time... wait, were they-

"Donnie!"

The man never said his name.

Donnie blinked several times, looking up and trying so desperately to see who it was. He distantly felt them remove the gag, though he knew he wasn't going to talk anyways, not with how dry his mouth was.

"He's alive," A voice cried out, shaking with relief. He wished he knew who it was, but try as he might, he couldn't make his vision come into focus. All there was was blurs of lights and colors, distant faces, and tears (though he wasn't sure if they were his or not). Green and black and red and orange and blue and more black and gray and yellow... He weakly reached out towards them.

Someone took his hand, squeezing it tightly. He wasn't sure who, but he was suddenly filled with an unbelievable wave of trust and peace.

For the first time in a long time, he felt okay.

Someone picked him up and suddenly, the lights and colors were changing, and he was moving. He blinked and he was outside and then he was sat down outside.

He blinked again, and finally, he could see the stars.

"Donnie?" A voice asked, and he finally recognized it. "Can you hear me?"

April.

He weakly nodded yes, and Casey was there too, grabbing his hand. Mikey sat right next to him.

He tried to sit up, still savoring the beautiful night air, never before appreciating the air of New York City as much as he did at that moment. But something else was on his mind; where were the others? Where were Leo and Raph? Where were the others he knew he saw with them?

"Hey, calm down Love, they're okay," Casey quickly calmed him down, tightening his hold on his hand. Donnie shook his head.

"W-where?"

"They're just finishing up something," Mikey promised, wrapping his arms around his brother in a tight hug. "They'll be out soon."

Donnie nodded, finally with someone he knew he could trust the words of. He breathed in deeply, and looked back forward, out to the ship he now realized he must have been on.

And just as he caught sight of it, a brilliant light erupted from the ship, a radiant explosion of reds and oranges and yellows, casting the same colors across the waves. Fire spread across the deck that was left. From the corner of his eye, he could see his brothers and Karai and Shini approaching, having finally finished their mission, but Donnie could only keep his eyes on the destruction behind them. Donnie imagined that he could hear the man's screams through the wreckage, though he knew individually, he couldn't; they must have been drowned out by the cries of everyone still aboard.

The fire raged on. It was a sight of pain and death and destruction, one that only a monster would take delight in to watch.

And Donnie smiled.

#tmnt #tmnt 2012 #tw torture #tw asphyxiation #tw suffocation #tw suicide mention #tw suicide attempt #tw self hatred #tw depression #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt capriltello #tmnt 2012 donatello

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doodles-arts · 5 years

Text

Head-cannon: The turtles with a bender s/o

Word count: 6048

Description: This is a headcanon on how the turtles act with a s/o that bends an element, like water, earth, air and fire. Everything changed when the fire nation attacked. There is also a bonus! each of the head canons have a short imagine

pairings: donatellox reader, leonardo x reader, michaelangelo x reader, raphael x reader

Raphael:

-My bad boy here would be smitten over you the second he sees you.

-oh shit? Who’s that’s badass?? You b!!!

-he loves how easy water bending is for you. He also loves the way that when he gets hurt you're the first person at his side, healing him with your special ability

-Your So! Strong. Controlling water and bending takes patience, peace and power. And he’s certain that you have all three

-he’s so beta for you O m g

-he loves your hair!!! The way is moves when you bend. Almost like water

-Your calves and biceps are rock hard. He so vexed over them

-”watch your tongue big red!” You say that whenever he gets sassy with you

-Big red? SUch a turn of for him

-Your both so flirty all the time

-You sneak kisses and touch as often as possible

-“oh please, choke me,'' he says this to Leo- testing his older brother- you pipe in before leo can say anything “I volunteer.” everyone is shook

-raph listens to no one, but you~

-Your so strong, and he can tell because one day a flood breaks through the lair and you tried to hold it all off. There was SO much water, you were grunting in pain as you held it all off to help Donnie as he fixes a pipe that burst

You held the water from pouring through the broken pipe. The water kept building, getting heavier and heavier. You felt when the water was about to burst, ready to hold it off even before it did. Now? You weren’t so sure.

Raph was amazed at how you could hold the water so perfectly it was still; unmoving. “Amazing”, he mumbled. You were holding the water for a good hour, and it was straining on you. After another 20 minutes and you fall to your knees, almost yelling in pain.

”Donnie…. What's taking so long?”

Everyone froze as you fell to your knees. The cloud of water above you rippling. Your arms were trembling as you held up all of the water in the air. The boys checked in on you now and again after you fell. Ralph didn't move from beside you, keeping you company as an excuse to fret over you. Another 10 minutes and your arms were shaking, your back cracking under pressure. You were yelling in anguish, the weight too heavy for you. Two hands pushed your back forward, ”I’ve got you, tiger, take a break”.

You smiled, biting your lip at his gruff voice. ”oh, I think I like that idea!” you said seductively, Raph found this funny and smirked. Though when you let go of all the weight from your back and put them on to his hands, he knew you had to be superhuman. You weighed as much as his weights, good God! He couldn't imagine what type of weight you were holding on your arms. His palms pushed against the part of your back below your shoulders with his hands uncomfortably upside down.

After 30 minutes you could feel Raphael hands trembling, the uncomfortable position as he held the weight of the water was new to him, he couldn't hold on to it well. You felt really bad for him having to help you, but thankfully Donnie finally finished fixing the pipe. You tried to stand but felt your legs falter, ”let me help you up” his warm breath on your neck was driving you crazy!

You sent the water away slowly out of the lair, with Raphael’s help, and into the sewers. ”jeez tiger, you deserve more credit!” he said placing a hand on your waist and rubbed it as you held the water back from flowing through the pipes until Donnie could fix it permanently. ”I think I might be able to forgive you,” you mumbled with a smirk.

-You got him to appreciate you in a few more way after that

-he helped you ”stretch” out the knots out...

Leonardo:

-This calm leader is amazed at your strength

-fire bending takes a clear mind with zero emotion

-and gosh, are you emotionless!

-at first he finds it mysterious, than annoying because you never really paid him any attention, but after getting to know you through Donatello he sorta likes it.

-finding your straightforward and cool headed personality attractive

-Your fire bending is almost as hot as you are

- ha ha, get it?

- you always light things on fire whenever Leo touches you

-The perfect heater. Mickey cuddles you all the time during winter

-leo h a t e s it

-Your hands get super hot and red like an electric stove whoever you get mad

-and your cheeks, when your flustered!!

-Leo finds out that he sucks at flirting with you

-You always light the candles when you’re both meditating

-Oh did I mention, you love tea? And meditating, reading?

-Your both a match made in heaven

-he tries to flirt and drop hints

-Your oblivious, like not a clue

-he finally tells you he likes you and your like, “okay cool, I like you too leo”

- at first he like, what?

-You still don't get though

-You still didn’t know that he liked LIKED you.

-When he further explains it, your shook

He sat quietly, waiting for your response after he had just blurted it out in the kitchen to you. Your eyes focused on your book. You slowly lifted your head with a raised eyebrow, looking back down at your book as you responded. “Okay Leo, I like you too.” His eyes widened and grinned like a maniac!

That was until he noticed your eyes were glued back to your book nonchalantly. He might not have ever had a girlfriend before but he knew that no confession ever ended that way. He knew not to expect, you, of all people, to jump up and kiss him. But he knew that just because you tried to be emotionless didn’t mean you didn’t have any. He knew that your emotions were way to closely connected to your bending.

Clearing his throat to catch your attention once more, it didn’t work. He reached over and gently put a hand on the top of your book. Covering the page you were reading from. “Hey, I’m not sure you heard me, I like you. Like more than a friend, I like the way you smirk when you're smiling and when your nose wrinkles up when your angry”, he got up and walked around the table, your cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “I really do like you, I’ve been wanting to ask, would you be my girlfriend?” Your eyes were wide and the spring in your stomach started to stretch. You tried to keep the fire in check, but this was all new and Leo leaning forward wasn’t making it any easier.

“Yes,” you wanted to be his girlfriend, but you just couldn’t meet his eyes.

Leo wasn’t going to let this moment pass, you never got this flustered, this was his only chance. He leaned in closer to your face and planted a soft kiss on your cheek, but last minute something stung his lips. “YeAuOo!” You had been so surprised that your cheeks had gotten as hot as a stove. “MAh Lipzz” he cried out trying to stop the burning stinging.

Oh no!

-He forgives you though, because the way you heat up your lips when you kiss him is addicting.

-he loves when you kiss his neck, it feels like a sin.

-perfect cuddle buddy in the winter. Mikey lost his privilege

Michaelangelo:

-earth bending takes confidence and lots of emotion, unlike fire

-Your strong, like stronger than normal humans and other benders

-mikey loves your shoulders

-You actually picked him up once

-You like to pretend their are earthquakes to prank him

-he’s s h o o k every time

-he likes when you train, your Amazing

-You make earth roller coasters for him

-for a moment, NY times really believed it to be aliens, all the earth craters and roads that were paved as you bent a track

-once he convinced you to make crop circles in central park

-The news Lost its mind

-Your both a dangerous mix

-like if you mix a mentos and soda in a closed bottle and opened it unexpectedly

-You guys are the couple that don’t understand that PDA can be alil uncomfortable to watch

-This is because of Mikey though, he’s the clingy type

-sometimes your too harsh on others and super cold, but Mikey melts your heart

-Your honestly like a rabid dog, and mikey is your trainer

-he loves how all of your ex’s want you back, but you don’t even bat an eye towards them

-”none of them know how to make me laugh”, “he didn’t know how to calm me down”, “none of them knew how to please me, Like you~”

-oh?? He takes the hint

-he’s loud, and you like it

-a lot of the times your orange underwear is ripped by the end of the day…

-You and Raph are best friends

-Mikey is low key jealous

-one day, your training and he loses it

-You snap at him, than cuddle him because he cries. You coo him back to his happy and goofy self

-You’re never this soft with anyone

-He loves your special attention though

Your sparring against Raph, trash talking each other in the new dojo, an extra space Mikey begged donatello to clear for you, so you could practice your earth bending. Usually your both very loud, yelling as Raph blocks and you bend. The new dojo is big and round with all solid earth underneath. It’s in a hole in the ground outside of the lair, but there’s a pipes that connects the two spaces and Mikey can hear everything from his spot on the couch playing video games. At first he didn’t mind you hanging with Raph, he didn’t care if you beat his butt in a few spars, but then you started leaving him behind to spar with the red cladded giant. And as much as he was a very chill dude, it hurts to feel like second best and forgotten like some toy. He tried to contain his anger and focus on his game. But your voice was intoxicating, your war cries raised goosebumps on his scaly skin. How could he not feel the anger boil and top over as he watched you rough house with Raph on your way back into the lair and laugh. You laughed. Something you rarely did without him. It’s why no one really liked you, it's why he loved your smile so much. Cause you only laughed at his jokes. You only ever smiled at him, it made your smile so much more special. He slammed his controller off and stomped off into his room, angirly flopping on his bed before pulling out the Dsi you got him for his birthday and playing.

Raph gave you the okay to run after him, he never got angry, never got jealous. Oh god, did you mess up again? You always had ex’s leave because you were overconfident and way too sure of yourself. You never understood the whole, not being buddy buddy with other guys. You were stuck up. And as much as you knew this, none of your ex’s were really any fun, but not Mikey, he was perfect. And you were afraid he’s felt the same way, that he’d want to leave. You tried to shake the feeling, he was allowed to be jealous, at least that’s what you hoped it was.

Knocking gently before opening the door, unsure of how to approach an angry Mikey, afraid you’d screw up like you always did. You never knew how to fix arguments or disagreements with your past lovers, you always made it worse. “Hey winky dink” you whispered as you used his nickname, trying to be as sweet as you could. He angrily turned away from you,his shell facing you as he played on the Dsi. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, you knew he was just reacting, and he was allowed to react. You placed a hand on his shell, “baby if you wanna talk about something, I'm all ears. What’s wrong?” You thought that was nice, though your tone was low and sweet… it sounded a little condescending. He shimmed away from your touch. “No” he grumbled, and you were taken aback. Mikey never acted this way! It was out of character for him. You were never good at being empathetic and this was all new to you.

And he knew he was pushing his luck, but he never felt jealousy quite like this before, not knowing how to control himself, he was riding out his anger. But he didn’t really want you to leave. And you didn’t have the heart to leave either. But you also weren’t going to put up with this shit! “Listen here you overgrown yoshi, i’m trying to share a heart to heart with you because I'm afraid of losing you. If you can’t grow up and talk to me, then why the hell make a scene? You should already know I don’t like your brother you dope!” Though you never really said anything insulting except the yoshi part and name calling, your tone was rough. Tough as rock and Mikey didn’t like confrontation with you. He loved you way too much to be yelled at and was extremely sensitive with you.

He whirled around, baby blue eyes wide as saucers. His bottom lip jutted out and started trembling, aw man, your heart started panicking. ‘Here it comes’...

His eyes started to water up, and soon you couldn’t even see his beautiful baby blue eyes under his thick tears. He sobbed, “yoshi? B-BUt he’s FAT. Are you s-saying i’m FAt? Is that w-why you train with R-raph- Cause? Is i-it?” He started mumbling and sobbing nonsense and your chest felt like someone punched their way into your heart and pulled it out. You felt terrible. Like a monster. “No, no, no baby. That’s not it at all.” you cooed as you crawled further on his bed and towards him. Pulling him to your chest and putting his thighs on your lap*. Rocking him slowly as you cood to him how much you loved him and how he was the only one for you. There could be no other in your heart but him. It was only until you started asking him how much he thought you loved him while pulling his face to look at you with his chin. Nuzzling his snout with your nose until he laughed. “There's my laughy-Mikey~” He hid his face in your neck until he felt his cheeks cool down.

You trailed kisses down the side of his face, “I love you Mikey.” He churred in response.

“For the record, yoshi has nothing on me.”

-He loves the way you victory dance and taunt him when you win mario kart

-Your not even good but he lets you win once in while

-You give the best b******

*mikey can be very soft when he cries. Soft boi 100%

Donatello

-computers = hot air

-hot air= heat

-turtle + heat = snappy turtle or sweaty turtle

-he didn’t like you at first

-Your really positive… wayyy too optimistic for his realistic expectations

-one day in the summer Mikey makes a prank with water balloons and when he throws at Donatello, almost wetting his very computers, you blow it away before he can damage the electronics

-after that, he learns to respect you

- a few days later Donatello comments on how hot it is and you blow a cold breeze in to his lab

-he doesn’t realize it until he sees his brothers sweating their asses off in the living room and his room is super cool. And his room is usually the hottest because of all the hot software

-Your sleeping on the edge of the couch, head on the armrest with a hand posed towards his room

-he smiles sweetly, realizing how sweet you actually are. Your not extremely optimistic, your kind and empathetic.

-he works the nerve to invite you to his lab for more cool breezes in exchange to help you with your homework. You agreed.

-as you work, he sees how hard you try, your a fast learner

-he likes watching you work and doze off

-he starts to notice how beautiful you are

-You stare at him Alot

-why?

-Best free air conditioning

-everyone fights over you in the summer, Donnie usually wins

-Your just so good at your bending that it isn’t even tiring to bend cold air around the room

-Your really level headed, but your always happy

-You always make him feel better

-You’re really tiny

-like is it normal? He loves how those buns look on your head

-The way your baby hairs move cutely around whenever you air bend

-oh shit.

-he’s head over heels now. bam.game over

-he makes you a pinwheel that plays 3D images whenever you air bend wind in to it

-You Love it, you jump into his arms and give him a huge hug

-he Confucius

-hugs back, and loves the way your hair smells, wishes he could hug you more

-one day you tell him how much you like his eyes and his mind is blown

-You find this funny

You’re packing your things away to go home and as you pass Donatello and bid him goodbye you remember something that had been on your mind lately. You turned around sharply and stood still for a second. If you did it, would he return the thought? Would you overstep a boundary? Well, there was only one way to find out!

Walking back to Donnie’s lab with a huge grin and a pep in your step, walking back into the lab and walking towards his computer chair you took a deep breath feeling the air welcome you and feel your confidence build a little more. “Mikey, no I can’t help-” cutting him off by grabbing the sides of the computer swivel chair and turning him around to face you. You smile and he straightens his glasses, he gulps in confusion when you lean in to his face. Small enough that you don’t really lean down even if he is sitting, he finds that sexy/ adorable. You tilt your head and stared harder, leaning in closer and he leans back into his chair, cheeks on fire. You reached forward and pulled his glasses upwards with a gentle smile, “uhhh-” “-You really do have beautiful eyes!” He pulled back fully in confusion hitting his head on his swivel chair from pulling back so strongly. His glasses fell on his snout and slid down, you giggled before pushing them upwards before leaning to his left cheek and giving his hot cheek and blow of cool air and a quick kiss.

“See ya donn-” there was a tug on your wrist as your turned around. Feeling giddy you turned back around and face the pretty purple turtle. His mouth opened and closed in a faint attempt to gather himself and say something, he was making a bigger fool of himself, damnit. “I think I can help” you uttered sweetly while lifting his chin and leaning back down. Your lips were soft. God he could get used to this. Your like cold water, cooling and you smelt like pinewood and mint, he liked it very much.

Bonus?????

Splinter

-he never thought you’d accept him, but you weren’t exactly normal either

-living in a swap with no one other than the few like you

-splinter seemed normal

-You lived with other vine benders and water benders in your swap, but the expanding cities called for your people to accept the modern world.

-The sewers were close to home and were the only spot where you could bend and learn new things like plant bending, without being seen

-You first met him when he was around looking for supplies and food for himself and the boys.

-once you gained his trust you met the baby turtles and you had fallen in love

-being an older woman from different world, these baby boys were a step in the right direction; for a family

-You offered to help him raise them

-reluctant at first but soon won over, splinter agreed

-You cooked and worked for the boys while splinter cleaned and tuckered the boys out with ninjutsu

-the first time they called you mom you cried

-You made flower crowns for Raph as a child

-Leo helped you farm, it wasn’t easy in the sewers but you both managed

-Donatello soon helped and you couldn’t have been prouder of your boys. Creating a mechanism of mirrors to help the planting vegetables grows

-You always grew herbs with your bending for splinters tea, he was always grateful

-You taught the boys as much as you can about the outside world, but the truth was, you were still learning as well

-Leo was always curious about your old life in the swamp with your old family

-You loved telling them stories with splinter, one told from your own families

-Your mom look is very frightening

-The boys love you so much, your so kind and caring

-they don’t like to pick favorites, but… mom has never sent us to the hashi, chores are a lot better than the hashi

-You spoil them, you really do

-splinter tells you a l l the time

-they love when you play with them, their so used to seeing you leave for work and coming back very late that they don’t get to play with you much

-You grow older in to your mid 40’s and splinters grows concerned with your work schedule

-it wasn’t until you began coming home and passing out the second you sat down that he pleaded you take a break

-he knew it wasn’t easy to work more than 8 hours and then come home to cook and leave again fro more work

-You refused, the boys needed you to work, they were growing and deserved everything they asked for and needed new clothes and shoes as they grew older and bigger.

-splinter tried to reason with you, and again you refused. Growing tired of his persistence you both argued over it.

-The boys were very frightened and peeked through the dojo slide doors, and you looked back splinter before you started laughing once you noticed them.

-”oh, please forgive me splinter, it’s just were fighting like an old married couple”

-he joins in and you take his advice to take a vacation once the boys walk in for a family hug

-more time home meant more family time!

-The boys won't let you do anything the first two days

-”you need water? I've got it!” “you need your slippers? Where are they?” “dinner’s on us!” “I've run you a bath mom!”

-it isn’t until the end of the second day that the boys are arguing and you over hear that you finally understand

-they think you work so much because your tired of them?

-You barge in and remind them how much you love them, FAMILY HUG

-splinter is very helpful when you have a lot of stress, massages, teas, and bath remedies

-The boys are so annoying as they get older

-they mother hen you SO much, why? Because your older and frail because of all those years working for them

-You have a bad knee and really bad wrists that get stuck and hurt if you do too much

-even though your old you, still tend to an old garden and make Raph secret flower crowns every once and awhile

-You make Donnie tea that sends him sleeping in seconds, splinter is really amazed at how you still pull it off

-Mikey stays up watching the kids cartoon channel with you, you like them because they're cute and heartwarming

-You scrapbook

-The boys love you so much, you cry at EVERY birthday

-Your a cool mom in their teen years

-You worked your butt off to save money and retire. It’s totally worth it

-You love being their for them when their teenage emotions get the better of them

-The night they escape to go topside, you catch them leaving but instead of busting them you distract splinter, splinter is pleased

-splinter is Not pleased once their back

-You don’t tattle tale either!

“Where are you boys going?” you croaked in your southern accent, they froze. Knowing they had woke you up. They froze, fearing the worst from you and then the hashi, you and dad made a sick tag team. “If your going to go, what are you waiting for? Make sure to stay quiet, New York never sleeps.” They were ecstatic, each lifting you around and hugging, you shushed them as they rough housed and cheered about their amazing mother.

“Shushhhhh, Leave, leave! I’ll take care of your father. Now have fun and stay safe. Look after each other.” They smiled at each other before dashing out of the lair. You smile and walk over to the splinters room, finding him reading the new book you got him. Reaching forward to grab his book, your plan on distracting him already in tow. You knew his soft spots like the back of your hand

They get caught on their way back into the lair, because they were being loud as usual and Splinter heard them. No longer having his undivided attention and distraction. You rolled your eyes at your boys, could they have been any more obvious? He lined them up while you fiddled with the metal ring on your hand, feeling very bad for your boys. They looked at you awaiting for your help, gosh, you really did spoil them! You couldn’t help them now!

“Where were you? Did your mother assist you to go topside?” you gasped dramatically before grabbing one of his ears and twisting it painfully. The boys snickered as splinter apologized profusely and turned back to the boy, that got them quiet fast. “Next time think before you accuse me of something so foolish.” he rubbed his ear, “yes, yes. To the hashi I suppose if you won’t confess,” your heart clenched painfully when you saw them in there but stink eyed them to ensure your name wouldn’t be named once they spilled.

“Honey, listen-” “NO, ma! I’m tired of being the bad guy, tired of dad treating us like kids when we’ve saved the world. Tired of being treated like the one with no control. I’m tired of Leo being the favorite…” you listened, listened to him rant. Because it was important he trusted you and knew you respected all of his emotions. Important that he learned that all of his emotions were valid.

You patted the spot on the bed next to you and held your hot headed son against your own head. “I love you Raphael, I have no favorites, because if I lost any of you my heart would never heal. Leo is not our favorite, and if you don’t believe me, who makes you your flower crowns? Who’s the one who makes you the extra pancakes just because you ask? Me. I love you all, I try my best to show it, my son, my beautiful son. You have so much to give the human world don’t let your anger cloud that.” You pet his head as he cried and made him the flower crown you always made him on times like these.

“No, no, you have training tomorrow morning sweetie, off to bed!” He gave you his famous puppy pout. And you caved, knowing splinter would never let you live this down, your son always won you over. It was those baby blue eyes. “30 more minutes and its off to bed!” He grinned so big your own jaw hurt. “Okay mommy! Love you!” you chuckled, your youngest still called you mommy and you LOVed it, it reminded you of when they were little. You went to the bathroom, and stepped in to your bed, as quietly as possible…

“Michelangelo gave you the pout again didn’t he?” You could have face palmed right there, he chuckled and turned around and hugged you, “it is alright my lotus, you will overcome it soon enough.” You sighed playfully. After awhile you woke up to a raspy throat, Your husband asked why you were leaving, replying you asked if he’d like some water as well. He asked for a cup and walking out of your room you saw you youngest son passed out on the couch with the remote in hand. You smiled, grabbing a comforter to drape over him and tucking him in and put the remote away. Leaning down to kiss his forehead, “I love you too, Michelangelo”

“Donatello baby, it's awfully late, are you working on something important?” “extremely mother!” There was nothing better than being called mother in your late years. Note the sarcasm. It made you feel older, but you knew it was out of respect. “Hmmm, is it saving the world from terror, important?” He paused before peeking his head out of his work to look at you, “about 5 notches less important, mother.” You nodded slowly, “baby, you have training tomorrow, 30 more minutes.” He grinned and your heart melted, “thanks mother!”

You warmed a ketted and crushed up some special herbs, fixing them in and when the tea was ready you added mint and lavender with plenty of honey after adding your special herbs, with a peanut butter sandwich. A new trick you came up with and splinter was well aware of it. Watching by, could you trick the boy this time? “Baby, Are you hungry? I made you a sandwich” he gladly took it with a big smile and a very sweet ‘thank you’. “Do you want something to drink, baby?” you asked coyly, he took another bite and nodded gratefully, Leaning over to splinter as you both walked back over to the kitchen, “got ‘em!” Bringing the already made cup over to your little genius.

“There was no milk, but I made me and your father some tea, so I thought this would be better anyway~”, he took a swing and thanked you again. You walked over to the seat where Splinter waited for you on the couch with your own tea cup of peppermint tea. Reaching out your hand for a high-five your husband gave you one. “You never cease to amaze me, my darling.” Your son was asleep in the next 10 minutes, your husband helped him to bed and off to dream land and he went with a kiss to his forehead as you tucked him in.

He groaned once more, he couldn’t focus on his meditation. “Alright, even i’m tense. What’s wrong, my son?” He jumped in his seat on the dojo floor. Usually it was splinter who helped him out of this funk, but mamma bear had come to the rescue today. He sighed one more time as helped you sit on the mat because of your bad knees and laid his head on your lap. You massaged his temples, and almost instantly he started feeling better. “Recently I've been thinking I'm not fit to be leader. This is supposed to be easy, but it isn’t. It’s supposed to be, like, second nature but it’s not.” You thought for a moment on how to reply while stroking your son’s head and shoulder.

“I’m not like you father, wisdom has never come easy to me. But I do have experience, leadership isn’t natural it’s a choice. You have to fail to learn as a leader because your not following and your not learning. Your teaching and I'm aware it can be quite a hassle at times, but your father chose you for a reason. Perhaps you don’t believe it, but he did. And if there's one thing that man is good at, it’s at choosing the right choices.” He smiled at his mother's words meant to tease is father, at the end. “Your right-” “damn straight I am” you mumbled and chuckled. He leaned up and gave you a kiss on the cheek before returning to his meditation in perfect peace now. His mind remembering what you had said, he trusted you and took great care with your words. You leaned over and grabbed an arm while placing a kiss on his cheek, “you’ve got this, blue”, having full fate in your eldest son.

With your birthday coming up the boys in your home were awfully quiet at times. For a whole week there were no fights, zero trips to the hashi, and no boys staying up late. Thankfully you had clean the lair up before your birthday week and you had the whole week to relax. And that’s exactly what you did. Too old to be running after the boys, your first birthday in retirement. “This is livin~”. On your birthday your husband awoke you with tickling kisses and whispers, and when you arrived to the kitchen and found breakfast all prepared. You smiled and gushed at your boys. “You boys shouldn’t have!” They all let you pick the best of everything, and instead of taking it you gave mikey the first spritz of the whipped cream, Rapheal the sweetest and biggest strawberry by bending it to grow, donatello the best pancake and leo the warm syrup first. You also poured the tea for your husband, “but mom-”, “no buts! My favorite part of breakfast is taking care of my family!” “sweet!” You giggled at michaelangelo.

The rest of the day, the boys paid you extra attention, getting you anything you wanted and your husband ran you a special bath. Life was bliss at the moment and you were enjoying every bit of it. As you walked to the kitchen for a cup of water the boys screamed ‘surprise!’ “boys! You should know better than to scare an old lady like that!” They all laughed as they brought out the cake with two candles with a 6 and a 0. They sang you happy birthday and you were gushing the whole time. You asked donnie o take a family photo, he timed the camera and you said “whiskeyyy!” It was beautiful and the boys insisted you took one with splinter, and in the middle of the picture you swiped a finger of frosting on his nose. You laughed as the boys froze and kissed the frosting off with a smile, another flash made you laugh. The cake and family time was a blast! You all played Monopoly and you laughed the whole way through it. At the end of the night the boys prepared to leave for patrol and before they routinely they all gave you a hug.

“Happy birthday mom, thank you for always working hard for us, you always put us first”

“Happy birthday ma! Thank you for always putting up with us, no one could have asked for a better mother”

“Happy birthday mother, thank you for always making time for us and getting everything we’ve ever wanted"

“Happy birthday mommy! Your the coolest and one day i’m gonna spoil you as much as you’ve spoiled us!”

You were in tears at the end of their hugs, “get back here boys!” you said with tears in your eyes, Holding all four of them for a group hug. “I have the bet sons!”

After they left your husband played some of your favorite slow southern songs and danced with you. “Thank you darling, for all you have done for this family. If it were possible, I'm sure me and the boys would find a way of giving you the world. You have done more than be a mother to the boys, you have become their hero, lotus” he whispered into your ear as you danced and you danced as you sobbed happily. It felt so good to be validated by your family after all the years you worked so hard for. This was officially the best birthday ever.

Remember to validate your mothers!!

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tmntxreader-fics · 5 years

Text

TMNT Leo X Reader: STICKS AND STONES (Part 2)

ITS BACK

I’VE REPOSTED AFTER THE TUMBLR UPDATE DESTROYED THE LAST ONE.

Found this in a glitch actually, I copy and pasted it and it disappeared literally 10 minutes later into the abyss so I don’t know if the Tumblr staff took pity on me?...

ANYWAY

WARNINGS: Cussing, angst, and possible typos. Also it’s long as hell.

Word Count: 3307

Your gaze drifts over your own reflection, heart pounding in your chest.

“You don’t look like yourself,” April had said when she picked you up from the airport. It was one of the first things she had greeted you with. Now, back in your old city, standing in your old apartment and appraising yourself in your old mirror- you realize that she is right. In the 6 months that you had been gone, you’ve abandoned your old self and God did it feel good. Like a snake shedding its skin, a butterfly emerging from its cocoon; you are new.

Your once simple and almost bland hair is now vibrant and impossible to ignore. The roots remain their original colour but slowly along its length it weeps into a red that puts Raphael’s mask to shame. A deliberate colour scheme to symbolise the opposition of blue.

Even as you eye the clothing draped over your body, you can’t help but compare the difference between your originally modest and humble style and the present edge you’ve currently obtained.

But the most significant change you display is not a tangible presence, it cannot be observed with a materialistic lens. The thing that stands out the most, as you analyse your own reflection, is not the clothes on your back or the colour of your hair. It’s the confidence.

It was a terrifying concept at first, attempting to push past the fears that plagued you for years. The chains that bound you under the label of shy, socially anxious and introverted were never weak. They were made of hard steel with what you had previously thought to be no weak link to be discovered, but you found it six months ago and its name was Leonardo. When you broke the link, shattered it with a sword of humiliation and scorn, you realised then that the opportunity for growth came after being cut down. You are free of your chains and you want to let the world know that you’ll never be confined by them again. Starting with the one who both restricted you and freed you, you plan to display this newfound power in the best way you could. You’re going to rub it in everyone’s face that you are new. You are an entirely new being and you plan to bask in it. You want to silently gloat about it to those who thought you to be insignificant. You know your worth now. Precisely why you’ve agreed to visit the infamous lair of the turtles after so long of avoiding it like the plague; trying to pretend it never existed. “You sure you wanna come with?” April questions sceptically, her eyes slowly dragging over your frame. After a hard silence, she throws her hands up in surrender and mutters a sarcastic apology beneath her breath. The reporter knows this meeting will be chaos; not necessarily physical but emotional anarchy for everyone involved. It sounds good in theory, the idea of ‘strutting your stuff’ in front of your ex but the bond between you both was deeper than the average relationship. April knows that tie is still existent whether you choose to acknowledge it and young woman suspects this will not go in accordance to your plans- things rarely do. However, you are stubborn and even the famous reporter is no match against the fury of a woman scorned. Your breathing picks up as April leads you around what seems like the 100th corner in a row- and it’s not because of the amount of unwarranted exercise you’ve been forced into. “Donnie said he’d meet us here,” April huffs, slightly winded by the hefty trek. Before you can reply, a recognisably excited voice pipes up from the shadows of the alleyway. “And I’m here as promised!” You exhale sharply at the sight of the purple clad turtle- it’s been so long since you’ve seen any of the mutant brothers that the presence of even Donatello shocks you. You drink the sight of him in, from the goggles resting atop his head to the gadgets strapped to his ankles. An almost nostalgic sigh is expelled from your system as you shift the strap of your bag on your shoulder, a nervous tick. His gaze lingers on you after greeting April, longer than it should have until he figures it’s illogical to try hide the fact that he is staring. You smile sadly, “Hey, brains. It’s been a while, huh?” His gaze softens and his lips quirk to mimic yours. “Precisely 6 months and 2 days,” he states quietly. His smile widens into a goofy grin, the tension easing up as he rubs the back of his head awkwardly, “who’s counting though?” “I have a suggestion as to who,” April responds suddenly, observing her fingernails when the attention falls upon her. You realise she’s talking about the blue clad turtle and the turmoil within your stomach returns tenfold. You felt physically sick by the idea of seeing him again, having to look into those eyes. A gaze that had once observed you with love, a gaze that was tender and affectionate reserved only for you; a gaze that turned too cold, too quickly. “Speaking of,” Donnie begins quietly, “everyone’s waiting downstairs for you guys.” He nods his head towards to the open manhole cover and you swallow thickly. You almost wish that the walk to the lair was as long as the trek it had taken to meet Donnie at the rendezvous point. Your heart has basically nestled itself in your throat and you know that there will be difficulty dislodging it. As your little band of three approach the entrance to the lair you force your racing mind to stop, this was all done for a reason. You will not allow yourself to be weak, to become unravelled by a person you once knew. They are no longer a part of you, they no longer define you, they no longer value you the way they once did but you value yourself and that is what makes you infinitely more powerful than you were. You know your self-worth, you know you deserve just as much respect as anyone else. After 6 months of inner struggles and the journey to self-love you absolutely refuse to be shaken. However, as told by Mike Tyson, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” You figure that it wasn’t meant to be coupled with this current situation, but anything can be applied to everything depending on the individual’s approach.

As you enter the room holding Donatello’s brothers, you realise that seeing Leonardo’s face damn well felt like a nasty uppercut. As Mike Tyson predicted, anything witty you had planned to say has expelled itself from your mind.

A glacier like gaze skims over your being repeatedly, slower each time. The ice melts into pools of emotion, collecting at the water line of his eyes. Your mouth opens, fighting to make a sassy remark that you had planned previously- you failed miserably. A name slips from his lips, your name. It sounds foreign, why does it sound like that when it used to be comforting? Why does he say it like that? With longing, with sorrow. He has no right to long for you. But he does have a reason to be sorry. You straighten your posture and set your jaw, forcing your sights to rip away from him as if he wasn’t worth any time of day. Settling your gaze onto Raphael, his lips curl into a charming lopsided smirk. “I like your hair,” he states; stepping forward with a confident sway. Seems you aren’t the only one who’s grown. “It reminded me of you,” you tease playfully, a grin finally gracing your previously tense features. Through your peripheral vision you catch the slightest flinch from Leo. Raph returns the sentiment with a brilliant smile and you’re shocked by both the act and the way he immediately reaches out to embrace you. Blatant affection from the temperamental warrior was a rarity, to be the object of said affection made your heart swell. “It’s been hell without you here,” his words are pressed against your ear, quietly swallowing the air around you. He frees you from his embrace, eyeing you with a meaningful glance before returning to his resting expression- a mixture of irritation and arrogance. “I’ll go wake Mikey up,” he suggests, disappearing past Leo and into the tunnels. Something about the way he spoke confirmed to everyone that he was doing no such thing. April and Donnie, unfortunately, also got the unspoken memo. “Well, I’m just going to um-” Brains mutters awkwardly, spinning in a half circle away from you. “Show me the lab! He’s going to show me the lab,” April exclaims, gripping his bicep and dragging him in the opposite direction. “You know? TCRI isn’t going to disappear over night!” The duo left the room in a flurry of nervous mumbling, leaving you to face Leo by yourself. You swallow your nerves and un-furrow your brows, determined to give this turtle absolutely no rope and no leverage. You are in control here. Your gaze returns to Leo with hooded eyes and cold intentions. He steps forward as if to embrace you but your stare stops him dead in his tracks. Blue’s mouth opens and closes repeatedly as if he is confused by the apparent shift in attitude. You take his clear vulnerability as an opportunity to speak, looking around the lair with nonchalance. “You know, I really missed this place,” you state, tossing a side glance at the still turtle. “I missed your brothers, I missed Splinter- God knows I missed the pizza.” Your fingers trail over the railing beside you casually as you reign yourself in to ensure the confident voice doesn’t waver. With two slow and long strides forward towards Leo, you Harden your gaze and let it rest on him. “You know what I didn’t miss though?” You question, taking another step closer to the turtle who suddenly looks almost alarmed. “You.” You cross your arms and square your sights on him, “I didn’t miss you at all.” His jaw clenches before an emotion crosses his face, one you’ve never seen before. You find yourself beginning to wish you hadn’t stepped so close. “You’ve always been a bad liar,” Leo’s voice is quiet but hard. Your eyebrows raise at his immediate response. You’d hurt him with your words, you can tell by the silent strain in his voice. His icy stare narrows in on yours and he takes a step towards you- it feels like the ground is shaking. Resisting the urge to step away from him, you instead opt to swallow nervously and raise your chin in defiance. “You wouldn’t know,” you say. “I’ve never lied to you. That was your job.” Just like that, Leo’s strong facade shatters. His expression opens, revealing sorrow and harrowing regret, your heart squeezes at the sight. “What I did to you,” he begins, licking his lips as he pauses. “What I said to you was wrong.” “You’re stating the obvious again,” you force a tone of boredom but your hands begin to tremble. Leo’s swift gaze travels from your eyes to your lips, they trail from your shoulders to your shaking hands. His stare lingers there for a moment and his brow ridge furrows slightly. “I’m sorry.” His words are barely a whisper. His sorrow incites fury; two words cannot erase months of heartache, betrayal and tears. You narrow your eyes at him. You’re furious at Leo for what he’s done, you’re furious at him for seeking forgiveness through just two words but mostly you’re furious at yourself for wanting to forgive him so easily. Your blood boils at the fact that you wish he was the first to approach you, to embrace you, to express how much he missed you. But he wasn’t; he didn’t say a word. However, you were never one to slap away an apology- even if the last thing you want to do is forgive them. “Apology accepted. Have a nice day, Leonardo,” you laugh bitterly, turning on your heel with the intention to be in the company of anyone but the turtle with the blue bandana. How disappointing. “I can’t.” His voice is sharp, demanding to be heard. You frown and face him. “Can’t what?” “I can’t have a nice day,” he states, almost frustrated with himself. You pull your shoulders into a shrug. “Well, that’s unfortunate,” you say carelessly, motioning to continue with your departure. “I can’t have a nice anything, actually,” he continues. Leo steps closer and the intensity of his gaze weighs down on you- forcing you to be still where you stand. “I can’t have a nice meal, a nice training session or a nice patrol.” Your eyes widen as he grits his teeth and moves closer, it feels like the air is being drawn from the room. “I can barely close my fucking eyes at night, let alone have a nice sleep,” he snaps and you swallow at the sound of the cuss being spat out from between his teeth. It sounded alien and misplaced, he hates swearing. Your breath leaves you in a subtle tremble, your eyes unable to tear themselves away from him. “How so?” You whisper. He chuckles humourlessly and you note that it’s almost self-deprecating in tone. “Because I sent away the one person that made things nice. Nothing has even come close, ever since.” You stare at him, heart pounding in your chest and tears gathering in your eyes. This was becoming vastly more complicated than the scenarios you had played out in your mirror at the apartment. “Then why?” You settle for the one question that’s been plaguing your mind for months. “Why did you do it?” Leo falters before you. Despite him being completely frozen in his tracks, it’s as if you’ve physically just watched him trip over himself at your question. “I…” He trails off, voice a mere, soft rasp. You raise a brow, trying to will back the tears. You are shaking, you know it’s visible, but you can’t find it in you to be embarrassed. “Well?” You prompt impatiently, “you made it your damn mission to break me. I at least deserve a reason, don’t you think?” “Yes,” he whispers. “Of course you do.” “Then spill it,” you snap, swiping the tear that had made a mad dash down your cheek. He eyes you carefully as he words his response carefully, “I was failing. As a leader, as a partner, as a member of the team…” You motion impatiently for him to continue. Leo casts his gaze to the floor, a frown marring his expression. “I couldn’t keep anything together and rather than look at my weaknesses and failed choices as a leader, I blamed you.” He grits his teeth, “I failed and you suffered for it. I thought you were a weakness when in reality you were my strength.” You don’t bother wiping the tears that have begun to basically stream down your cheeks, you know that’s a lost cause. Leo, catching your small sniffle, glances up and his face contorts to one of guilt. Your ex-lover makes an instinctual move to comfort you. “What do you want me to say?” You ask, wrapping your arms around yourself and stepping away from his advances carefully. “That it’s fine? That we can go back to what was? You can’t humiliate me and toss me aside then expect me back when you realise your mistake,” you snap. Leo’s eyes soften, “I don’t expect that from you.” “Then what could you possibly want?” You’re visibly exasperated, not to mention exhausted by this entire exchange. “A chance to try again.” Leonardo states almost pleadingly. You’re stunned by his words, mouth opening in bewilderment. Then you begin to laugh, interrupting his sentence with an almost cruel laugh that subsides into giggles. You imagine that this is possibly a terrifying image considering that your face is still heavily laden with tears. “You think I’m going to just get back with you?” You throw your hands up and turn in a circle, “the mighty Leo has asked something from me so I just must obey. News flash! I’m not your little bitch anymore,” you hiss. “I’m not the same person I was, I will not roll over for you.”

“I know. You’re stronger, you’re smarter and you’re angry. I understand that and you have every right to be but if you’d just give me a chance to prove myself.” He begins, moving close in another habitual attempt to console you. “Damn right I’m smarter, smart enough to stay away from you,” you snap, stepping back from his advances. Instantly he opens his mouth to respond, with wide eyes and hands raised to defuse, “Hold on, I wasn’t done just listen to me-” “No, you listen to me,” you interrupt, halting your retreat and instead stomping towards him, “I am not part of your damn team and you sure as fuck are not my leader!” Your hand had poked into his plastron to emphasise each point and his gaze moves down to eye the hand you had left resting upon him. “You do not get to make demands as if I owe you something.”

His mouth closes and to your surprise a small smile lifts one corner of his mouth. “You don’t owe me anything,” he begins softly. “But I will ask you, please, to let me try earn back your affections and amend what I have failed to do previously.”

You stare at him for a long moment, gaze drinking in every feature of his face. You remember the times before he had distanced himself from you. You remember the affection, the love, the way he had tried to so hard to woo you in every way possible even when you were intimidated by him and it seemed he had no hope. Leo had fought for you, fought to make you comfortable around him, he had made sacrifices to be with you. Your anger begins to slowly ebb as his icy coloured eyes search your own for some sort of agreement. Where did it all go wrong?

He took you for granted and whether he gains your affections later down the track or not, he has still paid the price.

You clench your jaw before a heavy sigh slips from your mouth. The silence is loud as you both wait in anticipation of your decision. You know that allowing him back into your life allows unpredictable elements to gain control, once more. Would he do the same thing under a different lie? Would he treat you the way you’re meant to be treated? Rather than cutting him off and the possibilities of a positive outcome, you decide that letting things move slow will provide ample opportunity to catch any deviations.

“You can try,” you agree, “as friends first, obviously. Don’t get your hopes up for anything beyond that.”

With that, Leonardo cracks a blinding grin- as if he had been waiting his whole life to hear those words. He takes in a breath, one that is not heavy with despair like those he had taken in the past six months. He wants to drop to his knees, express his gratitude for your mercy and promise you the world.

Instead, he settles for a simple, “of course.”

Because, this time, Leo will not waste his chance on words that he knows you will never believe.

@pokiekatherine @dead-lee-15 @crazy-pleasures-and-crazy-habits @ihlni686-and-rps @chichiguitarist123 @ihlni686 @jam-jar2 @whataprimeexample @the-chick-with-the-best-fandom @rinsakka @llturner7 @axa0113 @yesimthatboring @bluehelixx @mydogjustfarted @dark-demon-s-tears @dksuniverse @pleasetooweirdtolive-tooraretodie16 @lil-safe-haven @fireflyloki28 @moonrocksleeping @theunawesomeduck @thepovofem @eiri-thehedgehog @forfoxsake629 @utterlystardust @kapowinthekisser @eilikes @dva-reengaging @loekie-mulder138 @mallory-lawson23 @royalpuglife @hlemon11 @super-flamin-hot-cheetos @henderwhore4life @looneylorrhael @uninspired-plebian @thetruepotatolordjay @pluvialday @animechick555 @nodistressdamsel @fluffydino-15

#tmnt #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2016 #tmnt leonardo #tmnt leo imagine #tmnt leo x reader #leonardo x reader #tmnt leonardo x reader #tmnt raphael #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt donatello #tmnt imagines #tmnt imagine

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fanfic-inator795 · 5 years

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RotTMNT Oneshot: Family Karaoke Night

(Also on AO3 if you want to leave a kudos/comment there)

Plot: No matter what their singing abilities, anyone can get into karaoke - even an old rat.

((Finally finished this after having it in my drafts for like a month. Basically, I love family fluff, I love silly fun, and I love imagining characters singing. Put them all together, and you get this. Enjoy! ^v^))

While most kids her age probably had to be pushed and dragged into getting their homework done early, April had no problems with it. Of course, that MAY have had something to do with wanting to hang out with her brothers for a couple hours before having to go to bed and prepare for another exhausting school day, but hey, motivation was motivation.

Though, naturally, this motivation waned a little on the weekends, where it was far too easy to just push everything off until Sunday afternoon. It was a bad habit, April could admit that, but she had gotten a bit better at doing at least a little work each day before rushing off the sewers. And, on nights like tonight, she didn’t want to risk anything weighing on her mind and possibly ruining her night.

So, she worked through her assignments as soon as she got home, and munched on reheated leftovers as she wrote out the outline for her essay that was due the next week. Once she was satisfied with the progress she had made, April shut down her computer, grabbed her already packed bag and heading out the door, making sure to give Mayhem a quick pet goodbye before leaving. It was a bit later than she had hoped, though that hardly mattered when you were staying up all night.

“Heyyyy, I’m here!” April yelled once she reached the entrance of the lair. Almost immediately, she heard footsteps race towards her, and with a grin, she ran towards the brothers with open arms.

“See, boys? I told you she’d show up soon!” Raph said as soon as their group hug ended.

“Of course! I just had some homework I had to finish up, but there was no way that I was going to miss-”

“Karaoke niiiight~” Leo sang, holding a pretend microphone to his mouth. His brothers joined in, harmonizing. “Karaoke niiiiight!” “Karaoke ni-i-iiiiiight~!”

April snickered, shaking her head. Such dorks, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. After a moment though, she noticed the missing member of their quartet. “Hey, where’s Donnie?”

“Oh, you know how he is,” Raph answered, “He’s still downloading songs. I guess there was this album that was just released that he really wanted to sing?”

“Ah,” April nodded. That definitely sounded like Donnie. “Heh, you’d think he’d be happy with the songs we have. He texted me yesterday, tellin’ me all about how it was apparently ‘the most advanced karaoke machine of all time’. Wouldn't be surprised if that thing had a thousand and one songs on that thing by now.”

“Thaaat sounds about right, but apparently it’s still not enough,” Leo shrugged. Not that he could really complain, more songs could only be a good thing, just as long as they weren’t a bunch of cheesy love songs that he and his family sang at literal nauseum while they were high off a case of Rat Flu. No matter how fun the idea of an all-night karaoke night might have been, Leo wasn’t and would never be in the mood to hear a another three hour rendition of “My Heart Will Go On”.

“Come on, let’s go grab the snacks and then we can ask him about it!” Mikey told them, already grabbing April’s arm and eagerly dragging her towards the kitchen, “Oh! And April, did you bring-?”

“Of course!” April grinned, holding up her bag full of goodies. Beads and tacky sunglasses, huge hats and feather boas, and at least half a dozen old halloween costumes. It would seem that one person’s trash was another person’s stage outfit. Mikey grinned back at her, giving her a quick hug.

“This is gonna be AWESOME!” “Heh, isn’t it always with you guys around?” “Could say the same thing about you, sis~”

It took a bit of maneuvering to grab all of the snacks and treats Mikey had made in one go, but thankfully the box turtle’s near perfect balance and April’s experience in waiting tables helped them enough to carry all of it into the next room without spilling a single crumb - though they’d have to come back for the drinks. Naturally there were pizza puffs, as well as chicken wings, tortilla chips, popcorn shrimp, and even cupcakes (and in three different flavors, no less). Even with supper still settling in her stomach, she couldn’t deny that it all looked delicious!

“Gee Mike, you think we have enough to get us through the night?” April asked, smirking a bit despite the weight on her arms.

“I sure hope so.” Mikey placed the final bowl on his head, making sure not to tilt it. “But, if we get really desperate, I think we’ve got some ice cream in the back of the freezer.”

“Uh huh, and how old is it?”

Mikey thought for several moments before he finally answered, flashing a sheepish grin as he did so. “Uhhh, probably best not to ask.”

The tv room had been completely transformed. Leftover streamers from past birthday and holiday parties had been strung around haphazardly while a small ball with rainbow lights spun in the corner, giving the whole room a sort of disco effect. The lights were low and the projector was already on, and near the screen were two speakers that had been dragged out specifically for this night. From the karaoke machine, Donnie (whose classic goggles had been replaced with a pair of purple shutter shades) gave April and his youngest brother a brief wave, barely looking up from his tablet.

Beanbags, blankets and pillows had also been dug out, creating a classic sleepover mood. Near Splinter’s chair was their usual eating table, where they quickly dropped off their load. Almost immediately, Raph and Leo dug in, putting their “Best Power Rock Anthem of All Time” argument on hold for the time being.

“So, we about ready to start this night, already?” April asked, “Cause I’ve had a loooong day, and I’m ready to get singin’!”

“Just a few more minutes!” Donnie told her, “Just have to finish downloading these last few songs, plus install the love song blocker-”

“Tha’k yuu!” Leo said through a mouth-full of pizza puffs. His twin simply gave him a thumbs up.

“If April’s callin’ the first song of the night, then Raph’s callin’ the second one! After all-” He smirked, his voice deepening. “Someone’s gotta bring a bit of soul to this shindig. Awww, yeahhh~”

April snorted, covering her mouth before her giggles could escape. How Raphael managed to get into soul music of all things, she would never know. But hey, whatever made him happy. “Heh, second song’s all yours, Raph.”

“Sweet. Thanks, girl.”

“Ooh! And we’ve just GOTTA do duets!” Mikey chimed in, quickly turning back to his genius purple brother, “That thing does duets, right Dee?”

“It had precisely two hundred and thirty nine duets programmed into it, as well as a second microphone plug-in available. ...So yes, ‘Angelo,” he smiled simply, “It does duets.” Mikey leapt across the sea of blankets to pull him into a hug, silently thanking him for all his hard work. Not that it was really THAT hard or even that much of a bother - Donnie was just as much of a showman (er, show-turtle) as the rest of his brothers, and it didn’t take a genius to realize that they would be hearing quite a few Broadway numbers that night. Still, he appreciated the gesture, and returned it with a quick pat on Mikey’s shell.

“Well then come on, guys! Let’s stop talking about it and get started already!” Leo grinned, standing from his seat and striking a bit of a pose, “I hope you’re ready to be blown away by my sweet singing skills.”

“Hmph, gonna be hard to be ‘blown away’ if all you sing are meme songs,” Donnie retorted, rolling his eyes while everyone else snickered.

Leo however was hardly offended. “Don’t act like you still don’t consider ‘All Star’ to be a jam even after all the memes,” he said, smirking back at his twin.

“You know, in my time, people went out for karaoke rather than just taking over the nearest space for who knows how long.” Everyone turned to see Splinter in the doorway, looking not too happy about losing control of the tv room for the night. Sure, he had a tv in his bedroom, but the smaller screen plus what was sure to be a whole night of loud singing and laughter wasn’t much of a consolation.

“Aww, come on, Pop, don’t be like that,” Raph said, offering his father a welcoming smile. The rat man just huffed, crossing his arms.

“We’ve got snacks!” Dashing back over to the small table, Mikey picked up the bowl of chips. “You looooove snacks~”

Splinter hummed. “I do love snacks,” he mumbled, softening a bit.

“And-” Leo began, hoping to seal the deal and free themselves from their rat-dad’s grumpiness towards their special night once and for all, “I’m sure we could fit in some time to let you sing a few songs too! Come on, Dad, join in on the fun!”

At that, Splinter’s yellow eyes narrowed and hardened once more. “Ohhh, so NOW you don’t mind me singing, huh?” he asked, “Have you boys learned to appreciate other people’s musical talent, or do you simply not mind listening to something that ‘belongs in the sewers’?”

While April could only look on in confusion, the four turtles all winced in harsh realization. So THAT was why he was so upset and annoyed…

“Okay, but that was different!” Leo argued, “That was for our band and, and we just wanted it to be OUR thing!” In a lower tone, he added, “Plus it’s not like weird opera singing would’ve fit anyway-” Splinter growled. He tries to impress his sons a little with something unique and this is what he gets?

“BUT, that still doesn’t make it right!” Raph said, quickly jumping in (and shooting Leon a glare for good measure), “We’re sorry for what we said, and for bein’ so rude about it, okay Pop?”

“Yeah!” “Totes!” April nodded as well, despite having nothing to do with whatever incident brought all this up, just to give her support. Getting an idea, she then reached over and grabbed one of the microphones.

“You could even have the first song!” she offered, handing him the device as a peace offering, “What do you say, Master Splinter?”

“...” Splinter looked at the microphone, then at the faces staring back at him. All of them (the boys especially) were looking at him with concern as well as encouragement. Splinter sighed through his nose. He might have been petty at times, but he wasn’t so stubborn that he’d totally ruin his kids’ night. “I suppose I could sing one song.”

“Then step on up, Dad!” Donnie smiled, giving a dramatic wave of his arm towards the karaoke machine. Splinter smirked at the gesture, and began scrolling through the seemingly infinite song list.

“So you’re SURE there’s no love songs on there,” Leo whispered. Donnie nodded - though, he still wasn’t expecting that great of a ‘performance’ judging by how far back he moved, phone in hand. He just hoped whatever his father picked, it wasn’t too long of a song.

Thankfully, the genre tabs made it a bit easier to search for something familiar to him. He didn’t expect there to be any non-anime opening Japanese songs on there, but- “Aha!” He selected a song, and after a couple seconds, a light enough tune began playing through the speakers. First a keyboard and guitar, and then a blast of trumpets.

Immediately, everyone sat up a bit straighter. “Whoa! Is this-?” Raph asked, beginning to grin.

“I didn’t know he liked THIS kind of music too!” Leo commented.

“Ha! I grew up with this music, frankly I’m surprised YOU all even know it!” Splinter chuckled. The wonders of the Internet and timeless hit songs, he supposed. He then began to sing as he struck a bit of a pose, not even needing the words.

“Do you remember... the 21st night of September? Love was changing the minds of pretenders, while chasing the clouds awayyyyy~” His young audience started clapping along with the beat, giving a small cheer or two as they did. “Our hearts were ringing, in the key that our souls were singing. As we danced in the night, remember how the stars stole the night away~”

Sure, Splinter’s voice was still a bit gravely and off-key, but- “You know, he’s actually not that bad,” Donnie smiled, “Definitely has stage presence.”

“Heh, yeah,” Raph agreed, “And he can sure put a lot of energy into somethin’ when he wants to, don’t you think-?” April’s laugh cut him off, bringing the snapper’s attention back to the ‘stage’ in front of him, where his younger brothers now stood beside their father, happily singing along with the chorus despite not having microphones of their own. Splinter just grinned at them, not minding them all.

“Ba de ya!” Leo and Mikey sang.

“Someday you’ll remember-” Splinter sang back.

“Ba de ya!” They sang again, with Raph and Donnie now joining in as well.

“Dancing in September~”

“Ba de ya!”

“Never was a cloudy dayyyyy!” Splinter and April both belted out, with the latter still trying to hold back her laughter. The song went on, and not a single voice completely dropped out, with Splinter naturally taking the main part while his children kept the chorus strong. Even as the tune faded out, they all still sang and danced and giggled until Splinter finally spoke up once more.

“Well, I think it’s clear that I’ve properly gotten this karaoke night started~” He smirked, “April, I believe it’s your turn.”

“Don’t mind if I do!” April grinned as the rat passed the microphone.

April and Raph kept things in the 70s a bit longer with “Hanging On the Telephone” and a bit of Stevie Wonder while the twins brought it back to more moderns hits with “Never Gonna Give You Up” (“Seriously, Leon? We were having such a great time and I feel so annoyed right now.”) and a bit of Daft Punk. Mikey nearly brought the sewers down with his rapping, and then it was back to Splinter with “Right Back Where We Started From”, a song the boys could swear they remember him singing from the childhoods, either while he was preparing food or just a light sorta-lullaby to calm them down.

The song selections went from disco to glam rock, broadway to hip-hop, soul to techno, and everything in-between. Costumes were naturally dragged out with each new performance, further adding to the fun as numerous pictures were taken. Snacks were replenished twice and Splinter grabbed some sake from his second “Do Not Touch” cabinet in the kitchen. He wasn’t much of a drinker these days, finding milk and cake more appealing, but he figured a glass or two wouldn’t hurt. As for everyone else, they loaded up on sugary pop and juice, not minding missing out.

It didn’t take long for Splinter to drop out after that, though he was still content with sitting in his chair and watching everyone else sing. He clapped after the surprisingly impressive rap battle between his youngest and his oldest, and laughed along with everyone else when Leo tried to sing some Vanilla Ice.

But, not even the most fun karaoke nights could last forever. The time between songs, where they’d just talk about random things or play on their phones, was getting longer and longer. Donnie had begun singing one of the more mellow songs currently on the billboard top 100 when Splinter finally closed his eyes.

When he woke up, the atmosphere in the room was much different. It was quiet, warm and peaceful even, despite the harsh neon lighting from the spinning light ball. On the screen, a turtle-shell logo silently bounced around. Surrounding his chair, Splinter could hear the light snores and mumbles of his sons and their friend. He could also see all the empty cans and wrappers, not to mention all the dishes and crumbs.

Splinter shook his head, mentally scolding them for the mess before shrugging it off. They were teenagers and making messes was just a thing they did, they could always clean later. He then put a paw to his mouth, muffling his cough. He didn’t lose his voice, but his throat was still pretty dry.

Slowly, he got up, and crept around the covered lumps, silent and swift like the ninja master he was. He stole one last glance at them once he reached the doorway, their laughter from the night before still echoing in his mind. He smirked at the memory, chuckling lightly before making his way to the kitchen.

Not wanting to wait for tea, Splinter just grabbed a cup and ran some warm water, drinking that instead. He made sure to sit as well, his aging joints still aching slightly despite being plenty mobile. He had accepted his age, having fought off any ‘mid-life crisis’ thoughts pretty well so far, but that didn’t mean he didn’t still notice certain things. The aches, the fatigue, the white hair.. (He still wasn’t completely sure if that last one was simply the mutation’s doing, or if raising four kids really stressed him out that much.)

Even so, nights like the one they just had and the content mornings like the one he was having now reminded him that he still had plenty left to enjoy and much more life to live. He definitely appreciated that… Perhaps that was why, once he finished his drink and his throat no longer ached, Splinter began getting out various pans and ingredients.

Ever since Michelangelo developed his cooking passion at the age of eight, he and his brothers had taken care of whatever meals that weren’t just ordered in. But just because Splinter was no longer the chef of the house didn’t mean he still didn’t know how to prepare a decent family breakfast. He started the rice first, then the eggs. They would have just enough for everyone to get one omelette each. He was just about to start cracking them when he heard footsteps.

“Morning,” April said quietly, giving him a nod.

“Good morning, April,” Splinter nodded back, “Feel free to go back into the tv room and relax, it’s going to be a while.”

“Actually, I think I’m gonna stay here for a while,” April replied, “I needed to stretch for a bit, and I do have another set of hands right here for you to use.”

“I’m capable of making breakfast on my own,” Splinter told her, his tone betraying his otherwise distancing words. You are a guest, don’t feel like you need to help.

April just smiled, and walked over to the counter. “I know, and so am I. Mind handin’ me a peeler?”

Having no real reason to argue, Splinter did as he was told. “...By the way, thanks for joining us last night,” she told him. With all the adventures there were to be had around the city and Splinter’s shows that he enjoyed watching, the six of them didn’t always get to hang out together too often. But just because these instances were more rare didn’t mean they weren’t still wanted. “The guys and I really enjoyed havin’ you around. ...You’re a pretty cool guy, Master.”

A warm smile crept onto his lips. “...I could say the same about you, April.”

The two worked in silence, with Splinter concentrating on the rice and eggs while April made her favorite hashbrown recipe as well as some bacon. Slowly but surely, the rest of their underground home (or in April’s case, home away from home) started coming back to life.

Mikey woke up first, greeting them both with a hug and eager to help by making toast. Raph came next, having smelt the food. With the food covered, he assigned himself table setting duties. Finally, a very groggy pair of twins joined them. Donnie started up the coffee machine and tea kettle (with the majority vote settling on camomile with a bit of honey) while Leo got out all the juice they had left in the fridge.

By the time everything was done, conversations had started up, hoping to hide the sound of their stomachs growling. “You know, we should try to do this next week!” Mikey said as they all began to sit down, “Or next month or, you know, just sometime soon!”

“What, karaoke till we pass out and then breakfast the morning after?” Donnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mikey nodded eagerly. “Yeah! At least once a month! Come on, you guys are lyin’ if you say you don’t want to do that more often.”

While Mikey’s brothers and sister considered it, Splinter hummed in consideration. “Not a bad idea, Orange, though why don’t we focus on eating breakfast and cleaning up last night’s mess before we plan anymore karaoke nights, hm?”

The box turtle gave a sheepish smile. “Heh, right,” he said as he began digging into his food, “Got it, Pops.”

Splinter smiled back at his orange son before looking back down at his own plate. He nibbled on his rice and toast, and resisting the urge to start humming a certain song from the night before… Fun karaoke nights with his family were one thing, but getting a tune stuck in his head for hours on end was quite another.

Still, it wasn’t a bad idea… Not a bad idea at all.

THE END

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #master splinter #april o'neil #leonardo tmnt #raphael tmnt #donatello tmnt #michelangelo tmnt #oneshot #fanfiction #my writing

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spectrumscribe · 7 years

Text

These days.

Inspired by both my utter salt for the current brother-brother dynamics in canon, and the song These Days by the Black Keys.

Previous related fic, and AO3 version of the series.

Summary:

Donnie and Mikey can’t stay in the lair anymore. Their father is gone and the war is over and all that’s left is their older brothers. Who, as Donnie has come to slowly realize, haven’t been treating them well. Not for a long, long time. They can’t stay, they have to leave.

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

Part One.

There’s a night, sometime after their father is buried and their enemies defeated, when their home is too quiet and unspoken tension is rising and coiling and choking at everyone- Donnie knows.

He knows he has to leave.

It comes, after another night, a different night. One that’d had another realization, and another quiet, insidious feeling upheaval.

On that night, he wakes up, starts to head to his lab on automatic, even though there’s little reason to anymore- and Leo stops him. Leo asks Donnie, and their other siblings, to meet him in the dojo. Saying that it’s time they had a family meeting, broken as their family is.

There’s a tone in Leo’s voice that Donnie hasn’t encountered before. It’s new, and he doesn’t know why it unsettles him.

Donnie isn’t sure what he’s expecting, kneeling on the dojo floor, like he has for years and years, waiting for Leo to address them. Whatever he might have expected, it’s not what Leo has to say.

Leo kneels in front of Donnie, in front of all of them, instead of with them. Setting himself apart. Donnie watches him, confused by the change.

“Sensei- Splinter,” Leo says, correcting himself for some reason, and that’s when alarms start going off in Donnie’s head. “Splinter gave me a final message, the night he… died. A few hours before.”

Donnie sees Raph and Mikey beside him shift, sitting up straighter. None of them had known about that, and it’s been days since their father’s passing. Donnie wants to ask “Why didn’t he leave one with us too?”, but he can’t before Leo continues.

“He told me that he knew his time was short,” Leo says, hands on his knees and completely serious. “He knew that he was going to die, and he told me that I’d have to take his place. I was chosen to be our leader because he knew that it would be me, all along. Not for skill or for training- but because that’s who I was meant to be. A leader to all of us. He told me I was to take up the mantle as both a master and a father to our family, and I intend to.”

Donnie feels his stomach drop, and his eyes go wide.

“From now on,” Leo says, continuing despite the shocked noises Raph and Mikey are making. “I’ll be our Sensei, and I’ll expect your respect for that position. It was our father’s dying wish, and I’ll see that I carry it out.”

Donnie swallows thickly, and he can’t speak.

He shouldn’t feel that way. He shouldn’t feel dread at the idea that his eldest brother holds all the power in their home, but he can’t not feel it. And he doesn’t know why.

Donnie’s vision blurs, and he misses what happens next. He doesn’t come back until after, when Leo and Raph have gone to train, to “-test out whether or not you really can call yourself my Sensei.” as Raph puts it. Mikey slinks away, and Donnie almost misses his brother’s retreat; utterly silent, and the complete opposite of his usual self.

Donnie is left alone, unsure of why he’s feeling so upset, so viscerally upset, about everything.

He takes five deep breaths, and then hides.

Hides in his lab, doors locked shut and his stereo turned up high enough he could feasibly miss someone knocking.

He sits at a lab table, empty of any projects, and stares at his hands. He stares and stares and for once doesn’t know what to think.

His father had known he was going to die, somehow, and he hadn’t told anyone except Leo. Only Leo. No messages or goodbyes to any of the rest of them. Splinter hadn’t bothered to. Or worse, hadn’t thought to at all.

Donnie feels lost, and in a private second all to himself- he admits that he’s also scared.

He’s scared and he doesn’t know why.

He avoids Leo’s eyes, Raph’s eyes, even Mikey’s- when he emerges from his lab, much later in the night. One or all of his brothers tries to talk to him, but it all sounds staticky to Donnie. He replies vague niceties, and gets by without really knowing what’s going on.

He’s in shock; he knows that on the edge of his mind. He’s in shock and he thinks it’s for multiple reasons. Because of his father, dying, dead, because of his brother, newly empowered and smiling and for some reason that makes Donnie nervous as anything, because they suddenly don’t have any goals anymore, no Shredder no aliens no anything-

Donnie avoids the eyes of his family, and keeps to himself.

The night Donnie Knows comes soon after. After he’s spent days thinking and drifting and feeling unsure and nervous about everything. After Leo looks him in the eye, and Donnie can see it.

He sees that Leo fully expects to have control of their home. Of their family. Of Donnie.

Donnie thinks back to months ago, before space and before losing New York and before the first invasion. Before the coma. Before this Leo had become the only Leo.

It started then, and Donnie pretended not to see.

It’s here now, the look in Leo’s eyes. The piece that’s so obviously missing. The piece that Leo lost while he recovered from near death, and then never got back.

It’s just trauma, he’d told himself over and over, it’s just something he has to work past. Things will be normal later. It’s my fault anyways, I’ll just give him space until he’s better, we can talk about it after…

Things hadn’t gone back to normal, and how things were had become the new normal.

Donnie blames himself, and he’s scared.

Donnie sees this, thinks this, and feels this all at once- seeing the look in Leo’s eyes, as he tells Donnie it’s time for training. That it’s time for their first session together with him in charge.

Donnie can only mutely nod, and follow along.

He thinks- after the training session, after listening to Leo’s commands for hours and having to follow each one- he thinks to himself, I can’t do this. I just can’t.

It’s strangling, the atmosphere of his home. He can’t look his brothers- his older brothers- in the eyes, and not feel apprehension. He can’t listen to what they’re saying, and not feeling like their words are deafening him. Just the one training session leaves him hollow and tired.

He can’t live like this, and he hates himself for having that thought.

And besides- what other way is there? There’s only his family, there has only ever been his family. There’s nothing else for him, other than to keep building for his brothers, keep protecting them from whatever comes their way with intent to harm. Keep listening to his father.

But is there even that anymore? There’s none of that left.

No enemies. No wars. No Sensei.

Donnie feels lost at what to do, and he feels hateful of that fact.

Even more so, he hates the thought that follows I can’t live like this, because it whispers what if I just leave? And Donnie cannot do that.

He has a duty. A duty to his family and his clan. To his brothers. He owes them his care and his protection and his efforts. He can’t just leave.

Can he?

Donnie, looking in the eyes of his brother, his eldest brother, who is smiling and proud despite their father’s death, smiling despite the sheer pointlessness of everything they do- and he wonders if maybe, just maybe, he actually can.

What if I just leave?

The question haunts him for hours after, following Donnie as he moves listlessly through maintenance of their vehicles. His vehicles. The ones he built almost entirely by himself, but everyone uses. He’s not sure if they ever thanked him for that.

Donnie, wavering and hateful of that wavering, quietly asks himself where he would even go if he left. He can’t just pack up and drive away without a plan. He has nowhere to go that would be safe.

What if I found somewhere? Is his answer to that. And what if he did? What then?

Could he really do it?

Rambunctious voices coming down the tunnels interrupt his thinking, and Donnie has to scramble out of the engine block for the Party Wagon to look at the sources.

Leo and Raph and Mikey- all of them sidle into Donnie’s- into their garage space. Leo grins at Donnie, and holds up a hand, swinging the spare set of keys they have for the Shellraiser. “Hey Donnie, we’re going out to meet up with Karai and Shinigami. Hope you don’t mind it, but we’re taking the Shellraiser and the stealth-bike.”

Donnie takes a second to respond, and in that second his brothers are already clambering into the vehicles. “I- no, the repairs aren’t done yet, and if we push specific parts much harder I’ll have to replace them entirely-”

“So then replace ‘em,” Raph says flippantly, sliding into the stealth-bike and starting it up. “It’s not a big deal if one or two gears gotta get replaced later, right?”

“No- you don’t get it, those parts were hard to get as it was and I don’t want to have to replace them so soon-” Donnie tries to at least catch Leo, because he knows the Shellraiser needs its pipes cleaned and checked for cracks, even more than their bike. “Leo, please- if you guys could just wait another hour, I promise I’ll have them done, I swear-”

“Nope! Can’t keep the girls waiting,” Leo says, shutting the sliding doors right in Donnie’s face. From inside, Donnie hears a muffled, “I’m sure if anything breaks, you can fix it easy later on! You’re good at that kind of thing, Donnie. Trust yourself a bit!”

The stealth-bike goes roaring past Donnie from behind, and he has to dodge backwards as the Shellraiser rumbles to life as well. He can’t do anything to stop it as it leaves, and then his brothers are gone, taking with them his inventions, and not paying him any mind about their condition.

Donnie can’t even muster enough energy to yell in frustration, because he feels drained by just how normal this all is.

They didn’t even bother to invite him along, let alone ask for use of his vehicles.

Donnie stands alone in his garage- not theirs, they never do anything useful in it, nothing to deserve calling it theirs- and repeats the question to himself could I leave?

He finds himself saying, I just might.

He can’t just runaway. He can’t just disappear with nothing but his bo staff on his shell, escaping into the wilds of New York with nowhere to go. He needs a plan.

Donnie is an expert at plans, though his brothers rarely listen to them. So he starts searching.

He goes out, not a word to anybody- because who’s to care if he’s out past their designated roaming hours? Who’s to attack him when there’s nothing left but thugs and regular human gangs in New York? He has no father and he has no arch enemy- so Donnie searches.

He follows maps he searches up, scouting locations underneath the cement ground above. He’s searching for somewhere with ideal conditions, somewhere he can modify and shape as he wants. Somewhere he’d be safe.

He briefly considers asking to stay with Karai and her clan- but he banishes the idea even faster than he’d thought of it. Karai can’t be trusted, for all the work she’s done to earn their trust. She doesn’t have Donnie’s, not about this. She’s too close to Leo, too likely tell. And the Mutanimals, maybe they would let him stay, but Donnie doesn’t feel it would work. His brothers would find him too quickly, too easily, there wouldn’t be any point.

So Donnie embarks alone, with a flashlight and multiple maps, and looks for somewhere to- live? Hide? Escape to? Maybe a combination of the three.

Donnie has to stop, over and over, and laugh at how ludicrous this is. Who is he running from? His brothers? He- he shouldn’t be, he loves them and they love him. He’s supposed to stay with them for the whole of their lives, because they’re all they’ve got now. All they’ve ever really had.

But then Donnie remembers the slow strangling feeling of being in his own home, speaking to his own family, and staring at the picture of his now deceased father- and he keeps searching.

He’s supposed to want to stay with his brothers, and he feels like shit for not.

He finds a place, a ways away from his home and his familiar territory. It’s sizable, and close to a power grid, and not too far from a couple junkyards. It’s perfect, despite the dust and the crumbling stone.

It’s another abandoned subway station, though considerably smaller than the lair. It’s not made for a whole family.

Donnie supposes, it’s a good thing he’s not bringing his whole family.

Donnie has a place in mind, a goal of moving into it, and now all he has to do is… actually accomplish moving into it.

He needs to make it livable first. Hook it back into power connectors, and then set up the plumbing again, and then add additional stabilizations to the one pillar on the far left side…

He’s got a lot of work to do, but he’s used to the work load. He’s done all that and more before, and sometimes on a tighter schedule.

He sneaks out, night after night, preparing his escape. He takes with him tools and supplies, using the Party Wagon to transport everything. Its slow going, the amount of stealth he has to use to get in and out of his home, but it’s worth it. It’s worth it to see the steady improvements to the small station, and feel like he’s actually accomplishing something. Like he can breathe again, thanks to his secret success.

Until, he goes home one night, late, and all the air whooshes out of his lungs, as Leo storms into the garage with an angry expression.

Donnie doesn’t want to get out of the car, but he has to. It’ll only be worse if he doesn’t just get it over with right now.

“Where have you been?” Leo demands immediately, before Donnie even shuts the door. “I called you ten times, and I got no answer. I was worried about you.”

“I was out scavenging,” Donnie replies smoothly, riding out the fury in his brother’s voice. “I needed parts to fix the Shellraiser’s shocks, and I needed time to search for them.”

“Why was your phone off? You know you aren’t supposed to turn it off,” Leo says, still mad, still glaring at Donnie.

Donnie lets it flow over him, not bothering to let it touch him now, not in this tense, horrid moment. He lies again, “I turned off it to charge it earlier, and forgot to turn it on again. Honest mistake. I’m sorry.”

“You missed training, again,” Leo snaps, seeming to pick a new topic to be upset about.

“It’s just one night, and I thought you’d prefer to have a working car rather than me showing up for class.”

Donnie crosses the line with that one, and Leo’s hissed words, “I am your Sensei and you will not disregard me like this”, speak that quite clearly. Leo glares at Donnie, waiting, watching. “Are we clear on this? No more skipping sessions. At all. We will work as a team, and I won’t have you undermining us like this. Do you understand me?”

He sounds like their father did, and Donnie can’t tell if his brother has done this on purpose or by accident. The effect is the same though, if worse.

Donnie swallows, and nods. Leo takes this as being enough of a response, and leaves Donnie in the garage. Alone again, having watched his brother- his Sensei, stalk away, still in a huff, Donnie balls his fists and bites his tongue hard.

He keeps going out. He keeps fixing up the small station he’s found, and he keeps building his quiet hope.

I wouldn’t be gone forever, he tells himself, as he finishes bolting a steel support into place. Just until we’ve all calmed down. Just until we’ve figured things out again. Just enough time for us all to get some space from one another and think. Just, just, just…

He wavers though, even after he tries to cement his resolve to leave, just for a little while. He wavers and thinks maybe I’m being too hard on them, maybe I’m being overdramatic, maybe I should just give this up and try harder…

But then Leo and Raph will say something, or do something, or demand that Donnie do something or say something- and Donnie will remember why he’s doing this. Why he’s leaving.

He can’t live like this. He can’t live with his two older brothers, especially his eldest brother, breathing down his neck. The two of them trying and obviously failing to figure things out, now that their father is suddenly gone, and using Donnie and Mikey as footholds to do so. Donnie wants to be able to handle that, but he can’t. He just can’t. Not anymore.

Donnie finishes as much as he can in his hiding place, and figures its time he start moving things into it.

Like the other outings, he has to time it right. His brothers- they never pay attention to what goes in or out of his lab, not unless it explodes or it’s something they can steal to play with. Donnie just has to time it right, so the latter doesn’t happen.

He plans around his brothers’ outings, which are frequent and long. Spent with Karai and Shinigami and Casey, running around the city doing something or other. Donnie doesn’t know most of the time, and they don’t seem inclined to inform him. He doesn’t feel upset that they don’t so much as he’s resigned to that fact.

Donnie has begun to realize that he’s resigned to a lot of things, and wonders when that happened to him.

He starts moving out his big pieces of equipment about a week after finishing the station. He can’t take everything, much as he wishes, but he can take most of it. One by one he can move the biggest and most delicate pieces in the Shellraiser, whenever his brothers aren’t using it.

In his efforts to avoid detection from the two elder siblings- Donnie forgets his one younger.

Mikey is suddenly there one evening, when Donnie is struggling to fit an awkwardly shaped bit of equipment into the train car. Donnie stops dead, and feels gripping horror slide around his neck.

Mikey stares at him, and Donnie, hands shaking, stares back.

“You’re leaving,” Mikey says, not asks. Donnie starts to reply, something about just needing to toss this machine out, get a new one, but Mikey cuts him off with, “And don’t lie to me. You’ve been doing this for weeks. You’re leaving, and not just to throw something away.”

Donnie sags, and he feels the horror turn into resignation. That’s it then, it was a nice dream while it lasted. “Yeah. I am.”

“Were you even going to tell me?” Mikey asks.

“I… I don’t know,” Donnie says honestly.

“Well, why not?” Mikey asks, accuses. “You were just going to fuck off without saying anything?”

“I don’t know!” Donnie exclaims, his panic suddenly flooding in to cover his resignation. “I didn’t- I didn’t know if you’d tell, okay? I didn’t know if- if I could trust you!"

Mikey looks like he’s been punched by Donnie’s words, and Donnie feels the same. Worse, maybe, because they’re true.

“I… I couldn’t predict how you’d react,” Donnie says, shoulder slumping again. “I couldn’t… Mikey, I… I’m sorry. I have to leave. I can’t stay here anymore. Not- not with how things are.”

Mikey looks down at the floor, and his shoulders hunch up. “Yeah. Well. Maybe I’m not exactly happy here either, ever think about that?”

“I didn’t…” Donnie can’t finish that sentence, because he did.

He sees it with Mikey too. The sullen quietness, covered almost entirely by the overreaching cheer. The way that their brothers push him around, push him down. The way Raph has gotten more physical lately, and has for a long time, with shoves and punches that land just a bit too hard. And every single time Mikey’s opinion on something comes up, he’s talked over. Ignored.

And Donnie does it too, mimicking their brothers that way, just like Mikey comes into his lab with their brothers, comes into the garage and takes and takes and breaks his things.

Neither of them is happy, and Donnie’s been selfish. More than just because he’s leaving- because he was leaving without Mikey.

“I’m sorry,” Donnie says, tired and worn out. He doesn’t know what will happen next, if Mikey will be furious and tell what Donnie has been trying to do, so all he can say is-“I’m sorry.”

Mikey is silent for a long moment, and then he says, “I wouldn’t’ve told, you know. If you told me you were going. They would’ve asked me, and probably made me tell them that you’d gone- but I wouldn’t tell them where you went. Promise. I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“…thank you,” Donnie says quietly, thickly, feeling undeserving. “I’m sorry I doubted you. I was just… scared. I didn’t know if I could trust anyone except… me.”

Mikey shrugs, and then both of them stand in awkward silence. It’s tense, but not like it is with their brothers. The tension is different.

Mikey breaks it, when he quietly, so frighteningly quiet for him, asks in a soft, desperate tone- “Can I come with you?”

Something old and scarred in Donnie breaks a little harder at that, and he nods jerkily, eyes stinging for reasons he won’t say. “Yes. Yes, of course you can.”

The first time Donnie shows Mikey the hidden station, far enough from the lair that they don’t seem close to it at all anymore, his brother’s face lights up and he smiles for real, maybe for the first time in weeks. It’s a good sight to see.

There was plenty of space for one mutant turtle before, and there’s still plenty of space for another. There’s space for a living room and a kitchen and separate bedrooms… a lab and an exercise room and an infirmary… there might even be space for experiments Donnie could never do at home.

The tunnel leading in is large enough to park the Shellraiser in, and that’s probably the one Donnie will have them take. It’s defensible, and good for running away in. They could and have driven through complete battle zones before, and come out with only minor issues to repair afterwards. Donnie has faith that it could protect him, should he ever have to evacuate his hiding place, and now he has faith that it could protect Mikey too.

Donnie hates that he hadn’t implicitly trusted Mikey, right from the start. That he hadn’t been able to look at his single younger brother and say “Come with me” without hesitation.

But he hadn’t been able to, and hasn’t been able to for a long time. And maybe he’s not alone in that, because Mikey quietly lets slip about things that bother him, while they move equipment and furniture around the station. He lets slip moments that he still thinks about that Donnie has never even heard of.

Mostly it’s about things they had no control over. Losing battles, losing friends. Sometimes it’s about their brothers, things they’ve said and done. Once, it’s about their dad, and how Mikey doesn’t understand why he didn’t say goodbye.

Donnie doesn’t have an explanation for the last thought, and they both let it pass in heavy silence.

There’s still a lot to be done, beyond what Donnie accomplished on his own. Furniture, appliances, painting… lots of work, and Mikey seems willing.

It’s less lonely, scavenging for lights and tables and couches, when he’s got a companion. Mikey picks the couch, an ancient and plush blue thing, and Donnie chooses the dark wooden coffee table to go with it. They both pick the lights; multiple shapes but all the in same green, and put it all together with a thick rug on the floor underneath it all.

They get a TV, a big one, and Donnie fixes it so it’ll get every channel this side of the hemisphere. The fill the kitchen with mismatched plates and pans, and Mikey has final say on the wares they select. Donnie’s lab is set up over time, and when he’s done, he loves it despite the decrease in space. He chooses to think of it as compact, since he wasted much of his original lab’s space anyways.

Eventually- only weeks later, even if it felt like painstaking years- they’re done, and it’s time to leave. For real.

Donnie’s lab is stripped of what he can take with him, all the essentials already long moved to their new location. It’s only got the bare bones now, in his eyes at least. His brothers haven’t noticed at all.

That leaves his room, also stripped of its essentials. There’s only day to day things left, and the most noticeable and iconic things. Donnie goes to sleep with the morning, staring at his assembled collection of weapons and possessions in the corner. It’s time, and he’s still not sure.

But, he’s sure of one thing though. If he doesn’t go now, then he never will, and the strangling sensation around his throat will worsen. He has to leave tonight, or else he doesn’t know what will happen.

He sleeps fitfully, exhaustively, and wakes hours before Leo and Raph will. He dresses shortly, cinching his belt and mask into place without emotion. His cases of throwing stars and books and last remaining computer make no sound as he picks them up, and neither does his bo staff as he slides it into its familiar loop on his shell.

As he exits his room, he sees Mikey doing the same, and they meet eyes. Mikey has Ice-dream kitty in her cooler already, and his duffle of miscellaneous items. With his nunchucks in their holsters, he’s ready to go, both in literal and emotional sense. Donnie can see it in his eyes.

There’s no words spoken as they go, leaving the silent halls of their long-time home. Donnie and Mikey both spare a glance over their shoulder at it, and Donnie feels a great swell of emotion.

This has been their home nearly all their lives. Where they grew up and learned to be who they are. Where their father lived.

Its empty feeling now, and haunted by spectres that no longer exist. It feels cold and sucked dry of everything Donnie once loved about it.

He turns away from it, from his still sleeping older brothers, and doesn’t look back.

The drive is tense and silent. The only sound is IC kitty’s soft mewls, her attempts to comfort Mikey’s obviously maelstrom emotions.

For once, Mikey doesn’t return the coos with his own, and sits quietly in the passenger seat. As Donnie drives them another block from the lair, kitty finally gives up, and settles for purring worriedly in her cooler.

Donnie pretends he doesn’t hear Mikey’s near inaudible sniffle, and pretends it doesn’t nearly drag his own emotions to the surface.

He shifts the Shellraiser’s gears, and drives a bit faster.

It feels like it’s not real, pulling into the station’s tunnel. It feels like they should be just here for more repairs, not to actually stay.

Donnie moves in a daze to put his things away, trying to distract his mind from his emotions as he painstakingly ensures that everything goes to its new home. He doesn’t leave his new bedroom until he’s done, and it’s a hard thing to leave his bo staff by the wall. He shouldn’t, but he feels like they’re waiting for an attack now. For the backlash of their actions.

Donnie drifts back into the living room, warmly lit by the lights he and Mikey had spent so much time finding. His brother is already on the couch, knees to his chest and kitty on the coffee table in her favorite bowl.

Donnie sits down on the other end, slumping back against the cushions breathlessly. He takes one, shuddering inhale, and runs a hand over his skull. “I can’t believe it,” He says shakily. “We actually did it.”

It’d been nice to talk about in theory, fun, if a bit nerve wracking, to set it up- but this is real. This is real and they can’t take it back anymore. They did it. They left.

Donnie doesn’t know how to feel at all.

“So… what do we do now?” Mikey asks quietly, mostly addressing his knees.

Donnie shakes his head, swimming in disbelief still. “I- I don’t know. Eat breakfast maybe?”

He suggests it, even though he feels sick instead of hungry. Mikey seems to accept it as a task though, and gets up to wander into the kitchen in the next room over. Soon enough, he comes back with microwavable cups of instant oatmeal, and sets them on the table.

He pushes one in Donnie’s direction, and Donnie accepts it gratefully. He picks it up, mindful of the spoon stuck into it, and starts stirring the hot oats around.

It doesn’t take long for their brothers to start calling them, texting them. Donnie’s phone rings again and again, and he sets it on the table to stare at it. Mikey does the same, and then they’re both staring at the t-phones on the coffee table beside kitty. They look like parodies of mini-turtles, minus legs and heads, as they vibrate and call out.

Donnie finally has the sense to reach out and mute them both, and then it’s silent again. Their oatmeal, both portions uneaten still, has long since gone cold and Donnie still doesn’t know what they’re supposed to do.

Mikey dares to check his phone’s messages, and from the way his expression flickers with emotions, they aren’t good. He sets his phone back down hastily, and pushes it so it skids across the table and away from him. Donnie doesn’t look at his, and he decides not to touch it at all.

Minutes- hours maybe- later, and Mikey asks in a rough voice, “Want to watch TV?”

There isn’t anything else for them to do, and the question covers up the one that’s been hanging in the air all evening. Are we really doing the right thing?

So Donnie nods, and grabs the remote off the table to turn on their salvaged television. It’s easier to not drown in anxious second guessing with it on, especially once Mikey steals the remote and starts surfing through channels without aim.

It’s not perfect, but it’s enough for now, and Donnie settles into the musty old couch to just… let go.

After weeks of constant stress and activity, it feels unfamiliar. Maybe even before that it would’ve. Donnie can’t actually recall the last time he sat down and just did nothing.

His eyes burn, and everything catches up with him all at once, and Donnie wipes his eyes before Mikey can see. Not that it would matter, because Mikey has been wiping at his eyes all night.

An insidious whisper in Donnie’s mind says they’re making a mistake, that they’re abandoning their brothers and their duty- but Donnie can’t give a damn about that right now. He’s tired of always keeping to his duty, and he’s not going to let a voice in his head bully him into giving up everything they’ve worked for.

Donnie watches the television with Mikey for a long while, and tries not to think of anything at all.

It’s not perfect, but it’s better. Donnie can feel it when he wakes up the next evening, and doesn’t dread getting out of bed.

He gets up, and he takes his time doing so. There’s no early evening training to attend, no surly brothers to sidestep as he gets ready, and no life-saving projects he absolutely has to get done right that second. He can breathe again.

He wanders into his new kitchen, and finds Mikey making eggs on the stove. The toast pops in its toaster as Mikey turns around to face Donnie, and they both sort of stare at each other for a moment.

“Could you butter those?” Mikey asks, and Donnie nods. He can do that.

The coffee maker is already set up, and Donnie turns it on as he goes to butter the toast. Mikey finishes the eggs on the stove, and then brings them to the table. Donnie grabs a cup for when his coffee is finished, and follows.

They sit down on either side of their small table, and share a breakfast for the first time in a while. The coffee maker dings, and before Donnie can get up to fill his cup, Mikey snatches it out of his hands and does it for him.

Donnie blinks, and feels caught off-guard by the simple kindness.

“Thank you,” He says, genuine and odd emotion climbing up in him as he takes the cup. Mikey doesn’t seem to know what to do with the situation any more than Donnie does, so he shrugs and sits back down.

There’s silence following that, but it’s not tense silence. It’s amicable, and Donnie can’t recall when he last had that.

Somewhere across the city, their brothers wake up for the second time without their younger siblings, and Donnie and Mikey are too far away to know what reactions that causes.

Donnie swings back and forth between waiting for the other shoe to drop, and actually being able to believe that this is happening. That they actually got out.

Their new home isn’t home, but it also is. It is because they made it their home. They built it, piece by piece, and made it into something they could live in.

They both have space to themselves, and where they crossover with one another, it’s not terrible. There’s relearning happening, and Donnie can see it properly now. How they both forgot how to interact with each other without their brothers involved, or maybe that they’d never known at all.

Sometimes, Donnie finds himself saying something snide or spiteful, and sees how it makes Mikey’s shoulders hunch. Sometimes, when Donnie reaches out to grab something close to Mikey, or moves his arms too fast, his brother will tense up and close his eyes. Waiting for a blow. It hurts Donnie probably just as much as it hurts Mikey, dealing with the following moments after those interactions. The regret from them both.

Mikey isn’t perfect either. He crosses the line multiple times with Donnie’s things, and breaks two precious beakers in the first few days. He belittles Donnie’s work once, scoffing at Donnie’s ideas to farm a tiny renewable hybrid vegetable patch, and obviously regrets the way Donnie shuts down afterwards. Donnie doesn’t do it on purpose, the way he shuts everything down like that, but he does, and Mikey tells him he’s sorry.

Donnie returns the sentiment, about getting into Mikey’s personal space, and for the hurtful words that slip out without his say.

It’s a work in progress, but they’re working hard on it.

Donnie’s phone continues to pile up with phone calls and texts from their friends and family, and he ignores them all. He doesn’t want anyone to know about this yet, not while it’s still new, still becoming real.

He reads the texts though, listens to the voice messages, if only because he still feels guilty. Guilty for not being strong enough to bear everything he needed to, and for running away. He listens to them and reads them in case they’re distress calls. In case his brothers really need them.

If they’re hurt, if they’re in a fight- Donnie will go to them. He won’t even hesitate. He might have run, and taken Mikey with him, but he won’t abandon them fully. Family is still family, no matter what.

They’re all they have anymore, and Donnie doesn’t think he could bear to lose his big brothers too, hard as it is to deal with them right now.

So Donnie keeps an ear open, tries to remember how to interact kindly with his little brother, and attempts to believe his reality.

He thinks, about the second week into their escape, as he enters the living room and Mikey doesn’t jump and instead smiles at Donnie, that he might be able to believe it just a little. For now at least, until they go home again.

But, for the time being, Donnie slides onto the couch, and pushes his anxious, guilty thoughts away, and watches bad cartoons with his brother.

continuation.

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